Around this time last year, it seemed like Yeezy season was approaching. On the last day of 2014, Kanye West released “Only One.” It was a slow, piano-driven, Paul McCartney-featuring single about Kanye’s daughter and deceased mother. Another and more commercially successful Paul McCartney single “FourFiveSeconds” was also released in January. A month later, he followed up with a fiery performance of “All Day” at the Brit Awards. The explosive track was a throwback to “N-ggas in Paris,” and the polar opposite of the introspective “Only One.” Rumors started to spread that Kanye would release his new album during New York Fashion week, when he was also displaying his new collaboration with Adidas. During the show, the words “This is Track #1 on Kanye West’s New Album” lit up on a screen, and a brooding track entitled “Wolves” (featuring Vic Mensa and Sia) began to play over the sound system. It looked like the rumors might be true.
And then… nothing.
New York Fashion Week came and went and no album was released. Kanye teased that the title would be “So Help Me God” in March, but that was it. He later changed the name to “Swish,” possibly related to a series of tweets Kanye made about his wife Kim Kardashian, sans-clothes, that he captioned with “Swish.”.
So what happened? Everything pointed to a new album being released but nothing came of it. Musically, Kanye was still very active. He executive-produced an album by rapper Tyga, as well as being featured on songs with Big Sean, Wale, Travi$ Scott, A$AP Rocky and others. He also released two short remixes in October. Probably the biggest distraction for Kanye West was his collaboration with Adidas. Through their partnership, Kanye released two clothing lines and a series of extremely publicized sneakers, the Yeezy Boosts. While the clothes and shoes were certainly unique and highly-sought after, very few people were able to acquire any of the pieces due to high prices and limited releases. Most people just wanted the album.
As 2015 waned to a close, hopes of “Swish” releasing diminished with each passing day. But then something magical happened. On New Year’s Eve, Kanye released “Facts,” a braggadocios diss track aimed at Nike. It was dumb and random, but also fantastic. This was assumed to be another loose track Kanye had released until a week later, another song was released. “Real Friends” was a slower track about friends and family with a more soulful sound. The end contained a snippet of another song “No More Parties in L.A.” featuring Kendrick Lamar. Kim Kardashian tweeted out saying that this was the first of multiple new tracks to be released each Friday, a throwback to a series of singles Kanye released in 2010 called “Good Fridays.” But the best news came from a short tweet Kanye sent out: “Swish February 11 16”.
No tracklist, pre-order, or official album artwork has been released yet for “Swish,” but in less than a month the world might be graced with a new Kanye West album. But what is it going to sound like? Many of his recent songs and features have featured a more old-school, soul sound. Kanye is now a father of two and a husband, so there may be fewer lyrics like “Put my fist in her like a civil rights sign” from his last album “Yeezus.” But then again, he has declared himself a god in the past, so all bets are off. Truthfully, there is no way to guess what the album will sound like or even what songs will be on the album, but one thing is certain: it will change the world.
