Kanye West - Yeezus: All 10 Tracks Reviewed And Analysed

2. Black Skinhead

History will remember Kanye West as the brand-dropping, suave egotist that took rap by the scruff of the neck a few times to give it a glitzy makeover. But it's ironic really, as 'Black Skinhead' is the second time the man himself has nominated a ferocious attack on culture to be his "theme song" (the first time being with 'Power'). And "ferocious" is the word. From the tribal production, courtesy of Daft Punk, to Yeezy taunting his rivals almost with disappointment that they can't keep up with him, 'Black Skinhead' is breathless, adrenaline-pulsing hip-hop. He feels both effortlessly in fashion - a bassy, light-headed chorus keeps the song afloat with the more dub-influenced pop of the last couple of years - and a total outsider, snarling from the touchline of radio airplay about both racism and his own creativity. As with all Kanye songs though, it's the classy, forward-thinking flourishes, such as the glam-rock rhythm and the whispery backing vocals, that make it so infectious.

3. I Am A God

Beginning with a bluster like a gale of wind on a deserted planet, 'I Am A God' suddenly floods with soul samples, a pumping bass and growls. When Kanye joins the party though, this feels like one of the defining moments of his career. He's kicking his critics down with a boastful narcissism that not only feels typically West, it feels typically hip-hop. He rightfully comments that he's the only man of his genre that's being compared to Michael Jackson. And when Daft Punk's synths stab like a rising heartbeat, circling around West as he drops expletives like grenades, it feels like a man on fire; a man who's fed up of explaining himself. A man that on this song, deserves all the credit his ego craves.

4. New Slaves

"My momma was raised in the era when / Clean water was only served to the fairer skin / Doing clothes you would have thought I had help / But they wasn't satisfied unless I picked the cotton myself". Kanye West is many things, but it's not often he's been labelled as a man with a message. Since 'Jesus Walks', he's been striving for the perfect sound, but on 'Yeezus', you get the feeling that Kanye senses he has more of a responsibility than ever to connect to people lyrically. 'New Slaves' begins with a riff that you could imagine a classic Doctor Who villain tip-toeing to, and on from there, it only becomes spikier and angrier; the song may have evolved into a soul classic by the end, but four tracks in, he's already more thought-provoking than he was on much of 'Watch the Throne'. Gone for good are the pop culture couplets, it would appear.