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It is not uncommon to talk about how bad, weird, off-putting, and surreal 2018 was.
Meanwhile,Nasirnever worked at all and is distinct for being Nass worst album.
But I think as a collection lets call them the Wyoming Sessions they mostly work.
And Im still fully onboard with seven-song, 20-ish-minute albums as a new rule, specifically for Kanye.
As some sort of think-tank experiment, though, I think you see where things did and didnt work.
The Hawaii Sessions were a much different story.
Craig Jenkins: I dont really know that Kanye works best in sevens.
Teyanas album, for instance, needed more meat.
Both the Kanye albums in this cycle felt like they couldve used more time and polish.
Maybe the answer was to jam them together.
Sam Hockley-Smith: He pulled it off.
But by and large, these projects were victims of their own hype.
Some of Kanyes production work on these records specificallyPusha TsDaytona, Teyana TaylorsK.T.S.E.
and, sure, even some ofYe was inspired.
Since we cant actually separate the art from the artist, are these albums forever tied to Kanyes actions?
I cant tell if hes a genuine agitator or someone who agitates because theres something to sell.
SHS: It seems like that does a disservice to the artists hes working with.
And Teyana made very clear, she wasnt with the shits.
The Nas album, though, is another case where the work couldnt be separated from the context.
Talk about a moment that really came and went under our noses.
Which of the five albums was the best?
Which was the worst?CJ:Daytonas the best.Nadir oops I meantNasir is the worst.
DL: The first mistake Kanye made during this little exercise was leading with the best.
It shouldve come out before people had a chance to doubt the campaign.
Vic finally gets the audiences attention as they start to leave.
The ideal sequence wouldve beenDaytona,K.T.S.E.,Nasir,KSG, thenYe.
Or maybe you slideNasirinto the last spot, it being the worst record.
SHS:OrNasircould have just never come out at all.
More than anything else, they are all tangled up with the Kanye we saw on Twitter.
Someone make it make sense!
(Yeah, Im bitter.)
Why is that?CJ: Overcooked?
I dont think thatYeis a bad album, necessarily.
It is not Kanyes best work.
Might even be the worst.
But thePablocampaign was a universe of distractions, and that one came out all right.
I feel like there are internal factors we could never understand.
Like I said before,Yedoes not stand alone withoutKSG.
Seems like maybe the only real editing he did on the project.
I think its safe to sayYewas the most real-time album of the bunch and suffered for it.
Though, to be fair, personal epiphanies about your own mind do come in spurts.
SHS:Yeis also the Kanye album that feels the least defined.
EvenTLOP, as scattered as it was, felt like a reflection of the way we consumed music.
But what isYe, sonically?
Some of the production really works for me.
Why is that in there?Yehad too many fires to put out.
Kanye started too many.
Nobodys feeling the 2C-B bars.
DL: The wholeDrake subtextis also entirely too bonkers not to think about when consideringYe.
The gag is … the chasing trends is whats dulling his edge.
That we didnt probably shook him and pushed him toward guys like Tekashi and XXX.
That Betsy DeVos shit.
That Who accuses the accusers?
So where does Kanye go from here?DL: To bed, I hope.
Push it back indefinitely, but never let it pass him by entirely.
Or we could all just collectively agree to stop giving him attention.
Sometimes its okay to let the baby whine all night.
SHS: Theres a certain aura of exhaustion around all these releases.
The good ones transcend it, but the less good ones are mired in it.
Not many people can do that (maybe thats why he admires Trump?).
Still, it all felt like a protracted case of burnout that he attempted to circumvent through prolificacy.
(Remember when SZA couldnt get a date forCtrl?)
Music cleared the vaults in a month, andmostof the releases did well and got attention.
Maybe the next label will give a benchwarmer a shot.
Or maybe well forget all of this happened when the earth burns up next year.
Dee, youre onto something about giving less attention to the mess.
DL: I do hope the Wyoming Sessions cleared Kanyes conscience about being a bad boss.
For years, he did nothing to nurture his artists careers, especially Teyanas.
But how much of Kanyes antics outside the studio actually worked against them to dim their light?
Im mostly just waiting to see wholl still be in his corner this next cycle to find that answer.
CJ: No ones ever leaving.
The beats are too fire.
DL: Maybe its time to find a new muse
CJ: Hell have to flop first.
He and Trump have that in common.
Hes the bag in perpetuity.
Folkll jump ship as soon as its no longer a lucrative partnership.
Well, thats not fully fair.
Folk stick around because they see something worth saving too.
The real question in the current climate is what Kanye could possibly do to even lose his platform.
Does de-platforming still exist in a climate where real outrage gets pawned off as cancel culture?
SHS: You cant really vote with your wallet anymore.
Its not hard to hate-listen to something.
Kanyes not going anywhere, but I do wonder if hell be able to find his musical center again.
He does seem to be looking for it.
Fishing for hits worked wonders for the clout but not for the creativity.
(Note that none of them broke Top 40.)
Is there any insight to be gained by listening to all five of these albums in a row?
Full disclosure: I got a coupleDaytonaandK.T.S.E.
slaps in a running party playlist I hear weekly.
I listened toYeandGhoststo prep for this roundtable, and something still felt missing.
Beautiful beats … RIP Aretha.
And maybe its what consumerism deserves.
This much Im sure of: Kanye wins.
