Entertainment

Kanye's New Music Could Be Coming Soon

by Alex Kritselis

In a new interview with GQ, in addition to discussing his marriage to Kim Kardashian, his relationship with the paparazzi, and his foray into the fashion industry, Kanye West also opened up about his new music — and it might be coming out sooner than you think. West's last studio album, Yeezus, was just released last summer, but it seems like he's almost ready to debut some new material. So, when can we expect West to release his next album? The rapper told GQ that he was still undecided, but a September release is "most likely."

... I hope I can get one of these songs out in the next couple of weeks, just to have something up and running. But I think most likely September. I go back and forth. Like, should it be September or should it be October? Should it be November? When Beyoncé was working on her last album, she took a while. I was thinking it could somehow come out in June, like Yeezus, and just kill it for the summer. But then I'm like, I have to work on Adidas and be with my child.

One of the songs West referenced is his new single, "All Day." After sharing some lyrics from the track, he suggested that his upcoming album could end up sounding a little more radio-friendly than Yeezus:

I think just my usual pattern is like that. It's like a pendulum. The pendulum gains momentum by swinging in the other direction. Even lyrically, I think about certain lines that I say on my new single, which is called "All Day," that usually Jay would say, but Jay's not on there. So I say, All day, nigga, it's Ye, nigga. Shopping for the winter, it's just May, nigga. Ball so hard, man, this shit cray, nigga. You ain't getting money unless you got eight figures. Right? Jay would have said that. And then eventually I would have came in with, like, whatever I come in with. But the balance of a meal is that when people walk in, they want water first. People definitely weren't getting water first on Yeezus. I do fight with myself to say, "Keep fighting." But also, you know, you can't win every single fight. It's a long war, and if you're out there trying to, like, blow up every single building, you won't win the war.
Rick Kern/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Cleary, West understands that the songs on Yeezus aren't nearly as accessible as some of his earlier work ("All Falls Down," "Gold Digger," "Stronger," etc.), and that could explain why a couple of the album's singles underperformed. But if you're a hardcore West fan and the idea of a more radio-friendly album makes your skin crawl, don't fret. West explained that his vision for the new album isn't set in stone just yet:

... But now, for the new album, one new thing could change everything. I had an idea of the way I wanted to do the album. And then I got a new song that's so good that the album has to be balanced against it. This song is a song that can be in the club like "Don't Like" or "Niggas in Paris." Whereas before I was working on the album and I had these beautiful songs, they were just more songs. They weren't saying, "Okay, tuck your whole summer in." They were just saying, "Hey, I'm a great musician, I make these beautiful songs, and they have all this meaning, and nobody can make anything that means this much."

So, what are the takeaways here? We could be hearing West's new single, "All Day," in just a couple of weeks, and his new album will most likely arrive sometime in September! I really miss hearing West on top 40 radio. Personally, I'm hoping that this new project will help him recreate some of the massive crossover success he experienced during 2007 and 2008. I'm anxious to hear what he's come up with.

You can check out West's entire GQ interview on the magazine's website.

Image: Getty Images