“The Old Kanye,” as even Kanye West refers to himself, was like the Robert Moses of hip-hop, tearing apart neighborhoods, installing roads and requiring the general population to follow his rules.
Who made Auto-Tune a legitimate tool for MCs? (T-Pain had to bear the brunt of West snatching that innovation from him.) Who recast the very nature of the sample? Who made radical vulnerability a thing?
The current Kanye — we’d say “new,” but he’ll be different by the end of the day — is more like a nervous Airbnb owner in charge of an impressive property he’s constantly fussing with. On Thursday, instead of releasing his new album, “The Life of Pablo” — as promised in a recent tweet — West played a version of the album at Madison Square Garden and simultaneously revealed his new fashion line, Yeezy Season 3. Was it a successful event? Is it a good album?
To the first question, the answer seems to be yes. Kanye smiled a lot and danced with his famous friends as he played new songs from his laptop. Naomi Campbell wore a big fur! Models wore my old crocheted wool vests from the ‘70s! (Maybe.) Young Thug sat on a platform, wearing a shearling coat that had apparently been crossbred with a highlighter, looking bored (though one of the 38 instructions handed to the models was “NO SMILE”). Video of the whole event has been posted online, and if you want to get into a colorful, messy party for free you can.
As to the album, it is still being revised as of this writing. But a shift has already taken place. West was in charge of genre innovation for more than a decade. Now he is simply of his genre.
A West fan must be willing to embrace the Cuisinart of his ego and ambition, and that’s a reasonable bargain.
— Sasha Frere-Jones, Critic at Large
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West has been something of a force field when it comes to public gaffes, the hip-hop version of “Manny being Manny.” West has always combined spirituality, profanity, self-doubt, immense braggadocio, skill and ineptitude. But the nature of his successes and failures has changed.
When West blasted George W. Bush over the federal response to Hurricane Katrina in September 2005, he fast-forwarded a vital American political discussion. When West interrupted Taylor Swift at the Video Music Awards in 2009 to point out that Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” video was “one of the best videos of all time,” he was right. (Does anyone even remember which video Swift received an award for?)
A West fan must be willing to embrace the Cuisinart of his ego and ambition, and that’s a reasonable bargain. But this bargain depends on the balance of triumphs and mistakes in play; a listener can turn from a supporter into a sycophant in the space of one song.
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Kayne West, right, performs songs from his 2008 studio album “808s & Heartbreak” at the Hollywood Bowl on Sept. 25, 2015.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Kayne West performs at the Hollywood Bowl on Sept. 25, 2015.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Kayne West performs at the Hollywood Bowl on Sept. 25, 2015.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Fireworks light the stage red as Kayne West performs his 2008 studio album “808s & Heartbreak” at the Hollywood Bowl on Sept. 25, 2015.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Kayne West performs at the Hollywood Bowl on Sept. 25, 2015.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Kayne West performs at the Hollywood Bowl on Sept. 25, 2015.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Kayne West, right, performs “Heartless,” with Kid Cudi, from his 2008 studio album “808s & Heartbreak” at the Hollywood Bowl on Sept. 25, 2015.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Kayne West soaks up applause after performing “Welcome to Heartbreak” from his 2008 studio album “808s & Heartbreak” at the Hollywood Bowl on Sept. 25, 2015.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
One mistake of the moment is a line on “Famous,” a song that features Swizz Beatz, a sample of Sister Nancy’s “Bam Bam” and a passage of Rihanna singing from Nina Simone’s “Do What You Gotta Do.” (A sample of Simone’s original recording closes the song.) The line comes toward the opening of the song, when West claims that he might “still” have sex with Swift, and that he made her famous. In a disappointingly removed and hesitant way, Swift’s team has denied that she approved the lyric, an assertion that West has already contradicted, even crediting Swift with the idea for the words. It’s only one line on a complex album, but it’s worth a look.
First of all, enough with Swift. He’s already reviewed the VMAs interruption, at length, in a speech at the 2015 VMAs, where he also announced his intention to run for president in 2020.
The real disappointment is in the politics. Men and women can certainly talk about having sex in a song. Nicki Minaj and Drake did it, consensually, in “Only,” a sexually charged and collegial number that makes both artists look confident. “Famous” just feels like West losing track of anything like a political center, insulting a woman he’s gone to lengths, in public, to befriend.
In his 2015 VMAs speech, West asked, “If I had a daughter at that time would I have went on stage and grabbed the mic from someone else’s?” Well, West does have a daughter now, who was in the Madison Square Garden audience on Thursday. Among other questionable lyrics, West described an unwholesome encounter with a model in “Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1 & Pt. 2,” which finds West worrying more about his T-shirt than the woman in question. The line must have made someone in the Kardashian clan uncomfortable, even if North West didn’t catch the lyric.
None of this helps following one of West’s worst years on Twitter, unless the next 10 months go really well. In January, he attacked rapper Wiz Khalifa and West’s ex, Amber Rose. Rose then shut him down with a single tweet about their shared sexual history. West deleted all of the offending tweets, then unconvincingly denied her claims after an uncharacteristically long pause.
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On Feb. 9, apparently determined to become a fully licensed misogynist, he tweeted (and has not deleted) “BILL COSBY INNOCENT !!!!!!!!!!” As you’re reading this, there is probably some new back and forth between West and Swift over the “Famous” line, her PR team or one of her squadron.
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Kim Kardashian walks inside Armenian St. James Cathedral in Jerusalem with husband Kanye West, their daughter, North, and sister Khloe Kardashian.
(Mahmoud Illean / AP)
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The celebrity couple baptized 22-month-old daughter North at a 12th century Armenian Apostolic church in Jerusalem.
(Mahmoud Illean / AP)
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Kim Kardashian holds daughter North in her arms as she and Kanye West walk close to the Geghard Monastery in Armenia.
(Karen Minasyan / AFP / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West visit the genocide memorial, which commemorates the 1915 mass killing of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, in Yerevan, Armenia.
(Karen Minasyan / AFP / Getty Images)
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The fashion-forward couple attends the fall-winter 2015-16 ready-to-wear collection by Vuitton during Paris Fashion Week.
(Etienne Laurent / EPA)
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The couple attends the Balenciaga show as part of Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter 2015/2016 on March 6, 2015. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)
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The rapper makes a face at photographers as the couple sits in the front row at Givenchy’s ready-to-wear collection collection during Paris Fashion Week.
(Jacques Brinon / AP)
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Jared Leto, who also debuted platinum blond hair the same day as Kardashian, Lewis Hamilton, Kanye West, designer Olivier Rousteing, and Kim Kardashian attend the Balmain aftershow dinner on March 5, 2015. (Jacopo Raule / Getty Images For Balmain)
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Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, friends of designer Alber Elbaz, attend the Lanvin show during Paris Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2015/2016 on March 5, 2015, in Paris. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)
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Kardashian debuts her platinum blond dye job at the Balmain show in Paris on March 5, 2015. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)
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Kardashian, West and her mother Kris Jenner attend the Balmain show in Paris on March 5, 2015. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)
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Singer Beyonce, Kardashian, her daughter North and Vogue editor Anna Wintour attend West’s Adidas Originals x Kanye West “Yeezy Season 1” fashion show during New York Fashion Week Fall 2015 on Feb. 12, 2015.
(Dimitrios Kambouris, /Getty Images for adidas)
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Kardashian and West pose with formidable Vogue editor and friend Anna Wintour, center, at the Adidas Originals x Kanye West fashion show on Feb. 12, 2015. (Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for adidas)
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Kardashian and West are interviewed at the 57th Grammy Awards after party on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015, in Los Angeles, during which West went on a tirade about Grammy-winner Beck and why he nearly interrupted his album of the year acceptance speech. (Colin Young-Wolff / AP)
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Kanye West smooches wife Kim Kardashian on the red carpet at the 57th Grammy Awards at Staples in Los Angeles on Feb. 8, 2015. He wears Balmain, she wears Jean Paul Gaultier. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Kanye West and Kim Kardashian arrive at the Roc Nation Pre-Grammy brunch on Feb. 7, 2015, in Beverly Hills. (Valerie Macon / Getty Images)
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Grammy nominee Kanye West poses with wife Kim Kardashian, fellow nominees Beyonce and John Legend and Legend’s wife, model Chrissy Teigen, at the 57th Grammy Awards. (Larry Busacca / Getty Images for NARAS)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, both wearing Balmain, arrive on the red carpet at the BET Honors 2015 where the rapper received the Visionary Award. (Kevin Wolf / Invision / Associated Press)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the 2014 LACMA Art + Film gala in Los Angeles. Kim Kardashian is wearing a Cushnie et Ochs gown and a Cartier choker. (Jason Merritt / Getty Images for LACMA)
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Rapper Kanye West and his wife, Kim Kardashian, attend the 2014 LACMA Art + Film Gala honoring artist Barbara Kruger and director Quentin Tarantino on Nov. 1, 2014, in Los Angeles. (Valerie Macon / AFP / Getty Images)
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The couple watch the Los Angeles Lakers play the Houston Rockets at Staples Center. The Rockets won, 108-90. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, photographed separately, arrive at the Tao Nightclub at the Venetian Las Vegas to celebrate his Kardashian’s 34th birthday. (David Becker / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian, cradling daughter North, Kanye West and pianist Helene Mercier, wife of LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, sit in the front row at the Givenchy show in Paris. It was the second time the couple had brought their daughter to a show at the spring/summer 2015 womenswear presentations. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West arrive at the presentation of Lanvin’s spring/summer 2015 ready-to-wear fashion collection at Paris Fashion Week. (Jacques Brinon / AP)
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The couple attends the Lanvin show during Paris Fashion Week. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)
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In Paris for Fashion Week. (Zacharie Scheurer / AP)
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The couple returns to Paris after wrapping West’s “Yeezus” tour in Australia to take in Paris Fashion week. Here, they arrive at the Balmain spring/summer 2015 ready-to-wear presentation in Paris just after Kim was jostled in a crowd and nearly took a tumble as she exited her car. (Zacharie Scheurer / AP)
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The couple attends the British GQ Men of the Year awards at the Royal Opera House on Sept. 2 in London. The reality star was named the magazine’s woman of the year and appeared in a nude photo spread for the magazine’s October issue. (Anthony Harvey / Getty Images)
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Kardashian West, in a Ralph & Russo gown, walks the red carpet with her husband at the British GQ Men of the Year Awards in London. “It’s Kim Kardashian West,” she said when she accepted her award. “I want to thank GQ for making me Woman of the Year, and my husband for making me feel like woman of the year every day.” (Anthony Harvey / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West spend some time shopping in Paris the Wednesday before their May 24 wedding. (Jacques Brinon / Associated Press)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West leave their residence in Paris on May 23, on the afternoon of the day before their wedding. (Kenzo Tribouillard / AFP / Getty Images)
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Kanye West appears to drop a hint to the crowd as he, Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner, left, leave the George V hotel in Paris with baby North West on their way to Valentino’s castle for brunch. (Kenzo Tribouillard / AFP / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the “Charles James: Beyond Fashion” Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2014 in New York City. (Neilson Barnard / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian wears a Lanvin gown to the 2014 Met Gala, which she attended with fiance Kanye West. (Neilson Barnard / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian, left, and Kanye West attend the Hollywood Reporter’s celebration of power 100 women in entertainment breakfast on Dec. 11, 2013, in Beverly Hills. (Todd Williamson / Invision / Associated Press)
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Kanye West and Kim Kardashian attend DuJour Magazine’s event to honor artist Marc Quinn at Delano Beach Club on Dec. 4, 2013, in Miami Beach. (John Parra / Getty Images)
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The engaged couple attend DuJour Magazine’s event to honor artist Marc Quinn at Delano Beach Club on Dec. 4, 2013, in Miami Beach. (Eugene Gologursky / Getty Images for DuJour Magazine)
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The rapper and television personality arrive at the Tao Nightclub at the Venetian Las Vegas to celebrate Kim Kardashian’s 33rd birthday on Oct. 26, 2013. It was one of the couple’s first public appearances since their engagement. (Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
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The “Yeezus” rapper popped the question to the reality star on Oct. 21, 2013 -- her 33rd birthday -- at AT&T Park in San Francisco with the help of a 50-piece orchestra, family, friends and a glowing 15-carat diamond engagement ring. (Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
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Musician Kanye West and girlfriend Kim Kardashian at the Givenchy 2014 spring-summer ready-to-wear collection fashion show on Sept. 29, 2013, in Paris. (Pierre Andrieu / AFP / Getty Images)
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Actresses Noomi Rapace, Lily Collins, singer Ciara, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian attend the Givenchy show during Paris Fashion Week. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian, in her custom-designed Givenchy by Ricardo Tisci gown, and Kanye West at the Givenchy show. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)
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“Yeezus” rapper Kanye West and reality TV star Kim Kardashian attend the Costume Institute Gala for the “PUNK: Chaos to Couture” exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6, 2013. (Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the Costume Institute Gala for the “PUNK: Chaos to Couture” exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6, 2013, in New York City. (Larry Busacca / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend Givenchy fall 2013 ready-to-wear show during Paris Fashion Week on March 3, 2013. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the NBA game between the Clippers and the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center on Christmas Day 2012. Kardashian’s brother-in-law Lamar Odom played for the Clippers. (Victor Decolongon / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the NBA game between the Clippers and the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center on Dec. 25, 2012. (Victor Decolongon / Getty Images)
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Singer Kanye West, left, talks to his girlfriend Kim Kardashian before an NBA basketball game between the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks in Miami. (Alan Diaz / Associated Press)
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Singer Kanye West and girlfriend Kim Kardashian attend a benefit in New York. (Evan Agostini / Associated Press)
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TV personality Kim Kardashian and rapper Kanye West attend the Louise Goldin spring 2013 show at Milk Studios on Sept. 12, 2012, in New York. (Michael Loccisano / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian and rapper Kanye West attend the Marchesa spring 2013 fashion show during New York Fashion Week on Sept. 12, 2012. (Chelsea Lauren / Getty Images)
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Actress Sarah Hyland, left, model Tyra Banks, television personality Kim Kardashian, rapper Kanye West, actress Stacy Keibler and television personality Olivia Palermo attend the Marchesa show during New York Fashion Week on Sept. 12, 2012. (Chelsea Lauren / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West leave the Valentino haute-couture show during Paris Fashion Week at Hotel Salomon de Rothschild on July 4, 2012. (Julien M. Hekimian / Getty Images)
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Singer Beyonce, rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West and television personality Kim Kardashian attend the 2012 BET Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on July 1, 2012, in Los Angeles. (Christopher Polk / Getty Images For BET)
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Kanye West and Kim Kardashian at the 2012 BET Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. (Christopher Polk / Getty Images)
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Reality TV star Kim Kardashian and rapper Kanye West attend the 2012 BET Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on July 1, 2012, in Los Angeles. (Christopher Polk / Getty Images For BET)
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Singer Kanye West and his girlfriend, Kim Kardashian, arrive for the screening of “Cruel Summer” at the Cannes Film Festival on May 23, 2012. (Francois Mori / Associated Press)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the Lakers-Denver Nuggets game on May 12, 2012, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. (Noel Vasquez / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West talk in their courtside seats before the Lakers take on the Denver Nuggets on May 12, 2012, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. (Noel Vasquez / Getty Images)
One reason to set aside most of the album, not simply because it isn’t fair to assess unfinished work, is to take stock of what West wants us to do with him the rest of the time, when he’s designing clothes or making public statements. At the end of the Madison Square Garden show, he declared that he wanted to be the creative director of Hermès and tweeted the same. Will he do that? Will he run for president? His most consistent move of late is the takeback, so place your bets carefully.
To let him “Kanye gonna Kanye” through all of this would be a condescension to a major artist, which he is. Contradictions and ugliness have a place in art, a privilege West leaned heavily on in “Yeezus,” an album that still burns.
“The Life of Pablo” is a rambler, so far, a compendium of disparate feelings and guest appearances that comes across like the sketchbook it looked like on Twitter, where West was continually posting pictures of notebooks and legal pads covered with titles.
If West needs inspiration when it comes to having a sense of humor about yourself and having a generous attitude toward others, there’s a member of his team he can talk with: his wife.
Sasha Frere-Jones is a musician and writer who was born and raised in Brooklyn. He founded Ui in 1990; the band toured and recorded until 2010. Frere-Jones was the pop critic of the New Yorker from March 2004 to December 2014 and was anthologized six times in Da Capo’s Best Music Writing series. He left The Times in 2016.
