Kanye West: Power (Pic Disc) 12″

Now that he’s got his whole melancholy autotune phase out of the way, Kanye goes back to what made him famous: making huge, kick ass rap tracks that are built on great samples. “Power” opens with a vocal sample that’s reminiscent of “Jesus Walks,” and then Kanye launches into a diatribe in which he tells pretty much everyone, including the cast of SNL, to fuck off. There’s also a particularly great use of a sample from King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man” in the hook. This pic disc, which features some freaky artwork from George Condo, features both the clean and explicit versions on both sides.

• music label: Roc-A-Fella / 2010

reviewed by Hires 09/2010