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CRITIC REVIEWS
90
Even at 23 minutes, it almost feels like two different albums: an aggressive, dissonant one, and an empathetic, soulful one.
80
Ye paints a vivid picture of Kanye's current state of self and, for as brief as it is, succeeds as an intimate exploration of family and mental health.
80
While the troubled megastar is tender, warm and devoid of ego, the old Kanye hasn’t completely left us.
80
Suicidal ideation, greed, marital strife and paternal sexual obsessions as entertainment: just another day chez West.
80
ye merely excels in surface-scratching instead of the transcendent territories that spawned the Kanye everyone loved. Sometimes less does not equate to more.
80
Whatever you think of his politics, his songwriting, sample-hunting and beat-making remain dynamic, surprising and ballsy.
80
Substantially more focused than its predecessor, it packs a lot into 23 minutes. It is bold, risky, infuriating, compelling and a little exhausting: a vivid reflection of its author.
79
Although ‘ye’ probably will never sit in the upper echelons of Kanye West’s musical legacy, it is by no means a project that is at the bottom of the pile either, an impressive feat in only a month.
75
After a year full of controversy for West, he leads his album by addressing many of his statements while delivering his typically hilarious and thoughtful lyricism. Where the album often falls flat however is in the inconsistent backing tracks, that can feel like filler for Kanye’s vocals at their most bland.
75
Kanye can’t convey his obsessions—drugs, death, sex, fame—with the eloquence of, say, Danny Brown. But he can still create thunderous blasts of sound on par with anyone on the planet, and Ye’s best moments are reminders of that. It’s a prismatic album, reflecting its creator’s entire body of work.
75
He’s been pushing the envelope for most of his career, but on ye, he’s consolidating old skills, not testing out new ones. The lack of wow-factor, combined with the short length, makes the album feel somewhat slight.
71
It is an album born from chaos for chaos’ sake, an album that can barely be bothered to refer to that chaos with anything more committal than a Kanye shrug.
70
If West had better delved into his emotional and psychological turmoil in Ye's lyrics, instead of getting bogged down with click-baity asides, then this LP would've been a classic. Let's hope this soul gets the help he needs, so that he can give us a better glimpse into his psyche on his next LP.
70
At seven tracks and 23 minutes the record is concise. It's also beholden to his family only and intimately genuine. Even in recovery Kanye West holds nothing back.
70
ye might not be the classic that we needed, and he needed more than ever; but Kanye is revealing enough to have us appreciate the insight and bop our heads along the way.
70
Right in the middle of the furore, ye sallies forth, Kanye’s eighth, deeply egotistical, candidly self-aware, frequently cringe-inducing, captivatingly produced and infuriatingly compelling record.
70
Although not a masterpiece like My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, ye shares an abbreviated, yet complete look at Kanye, both the highs and the lows.
70
‘ye’ is by no means Kanye West’s finest moment, but it’s a reminder not to count him out just yet.
67
Now more than ever, Kanye West needed to deliver a bombastic fireworks display. Instead, he’s arrived, amidst a storm of controversy, waving sparklers.
60
Nobody can deny this mini album flirts with brilliance, and feels like a pop cultural moment straight out the gate; we just wish there was a little more to it.
60
Over a brief seven tracks, the 40-year-old superstar confirms his production prowess, veering between sparse, hyper-modern styles and compositions which hark back to the soulful bent of the producer-turned-rapper’s early career; a volatile mix of the sweet and the acrid, the sentimental and the tendentious.
60
As he struggles to find his footing in a strange new world, there is still merit in a work like Ye if you can somehow look past the self-destructive celebrity behind it.
60
While the seven-song brevity of Pusha-T’s Daytona enhanced its potency, the similar play length hinders Ye: an album this short would have to economize time to cover a lot of ground, and Kanye lacks the precision to deliver.
58
In the end, this album is about one person and one person only.
55
While some fans have been quick to shriek “terrible!” and the like, West risked his inner world in a bi-polar story. Equally misguided will be the claims of brilliance: whether rushed or bare by intent, Ye suffers from an abundance of ideas and a lack of follow through.
50
A hollow document and a dumb spectacle, ye is the work of an artist who’s maybe been bargaining with no one but himself this whole time.
50
His verses mostly feel redundant, hastily thrown together to validate the presence of these songs on his project, and while the album has been described as introspective this very brief release only allows for skindeep thoughts on any one topic. The Kanye West show has already rolled on, but some of the magic of yesteryear has been left behind.
50
Ye can feel uneven, sometimes boring, and more indulgent than usual, but it's a fascinating peek into West's psyche.
50
It could have been worse. But who thought that would ever be a standard Kanye West would settle for?
50
The Kanye West we loved is gone. This man is a caricature. A copy of a copy. A meme.
48
Maybe Kanye West exorcised all his demons onto the tape for ye, and that's great for the guy, but at the end of the day it's as hollow as a rich rapper telling you to love everyone over twitter, and the guts he's spilling still stink.
40
If there are levels to this shit, some secret series of redemptive insider nods and brainy puzzles worth solving, West’s stans can keep them to themselves to nibble on like so much mousetrap cheese. For the rest of us, a millionaire’s stream-of-consciousness string of mental disorder admissions and rehashed rap lechery doesn’t suit West’s maturing genius.
40
Perhaps if Kanye had simply called ye an EP or a mixtape it would have been passable, a fun little project, but as a 'studio album' it feels like a pointless exercise.
40
Technically, ye is fine. Tracks are catchy and have slick production. In typical Kanye fashion, samples come from inspired deep cuts, far-ranging influences that miraculously fit together when assembled by West. But in 2018, most people don’t have Kim Kardashian-level patience for delusions of grandeur and denial of any social responsibility.
40
Unlike Pusha's Daytona, which is all muscle and sinew, Ye feels like a mix of the weakest moments from The Life of Pablo. For the first time in his career, Kanye hasn't saved the best beats for himself. He hasn't even saved the best verses for himself. In many cases, it's debatable if what he did save qualifies as “verses” at all.
30
ye isn’t just an album that makes you question why it was made, it makes you question the entire concept of albums as an artform.
TLDR: AOTY. Kanye's done it again. Not as good as MBDTF or LR, better than 808s & Yeezus. Sweet, very personal project with impeccable production, the tightest lyrical performance since MBDTF and a couple of bangers. Couple of dad jokes too but they're funny & charismatic.
Best Advice? Ignore the reviews. It's a short album, give it 3 or 4 listens and make your own mind up. People are too emotional to be objective. Don't poison the well, think for yourself. I think you'll probably ... read more
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𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 #𝟎𝟗- 𝐘𝐄
The most beautiful thoughts are always besides the darkest.
Kanye’s self-titled album and, in my opinion, one of his most underrated- ‘ye’. ‘ye’ is just about as personal as a self-titled album should be. Just like Kanye did for the creation process of MBDTF, he went into self-imposed isolation. This time, however, Ye went to Wyoming. This isolation was ... read more
I want to say that Kanye is on his decline, as this solo effort is less than impressive. However his production remains stellar on the other G.O.O.D. Music releases from this summer. Kanye's artistry and vision are still intact, but lyrically and conceptually this is his weakest effort yet, although there is no shortage of good moments on this LP.
fav tracks: I Thought About Killing You, Yikes, Violent Crimes
Does not deserve to be rated as low as it is. great record, but ultimately leaves me wanting more
Some songs are just decent, but the heavy hitters are some of his best songs ever! Loved the style of this album, and it's his last good solo work in my opinion.
Ye es el proyecto más personal de Kanye. En este proyecto Kanye habla acerca de sus inseguridades, su adicción hacia los opioides, la autoestima, sus problemas mentales, su lujuria, su cambio de perspectiva hacia las mujeres y también hay una dedicatoria a Kim Kardashian. Muchos fans de Kanye afirman que este es el peor disco de Kanye, pero tiene para mí una de las mejores canciones de Kanye como es "GHOST TOWN" que sin duda es el clímax del ... read more
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Track List
| 1 | I Thought About Killing You 4:34 | 83 |
| 2 | Yikes 3:08 | 85 |
| 3 | All Mine 2:25 | 73 |
| 4 | Wouldn't Leave 3:25 feat. PARTYNEXTDOOR | 79 |
| 5 | No Mistakes 2:03 | 83 |
| 6 | Ghost Town 4:31 feat. PARTYNEXTDOOR | 96 |
| 7 | Violent Crimes 3:35 | 92 |
Total Length: 23 minutes
Year End Lists
| #7 | / | The New York Times: Jon Caramanica |
| #10 | / | The Music |
| #14 | / | BLARE |
| #16 | / | Gaffa (Denmark) |
| #23 | / | Tiny Mix Tapes |
| #32 | / | The Needle Drop |
| #34 | / | NME |
| / | Gothamist | |
| / | Time Out New York |
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1w
i know it wasn't ye's intent, but they way he talks about north in violent crimes is just kinda weird ngl...
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Added on: May 30, 2018