The Kanye West “New Slaves” release on Friday night, where the modest and unassuming (ha!) rapper released his new single by splashing it on the sides of 66 buildings around the world, has sold me on the idea that ‘Ye is a marketing genius. But if anyone is still in doubt, consider his entire week as a whole which culminated in his triumphant appearance last night on Saturday Night Live.
Niki Cruz for The Inquisitr was on the scene of the Kanye West anti-celebrity rant at the Adult Swim Show earlier this week. She posted his tirade where the rapper ranted about being a celebrity and informed us that, “I ain’t running for office. I’m not kissing no mother f–ing babies.”
Mm-kay. Glad we got that cleared up.
Even if the rant made you giggle about poor, poor ‘Ye’s terrible, terrible problems in life, then you have to admit that you weren’t going to forget that he was scheduled to appear on SNL. Oh, Ben Affleck was the host, but who noticed him in all the excitement?
Most fans — and even nonfans — loved the performance. In addition to “New Slaves,” Kanye debuted a new tune “Black Skinhead.”
Critics seem to like it too. An MTV reviewer said that “New Slaves” took him back to ‘Ye’s College Dropout days. Rob Markman wrote:
“‘Ye’s politically charged poetry may come off contradictory to new fans who only recently caught on to the Givenchy-wearing, $250 Air Yeezy-selling rapper, but…”
It’s the “but” that will get you every time. The anti-consumerist lyrics seem to offer a no-win scenario where you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
Kanye West raps that when he was broke, he wasn’t allowed to touch anything in the store. When he’s rich, he’s pressured to buy more — a pressure he has conspicuously not bothered to resist.
Poor, pitiful Kanye West. Such a tragic story…but I digress. The music’s good and the promotional skills are stellar, even if the self-righteousness is a little obnoxious.
Both songs will appear on his sixth studio album, Yeezus , which will be released on June 18.
Here’s a taste of the Kanye “New Slaves” release in Brooklyn, NY courtesy Complex Magazine :
Here’s a version of the Kanye’s “Black Skinhead” lyrics which he tweeted this morning:
BLK SKN HEAD twitter.com/kanyewest/stat…
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) May 19, 2013
What’s your take on Kanye’s “New Slaves?”
[way back in 2006 Kanye West once actually smiled photo by s_bukley / Shutterstock.com ]