S. Samuel
Grammy-winning rapper Kanye West stole the spotlight last night (June 9) at the Governors Ball in New York City where he premiered new Yeezus tracks, unloaded on radio promotion and revealed his disinterest in record sales.
Mr. West took center stage in the Big Apple with a couple tracks fans had already grew familiar with.
Flanked by a pair of jumbotrons flashing vidoes of barking dogs and Adbusters-y imagery, ‘Ye opened his set with the established Yeezus cuts “Black Skinhead” and “New Slaves” — in other words, the same thing you saw on his recent Saturday Night Live outing. While both songs were on the aggressive side, so far “New Slaves” seems to be the more enjoyable (or at least approachable) of the two. Other new songs turned up as the show went on, like the scream-y song “I Am a God,” which includes an early contender for the best lyric of 2013: “Hurry up with my d*mn croissants.” And then there was the intriguing techno-rap “On Site” and, later in the set, a mysterious little jam backed by a rubbery beat and wailing riffs — but no title. (Entertainment Weekly)
Yeezus himself also used last night’s stage to go off about his new LP’s promotion, or rather lack thereof.
“This is the part of the show when I start complaining about sh*t, justifying sh*t, but you know how it is,” he says as he let the menacing beat of “Clique” ride. ‘Ye continued to rant about the rollout of his album and his lack of care behind promotion and radio play: “With this album we ain’t drop no single to radio. We ain’t got no NBA campaign, nothing like that. Sh*t, we ain’t even got no cover. We just made some real music. Like, back when I used to make albums and sh*t, a couple years ago, we’d go away and work on the album for months or something. We’d always have to hold the album to like August, or September or till the perfect moment and sh*t. Because it mean that ‘I think would sell more if it get more audience and sh*t.’ But honestly at this point when I listen to radio, that ain’t where I want to be no more. Honestly at this point, I could give a f*ck about selling a million records as long as I put out an album for the summer that y’all can rock to for all f*ckin’ summer… At this point I don’t really give a f*ck about outside opinion.” (Billboard)
A full listing of the tracks Ye performed at the event has surfaced online.
1. “Black Skinhead” 2. “New Slaves” 3. “Mercy” 4. “Cold” 5. “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” 6. “Power” 7. “I Am A God” 8. ” Jesus Walks” 9. “Say You Will” 10. “Heartless” 11. “Flashing Lights” 12. “All of the Lights” 13. “Clique” 14. “Don’t Like” 15. “On Site” 16. “All Falls Down” 17. “Stronger” 18. “Diamonds from Sierra Leone” 19. Rihanna’s “Diamonds (Remix)” 20. “Runaway” 21. “Black Skinhead” (Billboard)
The night before, Kanye celebrated his 36th birthday with some help courtesy of rap moguls Jay-Z and Nas.
There was no shortage of star power at Kanye West’s 36th birthday bash in New York on Saturday night. Mr. West’s famous friends gathered to toast him at the private celebration at Jamaican restaurant Miss Lily’s. Beyoncé and Jay-Z held court in one corner, while illusionist David Blaine posed for a photo with Scott Disick. Fresh off the stage at the Governors Ball, Nas also joined the party. “Yeezus x Hov x Godson …. The 3 Gods. Happy Birthday to my brotha Kanye!” tweeted Nas. (Rap-Up)
Check out footage from the Governors Ball:
