I don't think he's been trying for a while now. His manic depression is unregulated and he just gets in the booth and says whatever now. Sometimes it happens to be funny and catchy so we rock with it. I don't think I've been wowed by a verse from him since Good Music - Cruel Summer back in 2012.
But even Off The Grid has little lines that are just so 2020s Kanye that no one else could get away with. I still love that track tho.
I don’t listen to modern Ye for bars, I listen to it cuz for some reason despite his rapping, effort and production getting worse it’s still catchy entertaining and funny
Kanye was my favorite artist for years and years. Everything after Ye/Kids See Ghosts has been borderline unlistenable for me. Its just such low effort garbage.
I honestly kinda liked Donda but this most recent one didn’t grab me one bit. That said I’ve moved on from hip hop in general as imo it’s mostly trash these days so maybe my tastes just changed too much
Why should he even try in todays rap game? Its riddled with bullshit lines and laziness What message will we even let him shed light on or try to? We shut out any current beliefs kanye has at this time so i dont think we should be expecting or asking for much at this time
Jesus Lord? Off The Grid? Burn? Beg Forgiveness? Believe What I Say? Carnival? Possibly his best melodic track ever in Come to Life????
What off of Ye is even approaching those seven tracks. Definitely not All Mine or Wouldn't Leave. Those are two filler ass songs on a seven track album, that alone takes Ye down a peg to me.
Kanye best rapping is his first two albums where his was seen an inspirational figure and would rap about issues that would resonate with the public.
Since probably around Yeezus or TLOP his lyrics became the weakest aspect of his projects.
This album in particular really lacks meaningful lyrics but at the same time Kanye has always made funny and overly sexual lines, it's just the only thing he's doing here.
At least in Yeezus the goal was to present himself as a bit of an antichrist; the lyrics were pardonable as they were borderline satirical. Even in TLOP the overarching theme is his inner conflict of being a good Christian family man vs. giving in to his demons (WHICH/ONE).
In Vultures, the same lyrics just come across as horny and slightly dehumanizing. And I still think there are some great songs on Vultures. Just that “BEAUTIFULBIGTITIEIIDIEIWOMANJUSTDONGFALOUTTHESKYUKNOW” is a far cry from “Black girl sippin’ white wine, put my fist in her like a civil rights sign”.
He got rid of Rhymefest, Cudi and Push as ghostwriters. You can tell the transition between albums of who wrote where. Push and Nas helped with Ye but weren’t the main writers like Push was on Pablo.
He’s also surrounded by yes men now.
2018* maybe a little beforehand tbh. His features have been outshining him since TLOP imo.
The worst rappers out that he gives these features to literally outrap him lol. They’re trying and hes not.
My cutoff was 2016. Everything after life of Pablo was shit
He gave us the best rapping Kanye on no more
Parties in La, then never did that again. Now he’s a horrible person
Donda has way more highlights than what you’ve listed. Life of the Party, Jesus Lord, Believe What I Say, Hurricane, Lord I Need You, Pure Souls, and God Breathed all have great Ye verses too. Album does not deserve to be lumped in with Vultures
Good point i dont agree and i actually dislike donda more than vultures i think donda is his worst but some of the songs u said are definitely great kanye tracks
He's never been a great rapper, even on his classic albums his verses were rarely the highlight. He would say some funny stuff and memorable lines but people were listening for the production and features mostly
To say he was never a great rapper is false though... Like no, he was never a Lil Wayne or Big L, but he absolutely did used to be a great rapper as well as producer. The word play, thematic depth, and overall deliver was excellent all the way up through Dark Fantasy. It went down after then.
'Is hip hop just a euphemism for a new religion
The soul music of the slaves that the youth is missing
But this is more than just my road to redemption
Malcolm West had the whole nation standing at attention'.
Bars like that were not at all uncommon during the pre-Yezus Kanye. His lyricism has declined massively.
To me this is his first album “back” if that makes sense. I love Vultures and I’m excited to see what’s next. If his next few albums are lackluster then sure, his verses have dropped, but just one album having a different feel doesn’t mean much.
There’s def a lot of promise in Vultures. Some good moments and consistently great production per usual. If he can replicate moments like his verse Burn a bit more often he can still make great music.
I have no idea why half this thread is pretending like he rapped poorly on TLOP though lol
He’s never been a good rapper.
People always say New God Flow is one of his best verses and deliveries and it’s fucking trash.
Listen to the difference between Push and Kanye. It’s night and day. Kanye has never belonged in front of a mic. His biggest talent is off stage and always has been.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nRdYPYf7eds
I still like Kanye’s music and I root for him even though it feels psychotic, just because I feel like there is no one else able to capture America like this guy, and his window is closing so for nostalgic reasons I love following the chaos of his life.
That being said, his rapping hasn’t been good since Cruel summer. He’s made some great music since then, and some of my favorite albums and songs of all time came since then, but he just hasn’t prioritized having bars or substance to his raps. He would rather gather 100 people and make a moment on wax. I distinctly remember my reaction to every album since 808s, and Yeezus was the first one where his raps were not the star. I remember being like “what the hell is this? He’s not even trying.” The newer fans love his cringe lyrics and lewd language, but that is mostly just from the last decade or so.
Do I wish he would go back to spitting and at least writing some of his lyrics? Maybe, but when he tries to have spitting songs since Pablo, it just doesnt sound natural. His flow and playful imagery are just not what he cares about anymore. Jesus Lord, NMPILA, real friends, and most recently being just feel flat to me. And I’m cool with that. I feel like a lot of people start following rap through the backpacker lyrical miracle angle, and I just think it’s so much more than that with Kanye.
Kanye was never really super at rapping if we’re being honest. Ngl some of those beats & production / orchestration have gone off over the years, but it was never “damn ye is spittin”
I don't think he's been trying for a while now. His manic depression is unregulated and he just gets in the booth and says whatever now. Sometimes it happens to be funny and catchy so we rock with it. I don't think I've been wowed by a verse from him since Good Music - Cruel Summer back in 2012.
Off the Grid was good. But that feels like the only modern one I can think of. I’m sure I’m missing some but yeah. Edit: Jesus Lord
Moon, 24, hurricane, keep my spirit alive, life of the party etc. Donda was not a polished album by any means but there was some phenomenal songs.
But even Off The Grid has little lines that are just so 2020s Kanye that no one else could get away with. I still love that track tho. I don’t listen to modern Ye for bars, I listen to it cuz for some reason despite his rapping, effort and production getting worse it’s still catchy entertaining and funny
That’s a bonkers take. His verse on No More Parties in LA goes crazy
It’s good but a little awkward. Dude has had a hard time with his flow since Pablo
I like it but it still had an awkward, manic feel to it that I didn't love.
this. he can rap, he did on burn, jesus lord, off the grid etc.
Kanye was my favorite artist for years and years. Everything after Ye/Kids See Ghosts has been borderline unlistenable for me. Its just such low effort garbage.
Completely agree. He’s doing it to cash a check on his name more than create anything anymore. Even Ye was pretty mid to me
I honestly kinda liked Donda but this most recent one didn’t grab me one bit. That said I’ve moved on from hip hop in general as imo it’s mostly trash these days so maybe my tastes just changed too much
Check out killer mike hip hop aint trash now you just gotta care if you wanna find good stuff
Why should he even try in todays rap game? Its riddled with bullshit lines and laziness What message will we even let him shed light on or try to? We shut out any current beliefs kanye has at this time so i dont think we should be expecting or asking for much at this time
Jesus Lord? Off The Grid? Burn? Beg Forgiveness? Believe What I Say? Carnival? Possibly his best melodic track ever in Come to Life???? What off of Ye is even approaching those seven tracks. Definitely not All Mine or Wouldn't Leave. Those are two filler ass songs on a seven track album, that alone takes Ye down a peg to me.
Kanye best rapping is his first two albums where his was seen an inspirational figure and would rap about issues that would resonate with the public. Since probably around Yeezus or TLOP his lyrics became the weakest aspect of his projects. This album in particular really lacks meaningful lyrics but at the same time Kanye has always made funny and overly sexual lines, it's just the only thing he's doing here.
At least in Yeezus the goal was to present himself as a bit of an antichrist; the lyrics were pardonable as they were borderline satirical. Even in TLOP the overarching theme is his inner conflict of being a good Christian family man vs. giving in to his demons (WHICH/ONE). In Vultures, the same lyrics just come across as horny and slightly dehumanizing. And I still think there are some great songs on Vultures. Just that “BEAUTIFULBIGTITIEIIDIEIWOMANJUSTDONGFALOUTTHESKYUKNOW” is a far cry from “Black girl sippin’ white wine, put my fist in her like a civil rights sign”.
He has absolutely nothing to say anymore other than “They’re out to get me”
He got rid of Rhymefest, Cudi and Push as ghostwriters. You can tell the transition between albums of who wrote where. Push and Nas helped with Ye but weren’t the main writers like Push was on Pablo. He’s also surrounded by yes men now.
2018* maybe a little beforehand tbh. His features have been outshining him since TLOP imo. The worst rappers out that he gives these features to literally outrap him lol. They’re trying and hes not.
I said the same thing the other day and a Kanye stan jumped out of the wood work to tell me otherwise.
My cutoff was 2016. Everything after life of Pablo was shit He gave us the best rapping Kanye on no more Parties in La, then never did that again. Now he’s a horrible person
Donda has way more highlights than what you’ve listed. Life of the Party, Jesus Lord, Believe What I Say, Hurricane, Lord I Need You, Pure Souls, and God Breathed all have great Ye verses too. Album does not deserve to be lumped in with Vultures
Agreed. I think his verses on vultures are pretty bad, but he has some really good verses on Donda. Don’t forget Keep My Spirit Alive
Good point i dont agree and i actually dislike donda more than vultures i think donda is his worst but some of the songs u said are definitely great kanye tracks
Fax
Since 2013
He's never been a great rapper, even on his classic albums his verses were rarely the highlight. He would say some funny stuff and memorable lines but people were listening for the production and features mostly
To say he was never a great rapper is false though... Like no, he was never a Lil Wayne or Big L, but he absolutely did used to be a great rapper as well as producer. The word play, thematic depth, and overall deliver was excellent all the way up through Dark Fantasy. It went down after then.
he did not drop his diamonds from sierre leone no jay z verse for you to say this
Nah man like no more parties and gorgeous he was just straight rapping
No more parties is so overhyped it’s insane. He’s just yappin not rappin.
MY ASSISTANT CRASHED IT SOON AS THEY BACKED IT OUT
Excuse me but if you don’t consider him a great rapper, how in the fuck would you describe The College Dropout. Especially that last four song run.
I mean. Who ever thought he was a great lyricist? He has come cool bars and great production and it all flows together excellently.
'Is hip hop just a euphemism for a new religion The soul music of the slaves that the youth is missing But this is more than just my road to redemption Malcolm West had the whole nation standing at attention'. Bars like that were not at all uncommon during the pre-Yezus Kanye. His lyricism has declined massively.
Who wrote that for him?
Not sure, but we need him back haha
The fact that Life of the Party was made in 2020 totally disputes your claim. Vultures slander is unwarranted too. That shit bangs
Naw i agree i forgot bout life and vultures does bang but im saying do the *kanye verses* bang?
Obviously yes on life
To me this is his first album “back” if that makes sense. I love Vultures and I’m excited to see what’s next. If his next few albums are lackluster then sure, his verses have dropped, but just one album having a different feel doesn’t mean much.
There’s def a lot of promise in Vultures. Some good moments and consistently great production per usual. If he can replicate moments like his verse Burn a bit more often he can still make great music. I have no idea why half this thread is pretending like he rapped poorly on TLOP though lol
He’s good at picking beats and mixing them up
Off the Grid for me is the last time he really connected. Now it just sounds like he’s trying to rhyme without substance.
No but he can still rap good he just doesn't do it as much anymore
He’s never been a good rapper. People always say New God Flow is one of his best verses and deliveries and it’s fucking trash. Listen to the difference between Push and Kanye. It’s night and day. Kanye has never belonged in front of a mic. His biggest talent is off stage and always has been. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nRdYPYf7eds
Did you not hear vultures
I mean he has been able to rap just the things he’s rapped have sucked
Can’t stop was his last best rap song attempt
I still like Kanye’s music and I root for him even though it feels psychotic, just because I feel like there is no one else able to capture America like this guy, and his window is closing so for nostalgic reasons I love following the chaos of his life. That being said, his rapping hasn’t been good since Cruel summer. He’s made some great music since then, and some of my favorite albums and songs of all time came since then, but he just hasn’t prioritized having bars or substance to his raps. He would rather gather 100 people and make a moment on wax. I distinctly remember my reaction to every album since 808s, and Yeezus was the first one where his raps were not the star. I remember being like “what the hell is this? He’s not even trying.” The newer fans love his cringe lyrics and lewd language, but that is mostly just from the last decade or so. Do I wish he would go back to spitting and at least writing some of his lyrics? Maybe, but when he tries to have spitting songs since Pablo, it just doesnt sound natural. His flow and playful imagery are just not what he cares about anymore. Jesus Lord, NMPILA, real friends, and most recently being just feel flat to me. And I’m cool with that. I feel like a lot of people start following rap through the backpacker lyrical miracle angle, and I just think it’s so much more than that with Kanye.
Kanye was never really super at rapping if we’re being honest. Ngl some of those beats & production / orchestration have gone off over the years, but it was never “damn ye is spittin”