Saturday Six: Week 009

Kanye West. Uber-talented musician, uber-inflated ego. Despite being the human embodiment of Marmite, one thing can’t be ignored – his output has had a huge influence on the way hip hop has panned out over the last ten years. From College Dropout‘s backpacker nerdiness through the Autotune-engulfed sorrow of 808s & Heartbreak and out the other side via the frustrations of Yeezus.

Earlier this week, Glastonbury acknowledged this by announcing him as the headliner for this year’s festivities. Naturally, that decision was met with opposition. A petition from disgruntled attendees to cancel the performance at the historic music festival shot past 90,000 signatures in less than a week.

Between regular collaborators like HudMo wreaking havoc on wax in the early webcam days and constant nods to his album material, we’ve definitely had our fair share of ‘Ye. Bask in six performances from related artists below.


Lunice (Jul 30, 2012)
During this blisteringly hot session that also included a Danny Brown BR debut, Lunice dropped “Cold” – the second single from Cruel Summer. (40:20)


Pusha T (Jul 17, 2013)
Post-Hell Hath No Fury, Kanye famously took King Push under his wing. This rendition of “So Appalled” was particularly touching as it fell around the time of Trayvon Martin’s death. An incident that was gracefully acknowledged by Pusha.


Gesaffelstein (Jan 21, 2013)
No trap or hip-hop within these 84mins, but we mustn’t forget where the Frenchman enters the frame. He produced two tracks on Yeezus, including the lead single “Black Skinhead” and “Send It Up” alongside Daft Punk and Mike Dean.


Travis Scott (Aug 15, 2013)
Travis’ influence can be heard all over Yeezus. He met Kanye West while in New York. Scott worked with Kanye on his debut project, Owl Pharaoh as well as GOOD Music’s debut compilation album, Cruel Summer.


Skepta (Dec 14, 2014)
Enter one of grime’s aristocrats. Over the last few months, Kanye has kept a close eye on Tottenham’s finest MC (arguably after Drake did first). Skepta was part of the horde that joined ‘Ye on stage for “All Day” at this year’s BRITS and there’s talk of them being in the studio together. Check 53:00 to see why Mr. West fucks with him so heavy.


Hudson Mohawke
Peep 49:00 to dive into a bombastic rendition of “Monster”.

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