The old saying goes that an artist is so popular, he or she could shit on wax and people would buy it.
Well, superstar rapper Kanye West is putting that theory to the test, literally.
Well, except the wax in this case isn’t vinyl records (which was the medium that inspired the phrase for all you millennials out there).
It’s cyberspace.
And no, I’m not referring to his recent return to Twitter and his professed “brotherly” love and respect for POTUS No. 45, which actually isn’t that baffling anymore considering the source.
I’m talking about his new song, called “Lift Yourself,” released via a link to his website on Friday (I’m admittedly late to the party, folks… I would have blogged about this earlier had I heard it before now).
The oft-criticized rapper released the song only days after a Twitter rant that renewed questions about his mental state after he cancelled shows a year ago and took a self-imposed social media hiatus that lasted nearly a year. The break followed a tough period for West after he incoherently lashed out about a number of topics (several related to Jay-Z and Beyoncé and Tidal).
It’s hard sometimes to discern whether West is keeping it real or he’s simply stirring up controversy for controversy’s sake. As the Trump-supporting tweets showed last week, West, once one of the most important and influential black artists out there, is nothing if he’s not controversial.
Yet, any hopes that his forthcoming new music, which he also tweeted about, would return public focus to his art (particularly the caliber he was known for before The Life Of Pablo) may have been dashed by “Lift Yourself.”
The song is only 2:28 in running time, and begins with a soulful female vocal sample that takes up the first minute, at about which time a simplistic beat kicks in and underlies most of the remaining part of the track. (The beat and the female vocal are kinda dope though.)
But Kanye’s voice isn’t heard until there are 0:44 seconds remaining in the tune. That’s when he begins talking over the beats, saying “What they don’t really realize, though, this next verse, this next verse, though, these bars…”
And then he shits…
“Whoopdedy-scoop, whoopdedy-whoop-scoop-poop/ Poop/ Poop…”
No, seriously. That’s his entire rap…and then the track abruptly ends.
He did have this to say about the track just prior to its release:
So, what does all the “poop” mean? Maybe Ye will explain it later. Or maybe he won’t.
The question remains though: is Kanye West so popular that he could literally shit on wax and his fans will still buy it?
Ye did redeem himself partly with the follow-up track, “Ye vs The People,” a more palatable duet with rapper T.I., in which West further takes credit for the civil discourse he claims to have sparked by his vocal (if not ironic) support of Trump.
But, what do you think (about his new music, not his politics)?
Give “Lift Yourself” a listen in this clip:
DJRob