Kanye West “Power”

After the introverted, auto-tune assisted balladry of 2008′s 808s & Heartbreak, Kanye West returns to the extroverted chest thumping we know and love by way of “Power”, the first taste of the rapper’s fifth studio LP Good Ass Job. And what an aptly named track it is, a full five minutes of fire that shrugs the auto-tune, the self-doubt and the pop art gimmicks by revisiting the anthemic swagger West pioneered in his pre-808s oeuvre. And really that’s when Ye’s at his best.

In this self-aware evaluation of what Kanye West means to pop culture, the rapper attempts to convince the world he’s not as douchey as the media would have you believe, spouting bombastic King-of-the-World couplets and carefully crafted media snipes over a triumphant beat that’s cleverly anchored in King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man”.

Throw in Dwele at the bridge and incendiary lines about the cast of Saturday Night Live and you’ve got yourself an intriguing first single. Says West: “Fuck SNL and the whole cast/ Tell em Yeezy said they can kiss my whole ass/ more specifically they can kiss my asshole/ I’m an asshole?/ You n@#%s got jokes.” Turns out Ye’s got jokes too and when Good Ass Job drops later this year he’ll probably have the last laugh on everyone, just like he predicted all those years ago.

What do you think.. Is it classic Ye or Nay?

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download