Kanye West New 2014 Album to Feature Classic Soul Samples
Kanye West is expected to release a follow up to his Yeezus album in 2014 and new developments point to the rapper returning to his signature soul sampling for the project.
Bilboard reports that Kanye's new project will have a similar tone to Yeezus with a mix of his previous projects.
"A source says that two weeks ago, there's 12 songs on the album. Out of six heard, it's mostly a mixture of soul samples and tamed 'Yeezus'-esque darkness … nothing abrasive," wrote the publication.
This news also debunks previous rumors that pointed to West having just eight songs on the next album. Other reports pointed to him trying out some spoken word poetry on the record.
Producer Evian Christ recently discussed a request West made via email which also might hint at the type of sound the rapper is going for this time around.
"[Kayne] emailed last night. He wants something that sounds a bit like Otis Redding, a bit like Mobb Deep," said Christ to Self Titled.
He also praised West for his courage to experiment with his sound.
"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," added Christ. "Kanye is a dream to work with. 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.'"
West's last album Yeezus challenged various norms in the hip-hop genre and was met with mixed reviews. Media outlets such as Rolling Stone praised the record while radio personalities such as Power 105.1's Charlemagne the God called the album "trash" to Kanye himself during an interview.
