Early this morning, Kanye West released his highly anticipated eighth studio album ye. The new album is 7 tracks long, as was promised back in April, and comes after the rapper’s recent string of controversial antics and statements. ye is full of complex feelings about Kanye’s mental state and erratic social and family life, and supplemented with soul samples and eclectic, gospel-influenced production. It’s also filled with the silly and ridiculous lyrics Kanye has rhymed throughout his career. We’ve collected 10 of ye‘s most over-the-top lines below.
“Russell Simmons wanna pray for me too/ I’ma pray for him ’cause he got #MeToo’d/ Thinkin’ what if that happened to me too /Then I’m on E! News,” from “Yikes”:
Yikes! Kanye’s awkward reference to the #MeToo movement and the exposure of sexual harassment and assault by powerful men in media, including Russell Simmons, leaves a bad taste behind. He doesn’t help matters by inserting himself into the narrative, making the situation sound like a cautionary tale for himself instead of being about the victims.
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“You know how many girls I took to the titty shop?” from “Yikes”:
This one is great because he seems to be genuinely his listeners for the encouragement to reply. No Kanye, we don’t know … please go on, how many girls did you take to the “titty shop?”
“I could have Naomi Campbell/ And still might want me a Stormy Daniels/ Sometimes, you gotta back to boss up/ I call that taking Corey Gambles,” from “All Mine”:
There’s so much happening in these bars. A sort-of defense of his buddy Trump’s scandal over his affair with Stormy Daniels and a tribute to the rapper Fabolous and his penchant for embarrassing puns and punchlines (seriously? Corey Gambles??). It’s even more impressive because this isn’t even the most ridiculous line in the song.
“Let me hit it raw like fuck the outcome/ Ay, none of us would be here without cum,” from “All Mine”:
I mean, it’s true.
“I love your titties ’cause they prove I can focus on two things at once,” from “All Mine”:
And here we have the most ridiculous line from “All Mine,” Kanye’s personal proof of his multitasking abilities. He truly doesn’t get enough credit for how much of a romantic he is.
“They say ‘build your own,’ I said, ‘How Sway?’/ I said ‘slavery a choice,’ they say, ‘How, Ye?/ Just imagine if they caught me on a wild day” from “No Mistakes”:
This is a reference to Kanye’s disastrous appearance on TMZ Live when he said black people being forced to pick cotton for over 400 years “sounds like a choice.” Kanye doesn’t justify or apologize for any of it, instead just going with “Hey, it could’ve been worse,” before launching into a personal reflection about the stress and grief he’s brought to his wife, Kim Kardashian.
“Just bein’ salty, but niggas is nuts” from “Violent Crimes”:
In the middle of a song about Kanye grappling—in pretty fraught fashion—with the stress of being a man raising daughters, here comes this wonderfully goofy line. Kanye is truly a Rap Dad, and he’s got plenty of Rap Dad jokes.
