The Life of Pablo

Untitled

Swish is the upcoming seventh studio album by American hip hop artist Kanye West. It is scheduled to be released on February 11, 2016, by GOOD Music, Roc-A-Fella Records, and Def Jam Recordings.

Background

West began work on Swish during the summer of 2014.

On August 12, 2014, a song, titled "All Day" was leaked online; it had previously been mentioned by Kanye, during an interview with GQ Magazine earlier that year. On December 31, 2014, Kanye released the first official single from the album, a collaboration with Paul McCartney titled "Only One". On January 21, 2015, a music video was released for the song.

On February 12, 2015, during the Adidas Yeezy "SEASON 1" fashion show event, held in New York City, a new song was premiered, titled "Wolves", featuring Vic Mensa and Sia Furler. It was produced by Cashmere Cat, and Sinjin Hawke. It was also confirmed to be, the first song on the album. On February 25, 2015, Kanye performed a live rendition of the previously leaked "All Day" during the 2015 Brit Awards.

On March 1, 2015, Kanye announced the album title as So Help Me God, though the title was later changed to Swish. On March 2, 2015, Kanye released the official studio version of "All Day" via his website, and iTunes. It was produced by West, and co-produced by Velous. The song also features Paul McCartney, Theophilus London, and Allan Kingdom.

On September 16, 2015, during the Adidas Yeezy "SEASON 2" fashion show event, yet another song rumored to be included on the album, was premiered, titled "Fade." It features Post Malone and Ty Dolla Sign.

On January 8, 2016, Kim Kardashian announced via Twitter that Kanye would drop a new song, and also simultaneously announced the return of GOOD Fridays. West had previously done a weekly free music giveaway, leading up to the release of his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. That same day, Kanye released a song via SoundCloud, titled "Real Friends", featuring Ty Dolla Sign. A snippet of another song, titled "No More Parties in LA" was also released, featuring Kendrick Lamar.

On January 8, 2016, West announced the official release date of Swish, via Twitter.

On January 18, 2016, after releasing a snippet of the song a week prior, West, via SoundCloud, released "No More Parties in LA", featuring Kendrick Lamar. The production of the song was handled by Madlib, and West. The song samples "Suzie Thundertussy" by Walter Morrison.

Recording and production

In February 2015, West confirmed that the album was 80% complete and said:

I'm trying to get it finished. I'm trying to get it to the people… Release dates is played out. So the surprise is going to be a surprise. There go the surprise... [It’s] cookout music that just feels good. My last album was protest music. I was like, 'I'm going to take my ball and go home.'

It was reported that West had worked with a number of artists including: 2 Chainz, 808 Mafia, James Blake, Bon Iver, Evian Christ, Taylor Swift, Common, Da Internz, Metro Boomin, Lana Del Rey, DJ Mustard, El DeBarge, Eminem, James Fauntleroy, JAY-Z, Beyoncé, Theophilus London, Montana of 300, Consequence, French Montana, Pusha T, Will Smith, Q-Tip, Rihanna, Sia Furler, Vic Mensa, Gee Roberson, Rick Rubin, Travis $cott, Symbolyc One, Teyana Taylor, Ty Dolla $ign, Tyga, Mike WiLL Made-It, Young Chop, Hudson Mohawke, Young Thug and Malik Yusef.

Multiple reports cited that the album was written and recorded in Los Angeles, Mexico and Florence, Italy. West's time in Los Angeles was rumored to be at Shangri-La Studios, home base of famed producer and Yeezus executive producer Rick Rubin. Ty Dolla $ign reported his experience recording with West and McCartney, saying they were "...in Mexico, at this big house. The back of the house had no walls and no doors; it was just open [and facing] the ocean. You would think he would want the mic enclosed and all that but we just had the doors open, and it came out perfect."

Rappers Pusha T & Consequence confirmed that they had ended their "beef", in order to work with West on SWISH, with Consequence saying in an interview: "Pusha [T] and I deaded everything and we creatively vibed with Kanye for this new LP."

GOOD Music producer Evian Christ said in an interview with "Self-Titled": “Kanye wants something that sounds a bit like Otis Redding, a bit like Mobb Deep.” Christ explained, what that West isn’t always musically clear, as West just seems "...interested in pushing aesthetic boundaries as far into the Avant as possible. Kanye is the one dude who’s like, ‘This is not experimental enough. This is too poppy. Make something else.’ The other guys are like, ‘We don’t get it.'” Christ, admitted that Kanye’s "a dream to work with", adding that "...no one else gives you that level of creative freedom. When he wants you to work to a blueprint, the blueprint is: ‘Don’t make a rap beat. Anything but a rap beat.'"

Big Sean spoke about the multiple recording locations involed in the album in an interview with MTV, whilst promoting his own third studio album, Dark Sky Paradise, “...we done did a couple, to like Mexico, like how we did Hawaii before and stuff like that. We work as unit for sure, that’s all I’m gonna say I’m not gonna drop nothing else.”

At a screening for his new film Focus actor and rapper Will Smith also said that he had been in the studio with West. At the screening Smith said: “I think I may have gotten inspired again, I went into the studio a few months ago with Kanye. Sort of top secret so, maybe.”. It is unknown if these tracks are for SWISH or for Smith's upcoming comeback album.

Production for the album continued in Mexico, with collaborator Ty Dolla $ign, Paul McCartney & singer Rihanna. "[In] like 24 hours, [we recorded] seven songs or nine songs that day." He said in an interview with Pitchfork "I was like, 'I'm here with Kanye, I'm not gonna waste my time.' They really wanted me to stay for like a week, but I only had like two days, 'cause I was about to start the Under the Influence of Music Tour. He was open to my input, like, 'do whatever you want to do. Here's your mic. Do you need anything?' I'm like 'Awesome! Let's get it!' [We were] in Mexico, at this big house. The back of the house had no walls and no doors; it was just open [and facing] the ocean. You would think he would want the mic enclosed and all that but we just had the doors open, and it came out perfect."

In an interview with Bilboard, James Fauntleroy, who is part of West's GOOD Music labelmate Common's group Cocaine 80s, and was responsible for production work on Justin Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience and The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2 said: "I went in there and did some stuff on that shit. I sang shit on there and left. We'll see how it turns out, when I went in it was early, [during] the early stages. I know there will be a lot more other people, a lot of interjections." Producer Mike Will Made It said: "Kanye has been trying new ideas and has been reaching out to me for new ideas, Whether or not it's the "Black Skinhead" remix, we don't know, but it's definitely dope what we have so far, [We’re] just working, period. It depends on where the music is lands, but hopefully we do something on his next album."

The album's first single "Only One", which features Paul McCartney, was recorded over a two-day period in Mexico in September 2014 in which West and McCartney, alongside other artists, recorded upwards of nine songs. The track was released on December 31, 2014 to the iTunes Store. he song also features uncredited vocals by Ty Dolla Sign. West's wife Kim Kardashian tweeted upon the release of the track that it is her favorite track by West, saying, "People always ask me what my favorite Kanye song is and it's Only One. Kanye feels like his mom sang through him to our daughter." Kanye West is described in a press release as not being able to remember singing the words to "Only One" when he and McCartney were later reviewing the early 2014 sessions that generated the song. Later, West "realized that perhaps the words had never really come from him … he understood in that moment that his late mother, Dr. Donda West, who was also his mentor, confidante, and best friend, had spoken through him that day ... A message had been passed down through generations." Kim also said, "I cry every time I hear this song. And such a beautiful photo of Kanye and North by Inez and Vinoodh." In the song Kanye is singing from the perspective of his late mother Donda West who died in 2007.

The album's second single FourFiveSeconds is a collaboration with Barbadian artist Rihanna and British artist and former Beatles member Paul McCartney. Released on January 24 2015 The song is also set to appear on Rihanna's upcoming eight studio album Anti which is set for a 2016 release date. The song was recorded in 2014 in various locations which led up to the building up of hype on both artist album. The song was reportedly written in 2001 and 2009 when both West and Rihanna did not meet and when they did reportedly collaborate together. Upon release the song was met with acclaim with praise directed at the collaboration between the three, West and Rihanna's performance and Paul's acoustic sound. The single was a international success worldwide topping charts and peaking in the top ten of many countries including the Billboard Hot 100 where it peaked at number 4 in the top ten.

The album's third single "All Day", which features Theophilius London, Allan Kingdom and Paul McCartney, features a sample of what has been confirmed by a representative of West as a re-recording of a song McCartney wrote in 1969 that was inspired by a Pablo Picasso painting of a guitarist, which is supposedly titled: "Two Fingers & Whistling". The track was produced by upcoming producer, Velous, who made the skeleton of the instrumental on a friends couch while watching Saturday Night Live. During an interview with MTV, he also said of French Montana’s involvement on the song: "...although French isn’t your typical “producer”, the ideas he brought to Kanye for the beat were worthy of co-production..." West performed the song at the 2015 Brit Awards (without McCartney) with London, Kingdom, Vic Mensa and a number of UK Grime MC's including: Skepta, Wiley, Novelist, Fekky, Krept & Konan & Stormzy. The music video is set to be shot by 12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen.