Last night (June 10), media figures, fans, and your favorite artists alike scrambled to Milk Studios in New York City’s meatpacking district to lend an ear to Yeezus.
Emotions ran high at the first public listening session for Kanye West‘s highly his sixth studio LP. Most didn’t know what to expect, because a majority of the album’s previously released tracks had only been heard through live performances.
Despite this, attendees —which included Jay-Z, Beyonce, Q-Tip, Timbo, Joell Ortiz, Busta, and more— knew they were in for an audible experience that could only be described by the G.O.O.D. Music boss. “I figured out on this album I’m actually new wave, I’m not really soul,” said West on his musical and personal journey.
Here is an exert from West’s closing speech:
“If you ever see somebody standing next to me, know that they’re better than me at something.
“We didn’t give a f**k about what nobody said from the outside looking in. We just wanted to make the best product possible and this is just the beginning of an entire new mentality about how to make music.
“From Daft Punk working on like 3-4 joints on the album. The first joint, “Onsite,” “I Am a God,” “Black Skinhead.” Mike Dean, Travis Scott, working on the album. Hudson Mohawke, Arthur. Last, but not least that came and helped bring this whole sh*t together, that executive produced the album with me and the family, is Rick Rubin coming in and like finishing up the whole sh*t for us, which is legendary because everything we did on this project, everything I did, like when we released ‘Numbers on the Board,” from the video, to the no artwork, to the style of the song and everything, I was like ‘what would Rick Rubin do.’ What was his Def Jam shit that they would do because I remember Rick even saying, he said ‘when we did Def Jam we really wasn’t feeling like we was in competition with nobody body because our sh*t was so direct… ‘where we at right now?’ We in the middle of the city right now, open to the muthaf**kin’ streets and nobody is shuttin’ down sh*t while we make real music.
West made a bevy of revelations throughout the course of the night. We’re personally excited to hear his collab with Chief Keef and Bon Iver reportedly titled “Can’t Handle My Liquor.” Goodness.
Yeezus releases June 18. See photos and videos from the event below and on the following pages.
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Photo: David Prutting, Mikey Fresh, Instagram
