Kanye West doesn’t hold back. Fans got a firsthand look at it with his much awaited joint album “Waltzers,” which had its grand premiere at a Miami restaurant with a Jamaican theme. A day later, KATS launched a guerilla-style project with a James Blake sample, showcasing his rap skills alongside Ty.
The pair made news after a bit of trouble getting West’s phone to connect to the sound system. Watchers at home saw it happen in real time when a YouTube stream had technical difficulties and was repeatedly resumed before to the broadcast.
Around ten tracks from the much awaited album, which is out this Friday, will be heard by fans and participants who purchased tickets ranging from 0 for general entry to ,000 for a table. A star-studded lineup of performers joined West on stage, including Chris Brown, Offset, Kodak Black, Lil Durk, Bump J, Freddie Gibbs, and West’s daughter North. (Unfortunately, fans anticipating the Playboi Carti’s arrival were let down because his flight was delayed.)
Fans were exposed to quick mixes of about ten songs from the project, both live and via recent leaks, which gave them a quick taste. Western fans were probably already familiar with the first song, “Everybody,” which was teased on social media last week. It is a cover of the Backstreet Boys’ 1997 hit song “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)”. Charlie Wilson reworked the chorus of the song, making a connection between Lil Baby, Ty, and Kanye West.
On the song “Slide,” North, the daughter of Kanye West, stole the show as she performed a rap with her father and Ty. She rapped, “It’s gonna get messy, just give me blessings / You’re my bestie, Miss Westie.” Kim Kardashian approved of her kids’ presence on stage prior to the event, so North wasn’t the only young person present. (Those who were following Saint on social media also saw him perform the “Ayy Speedy” dance.)
With its sly rhythms and plucking synth bass notes, “Waltzers” is an exciting listen. There is no shortage of space for featured artists thanks to West and Ty. For the much-anticipated alternate version of “New Body,” Nicki Minaj wrote a poem, and on 88-Keys’ “Back to Me,” Gibbs made a jaw-dropping guest appearance. “Beautiful women with big titties don’t fall out of the sky, you know,” co-star Jason Mewes says in a clip from the movie “Dogma,” which is used in the outro. West has echoed this sentiment throughout.
“Ped” is a homegrown music frenzy, while Brown dominates most of the space on “Beg for Forgiveness.” “River” pays tribute to the late Young Thug, currently undergoing testing, and Ty cleans up with a shout-out to Leon Bridges in the namesake bridge of the song.
Controversy is nothing new for West, who had already faced criticism for a line in “Giddha,” where he says, “I’m so Jewish, I just fucked a Jewish bitch.” He has been a target of anti-Semitic comments in a series over the past year and remains unapologetic. As the song played, West donned a black Klansman hat and set fire to it at the end of the performance, staring into the audience.
Even though the jokes were more frequent and the show was shorter, it ended abruptly in Miami at three in the morning. The speakers were turned off at the venue, and as a farewell, West repeated the line from “Giddha” into the microphone. When the mob moved out, West came out of it looking pretty happy with himself.
