[Reaper16]

Lots of critics, and Kanye himself, keep calling this a "minimalist" album. I call bullshit on that. There's lots of Kanye excess all over the place. There's nothing minimalist about "Blood on the Leaves" (one of my favorite tracks on the album), which has an audacious sample of Nina Simone's version of "Strange Fruit" and blasting horns from TNGHT/Hudson Mohawke.

But I may offer up how the album is more minimalist than usual for Kanye. Credit to my girlfriend for reminding me of this quote from Coco Chanel: "Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and remove one accessory." Kanye is using this idea here, I think. The songs on Yeezus sound like he's removed one or two elements, which causes a somewhat jarring effect. Like, drums. There's barely any drums on this album at all, which is very strange for a hip-hop album. Or take for example my other favorite track, "Bound 2," which is built around a clever loop that shows Kanye can still make an old soul music sample like nobody else. There's no drums here either, and there's no bass even! Well, there's a very simple, single note bassline that pulsates during the chorus (which, while one of my favorite hooks in a Kanye song ever, only happens 1.5 times in this song).