Kanye West is releasing his new album 1 on June, as promised, following a public listening session that took place in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with a live-stream of the event being shared with the rest of the world via the WAV app.
Ye has yet to surface on streaming platforms but there's already plenty to be gleaned from the listening party. For instance, West's wife Kim Kardashian tweeted a claim that he shot the cover art on his iPhone... on the way there.
Here's what else we know about the album:
It won't be a Tidal exclusive - or any exclusive
There's an image being shared on Twitter claiming an exclusive listen on the Stationhead app, the company has confirmed that West's new album will be released on other streaming platforms including Apple Music and Spotify.
Guest features include...
Kid Cudi, Ty Dolla Sign, Jeremih, Young Thug, Charlie Wilson, Nicki Minaj, 070 Shake...
One of the guest features didn't know he'd be on the album
Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker is officially a guest on West's record, but it seems he had no idea until hearing it for the first time. Parker was listening to a livestream of the event when he heard his work on it, to which he reportedly exclaimed: "Holy s**t!"
"I had this weird premonition of this exact scenario," he told Australian radio station triple J. West had reportedly asked him to send along any beats he was working on, so he passed over a production that sampled 1960s band Vanilla Fudge and their track "You Keep Me Hangin' On".
When West failed to respond, Parker assumed his offering hadn't been accepted. In fact, the samples can be heard on the second to last track, which features Kid Cudi rapping over a guitar line and apparently uses "bits" of Parker's original effort.
There are quips about Stormy Daniels, the allegations against Russell Simmons, the Tristan Thompson cheating scandal, and his "slavery was a choice" comment
West makes several regressive #MeToo comments on the record, including one where he addresses the allegations of rape and sexual misconduct against Def Jam Recordings co-founder Russell Simmons, who recently penned an open letter attempting to persuade him to re-think his controversial political comments.
"Russell Simmons wanna pray for me too/I'ma pray for him 'cause he got #MeToo'd" West raps.
He reverts to the old "father of daughters" trope as a means of explaining his newfound respect for women. And then there's this: "I say 'slavery is a choice'/They say 'How, Ye?'/Just imagine if they caught me on a wild day." So basically... he could have said worse?
Ye is out on 1 June 2018
