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Everything We Know So Far About Kanye West’s “WAVES”

Mitchell Turner

Kanye West sure knows how to make a spectacle out of an album release. In case you’ve been living under a Twitterproof rock for the past few weeks, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to compile your crash course to the upcoming album So Help Me God. Wait… make that Swish. Hang on, it’s Waves now. You get the idea. Enjoy.

1. Kanye West is the most indecisive mind in the music industry

Famous for his perfectionist nature in the booth and behind the boards, Kanye has developed an infamous reputation for withholding projects until he has perfected even the most minute details that the average listener would be blissfully unaware of. In the release of the Real Friends track, Kanye had originally released the song, but took it down and subsequently re-uploaded a version that didn’t suffer from a “slight distortion in the main loop”.

Kanye has now shifted his indecisiveness to the naming of the album. What began as a fitting title in So Help Me God, quickly morphed into Swish. Following the release of an album release date and singles beginning to steadily appear in the lead-up to the launch, fans received another Kanye curveball.

As fans of Kanye West, we can certainly not rule out another name change between now and the date that the album arrives in our hot little hands.

2. It has been one hell of a collaborative process

Waves is establishing itself as a powerhouse of hip-hop personas and production, if one little piece of paper is to go by. What originally began as a track listing has evolved into a guest book of musical greats, each signature and message setting mouths watering all over the globe. From subtle nods to A$AP Rocky, The-Dream, Swizz Beatz, Chance the Rapper and Mike Dean, the track listing is of course adorned with seemingly every member of the Kardashian clan. The tracks we have been treated to so far (namely No More Parties in LA and Real Friends) have featured none other than Kendrick Lamar and Ty Dolla $ign, with legendary stalwarts such as Madlib lending a hand to production. It would seem that we are in for one heck of an aural treat with this album; a star-studded selection of rap’s ‘who’s who’.

3. TMI: Kanye enjoys anal play in the bedroom 

In one of the most bizarre Twitter tirades courtesy of Mr West (and that’s saying something), Wiz Khalifa and Amber Rose were caught in the crosshairs of Yeezy as he exploded into an aggressive an out of line rant. What transpired however, was Amber Rose delivering what could prove to be the stellar rebuttal of 2016, and it’s only January.

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Slightly too much information for my Thursday morning, Amber. But I’ll let it slide.

4. It will not be the greatest album of all time

It will be the greatest album “of the life,” if Kanye’s opinion is anything to go by.

It’s going to be tough to dethrone My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy at the top of the Yeezy discography tree, but the possibility is still there if we are treated  to the same high standard we have received with the singles already. A CDQ version of Wolves featuring Vic Mensa and Sia might be enough to push the standard of this album into the stratosphere. For now we can listen to No More Parties in LA for the umpteenth time.

5. ‘KK’ is slang for weed, not Kim Kardashian (but this didn’t stop him from launching into one hell of a tirade about Wiz Khalifa)

Kids these days and their drug paraphernalia slang…

6. The ride certainly is not over

One this is for sure. Until this album is delivering sonic pleasures into our eardrums, this fiasco will roll on, and you can be sure that Kanye West will continue to do whatever it takes to ensure that Waves is front and centre in our minds. Even if that means changing the name of the damn album again.

You can count on Howl & Echoes to keep you up to date with the latest Waves whisperings and happenings as they develop.