“So Appalled,†the latest entry in Kanye’s weekly G.O.O.D. Friday new music series, arrived at a prompt 8:36 p.m. Friday night, meaning we’ve had all weekend to digest the overstuffed collaboration. And this won’t surprise you much if you’ve been paying attention at all to Vulture’s (or the Internet in general’s) recent Kanye coverage … but we really like it!
A bit of Kanye’s intentionally funny “So Appalled†verse leaked way back in the beginning of the year, and the finished product — fleshed out with verses from West’s current best buds Jay-Z and Pusha, spirited intros and outros from Swizz Beatz and RZA, and a huge feature for the young Def Jam signee Cyhi the Prynce — fully comes through on that snippet’s potential. At a six minute, 42 second running time it’s completely indulgent, much like previous bonkers-random-guests-heavy G.O.O.D. Friday tracks “Monster†and “Lord Lord Lord.†But who cares? As far as we know, these aren’t showing up on Kanye’s upcoming full-length, meaning they are purposefully and gleefully reckless when it comes to general coherency or the way they would theoretically flow together on an album. Each one’s engineered to stand on its own as a mini-spectacle, and that they do. The fact that Kanye’s giving them away for free every week just makes the whole thing that much sweeter.
Bonus! Here’s Kanye rapping on The Cleveland Show (yes, again), from last night’s season premiere.
Bonus! Here’s Kanye rapping on The Cleveland Show (yes, again), from last night’s season premiere.