Yeezus

Untitled

Yeezus is the upcoming sixth studio album by American hip hop recording artist Kanye West. It is set to be released on June 18, 2013 by Roc-A-Fella Records, with distribution by Def Jam Recordings. The album was primarily recorded in Paris, with West enlisting various artists and close collaborators for work and production. Initial promotion of the album included worldwide video projections of the album's music and live television performances.

Background

Projection of "New Slaves" on the W Hotel in Los Angeles.

In July 2012, producer No I.D. revealed that he had been working with West on the latter's sixth solo studio album and went on to state that it would be released after Cruel Summer (2012), a collaborative compilation album between members of West's record label GOOD Music. At a February 2013 concert in Paris, West himself acknowledged his work on the album and stated that he would "be back in about a couple months." Reports later emerged that he had moved to the city to work on the album. West enlisted several close collaborators, including singer-songwriter The-Dream and spoken word artist Malik Yusef, to contribute to the album. The album's recording process was described as "very raw" by Thomas Bangalter of French electronic duo Daft Punk, who produced two songs for the album. Other artists reported to have worked with West include S1, The Heatmakerz, Skrillex, Young Chop, Chief Keef, Frank Ocean, Odd Future, Travis Scott, King L, John Legend, James Blake, RZA, Mase and Pusha T. Hot 97 radio host Peter Rosenberg later stated that Def Jam Recordings executives had listened to the final product, describing the album as "dark".

Promotion and release

On May 1, 2013, West used the social networking site Twitter to post a single message reading "June Eighteen", leading several media outlets to speculate that the post referred to the release date of West's upcoming album. On May 17, he began promotion of the album by unveiling the previously unreleased song "New Slaves" through video projections in sixty-six assorted locations. The following day, West appeared on the American late-night live television sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live and performed the songs "New Slaves" and "Black Skinhead". He subsequently revealed the album's cover and title, Yeezus, on his official website. Digital retailer iTunes made Yeezus available for pre-order on May 20, listing fourteen untitled tracks; however, it was subsequently removed. On May 29, A.P.C. founder Jean Touitou unveiled an advertisement for Yeezus. The advertisement read "no pre order please purchase," leaving many media outlets assuming that the album won't be available for pre-order. Since then, the Jean Touitou tweet displaying the Yeezus ad has been deleted.

Track listing

{{Track listing | extra_column = Producer(s) | writing_credits = yes | title1 = On Site | note1 = featuring Skrillex | writer1 = | extra1 = | length1 =

| title2 = Send It Up | note2 = featuring Chief Keef, [[Travis Scott (rapper)|Travis Scott] & King L | writer2 = | extra2 = | length2 =

| title3 = Legendary Status | note3 = featuring Pusha T & Jay-Z | writer3 = | extra3 = | length3 =

| title4 = New Slaves | note4 = featuring Frank Ocean | writer4 = | extra4 = | length4 =

| title5 = Black Skinhead | note5 = | writer5 = | extra5 = | length5 =

| title6 = 1 Bachelor, 2 Roses | note6 = featuring John Legend, Common & Malik Yusef | writer6 = | extra6 = | length6 =

| title7 = Bound | note7 = | writer7 = | extra7 = | length7 =

| title8 = Perfect Bitch | note8 = | writer8 = | extra8 = | length8 =

| title9 = Awesome | note9 = | writer9 = | extra9 = | length9 =

| title10 = Odyssey | note10 = featuring James Blake | writer10 = | extra10 = | length10 =

| title11 = Shed No Tears | note11 = featuring Bon Iver, D'banj & The-Dream | writer11 = | extra11 = | length11 =

| title12 = I Am God | note12 = | writer12 = | extra12 = | length12 =

| title13 = Fallen | note13 = | writer13 = | extra13 = | length13 = }}