Kanye West is a controversial artist, in more ways than one. From his rocky relationship with Taylor Swift to his penchant for Twitter rants, there’s never a shortage of news from the Chicago rapper. But his music also fails to fit into normality, with harsh sounds focussing on artistic vision over easy listening. It’s along these lines that conductor Yuga Cohler and arranger Stephen Feigenbaum draw parallels between another great musician: Ludwig Van Beethoven.
The project (perfectly titled Yeethoven) is hosted by the Young Musicians Foundation, and aims to “splice together” six Kanye tracks with six Beethoven tracks. The mission is to show how contemporary pop music and classical music are fundamentally similar. It’s ambitious to say the least, but certainly not the first time hip-hop and classical orchestration have joined forces.
The curators believe that the composer and the rapper are similar than one might think, citing their “willingness to ruthlessly upend tradition and their influence on the larger culture can’t be overstated.”
The combined tracks actually sound great.I’ve always been pro-Yeezy, and even if you don’t like the man (some say god) himself, you should recognise his music as being really good. But I have to say, this is something else. Yeezus featured remarkably brash production, and blended a lot of classical elements with abrasive electronics, so it’s interesting to see a classical orchestra tackle it.
The first videos of the Yeethoven orchestra’s performances have surfaced, with Blood On The Leaves and New Slaves being. Check them out below:
Image: BET