Yeezus 2?
Kanye West‘s last album, Yeezus, his most controversial and polarizing work since 2008’s 808’s & Heartbreak, had fans and critics alike up in arms due to his genre-blending, rough, industrial approach to the soundscape of the LP, but when it was all said and done, Ye clocked in some of the highest and most positive acclaim and reviews he’s ever attained in his career.
His upcoming, yet-to-be-titled 7th studio album is, according to Q-Tip, being executive produced by Q-Tip himself and Rick Rubin (who stepped in at the last minute to become the executive producer of Yeezus), and in an interview with Self-Titled Magazine, Evian Christ, who largely contributed to the room-shattering “I’m In It” (Yeezus) instrumental, let loose with a few interesting tidbits about the process he now has to go through to provide what Ye will need on his new music. Read a short excerpt from the cover story.
We finish our pints and head back to his car. Leary says he has a bunch of ideas and songs but notes that only about 5 percent will survive his rigorous editing process. There’s also the issue of getting distracted by other projects—like the next Kanye West record. “I’ve got to get home and write an Otis Redding–style beat for him,” explains Leary. “He e-mailed last night. He wants something that sounds a bit like Otis Redding, a bit like Mobb Deep.”
Christ also went into detail about one of his failed ventures, a collaboration with Mastermind rapper Rick Ross, who apparently backed out of working with Christ after deciding to be less experimental with the album’s sound.
In the past 12 months, Drake, Tinashe and Tyga have all mulled over Evian Christ productions. As did Rick Ross, who was interested in a “game-changing” industrial groove not far from Yeezus. But Ross ultimately declined. We ask what will happen to the Ross track, and Leary can barely disguise how much this one stung. “Nothing,” he says. “[Artists] hit up guys like me because they’re partly invested in this idea of being progressive and cool and this resurgence of independent producers. When it comes down to picking 10 songs for an album, they’re always going to go with the Pharrell hook that’s produced by Dr. Luke, not some weird six-minute jam that I’ve made. It’s hard to close out these records.
