Kanye West has been busy the past couple of months making everyone else in music look lazy. Not only did he perform on Saturday Night Live over the weekend with two of the best musical performances we've seen in a while, but he's also been dropping free MP3s in a series called "G.O.O.D. Fridays." This last Friday he gave us all a scare when he claimed that since the track "Lost in the World" had leaked early, he wouldn't release it on his own. Thankfully, he relented and posted it early on Saturday.
As the above two videos demonstrate, Kanye put together some elaborate sets for his SNL performances. It's not unheard of for musicians to go all out for their appearance on the show, but these are two of the most over-the-top acts we've seen in a while.
Kanye has also been dropping free MP3s for the past month and a half, some of which are slated to appear on his upcoming album, others of which appear to be random experiments. You can snag them all for nothing by following the links below, including a song that samples Bon Iver and another putting the voice of Justin Bieber in Kanye's hands. If these tracks are outtakes or have nothing to do with his new album, we're pretty certain he's going to have a fabulous record when he's done.
"Christian Dior Denim Flow (feat. Kid Cudi, Pusha T, John Legend, Lloyd Banks, Ryan Leslie" This track has a strong enough hook to last in dance clubs for a while -- and if this is a b-side we've got high hopes for the album.
"So Appaled (feat. RZA, Jay-Z, Pusha T, Swizz Beatz, Cyhi the Prynce" Kanye's minimalist slow jam.
"Lord Lord Lord (feat. Mos Def, Swizz Beatz, Raekwon, Charlie Wilson)" "Lord Lord Lord" is the weakest link in the series so far.
"Good Friday (feat. Common, Pusha T, Kid Cudi, Big Sean, Charlie Wilson)" Bringing Kid Cudi to the table with the rest of these boys means we're going to be hopping genres through every verse. It's a bit schizophrenic, but certainly interesting.
"Devil in a New Dress" We hate to say it, but "Devil in a New Dress" sounds like '90s-era KS-107.5 to us. Maybe we're missing something.
"Runaway Love Remix (Justin Bieber, Raekwon)" We saw the conversation on Twitter, we heard the rumors -- and here it is, Kanye remixing Justin Bieber.
"Monster (feat Rick Ross, Bon Iver, Nicki Minaj)" What? Kanye sampling Bon Iver? Weird!
"Power Remix (Jay-Z, Swizz Beats)" This is a remix of the first single off the record we've heard -- but we like it a bit more than the original.
