“I went from the favorite/To the most hated/But would you rather be underpaid or overrated?”
Jay-Z
Here we are kicking off another Friday evening with some exquisite sounds from the mind of Kanye West. For tonight’s G.O.O.D. Friday offering, the Chi-town superstar brings in some new faces (Pusha T, Cyhi the Prynce, RZA), keeps a few familiar friends (Jay-Z, Swizz Beatz) and eliminates a series stalwart (Charlie Wilson). The result? A bevy of strong performances in a composition that only loses steam at the very end.
If the beat sounds familiar, you’re not crazy. Earlier this year, Chris Brown and Tyga handled a variation of these rhythms on “I’m So Raw.” Kanye’s version sounds a lot bigger, and as a result retains a pronounced cinematic mood. The string and keyboard arrangements give off a ruminative color that adds seriousness to the endeavor.
Thankfully, Swizz Beatz doesn’t attempt to rhyme like he did last week on “Lord, Lord, Lord.” Instead, his part is confined to a few opening and closing bars between the real emcees. Kanye opens with a verse grounded in decadence, but sprinkled with quick but clear moments of spiritual reflection. The opening bars detail a scenario of rampant womanizing conceptualized as a simple business matter (“Baby you’re fired/Your girlfriend hired/But if you don’t mind I’m a keep you on call…). His moments of spiritual clarity come just as quick as his embrace of materialism, so the listener is hit with many contrasting images in short intervals (“Praises due to the Most High, Allah!/ Praises due to the most fly, Prada!”).
While Kanye’s appalled at himself, we know Jay-Z has never had that problem. Shawn Carter aims his pen at one of his favorite targets; those who aspire to knock him off his throne (“I’m fresher than you all/So I don’t have to pause/All of y’all can suck my dick through my draws”). With his recent cover spot on Forbes and sit-down discussion with Warren Buffett, Jay-Z is not in the mood to justify his place in history like he did seven years ago on the Black Album. Now, he’s demanding his foes to face the facts of their careers against his.
“Moral victories is for minor league coaches/And ‘Ye already told you we major you cockroaches!” Jay spits. “Show me where the boats is/Ferrari testarossas/And Hammer went broke so you know I’m more focused/I lost $30 mil so I spent another 30/’Cause unlike Hammer $30 million can’t hurt me!”
Pusha T coming after Jay is a point of interest, because he tackles the track in content the way a young Jay-Z circa Reasonable Doubt would do. The cocaine talk is still present, but Pusha is able to tap into the self-reflection the production screams out for.
“Black jack I just pulled an ace/You looking at the king in his face,” Pusha rhymes. “Everything I dreamed, motherfucker, I watching it take place/While to you I’m just a young rich nigga who lacks faith…I speak the gospel/Hostel/Tony doing time for what he did to nostrils/Paranoid mind/I’m still under the watchful/Eye of the law/Aspire for more/From kilos ‘caine we gave you Bobby Brown jaw.”
Surprisingly, newcomer Cyhi the Prynce doesn’t bring down the quality of the song in handling the last full verse. In fact, his wordplay utilizing the months of the year to detail a sexual fling will make you wonder if he’s been helping Kanye with some of his recent one-liners (“I met this girl on Valentine’s Day/Fucked her in May/She found out about April/So she chose to March”). It’s nothing jaw-dropping like AZ on “Life’s a Bitch,” but its nonetheless a very good intro verse that’ll ensure people will be checking for his first solo tracks.
Everything was well until the RZA drops a garish rendition of the chorus for close to a minute. The production and RZA’s voice hit each other like nails on a chalkboard, and whatever zone you had been up to that point is completely destroyed. Thankfully, just as you get ready to turn it off Swizz Beatz reappears to signal the song’s end.
We’re a long way off from Christmas week. That is the designated time Kanye West has given to end his G.O.O.D. Friday series. The question becomes how much quality music and all-star collaboration lineups can ‘Ye drop in the next 13 weeks? No one can predict for sure, but we’re all going to love to watch him try. In fact, you can count this writer as among those hoping he extends the series through New Year’s Eve.
Kanye West feat. Jay-Z, Pusha T, Cyhi the Prynce and The RZA “So Appalled”
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 