Maps of Music

Yeezus (2013)

Where the lyrics of Yeezus take you, and where it was really made.

West recorded the album across several studios in different cities, yet he brought in Rick Rubin only days before release to strip the sound down.

Key places

Germano Studios, New York City (2013)

Recording site Germano Studios — Germano is listed as the recording place for tracks 1 to 5, 7 and 8 of Yeezus. The point marks the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Studios de la Seine, Paris (2013)

Recording site Studios de la Seine — Studios de la Seine in Paris is listed as the recording place for tracks 1, 2, 9 and 10 of Yeezus. The first sessions took place in a loft at a Paris hotel in January 2013. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Real World Studios, Bath (2013)

Recording site Real World Studios — Real World Studios in Bath is listed as the recording place for tracks 6 and 8 of Yeezus. The point marks the studio building in Bath. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

The Mercer Hotel, New York City (2013)

Recording site The Mercer Hotel — The Mercer Hotel in New York City is listed as the recording place for track 8 of Yeezus. The point marks the hotel building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Rubin's Shangri-La studio in Malibu (2013)

Recording site Shangri-La — In late May and early June 2013, West and a group of collaborators worked at Rubin's Shangri-La studio in Malibu to finish the record. Tracks 1, 2 and 4 to 8 were recorded there. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Gee Jam, Port Antonio (2013)

Recording site Gee Jam Hotel Recording Studio — Gee Jam in Port Antonio is listed as the recording place for track 6 of Yeezus. The point is placed at the town centre because the exact building is not given. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Yeezus: sixth studio album by the American rapper Kanye West
• Released June 18, 2013 through Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records
• Produced by West with Mike Dean, Daft Punk, Noah Goldstein, Arca, Hudson Mohawke and Travis Scott
• Rick Rubin added as executive producer 15 days before release to strip down the sound
• Guest appearances by Justin Vernon, Chief Keef, Kid Cudi, Assassin, King L, Charlie Wilson and Frank Ocean
• Abrasive, electronic sound with distorted drum machines and synthesizers, unlike West's earlier albums
• Draws on industrial, acid house, electro, punk, Chicago drill and horrorcore

Background

• Followed the fifth studio album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) and the collaboration Watch the Throne (2011) with Jay-Z
• No I.D. revealed in July 2012 that West was working on the album
• Influenced mainly by minimalist design and architecture during production
• Visited a furniture exhibit in the Louvre five times
• Listened to 1980s house music associated with his home city of Chicago
• Alejandro Jodorowsky's The Holy Mountain also served as an inspiration for the album and its tour

Recording

• Recording began in 2012 with collaborators including No I.D. and DJ Khaled
• First sessions held in January 2013 in the living room of his personal loft at a Paris hotel
• West kept compositions simple so that the tracks could be heard clearly in a room with poor acoustics
• Several tracks deemed too melodic were left off the finished album
• Rubin's rough cut ran nearly three and a half hours before West asked him for a stripped-down minimal direction
• In late May and early June 2013, West and a rotating group of collaborators worked at Rubin's Shangri-La studio in Malibu

Cover

• The physical CD came in a clear jewel box with no album artwork, reflecting the minimalist tone
• The packaging was little more than a piece of red tape and a sticker on the back

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Ye (born Kanye Omari West, June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer.
• Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago; began producing in the mid-1990s for Chicago-area artists.
• Signed to Roc-A-Fella Records as a recording artist after producing for Jay-Z's label.

Members

• Solo artist; formed the Go-Getters group with GLC, Timmy G, and Arrowstar (1999).

Career

• Debut The College Dropout (2004) and Late Registration (2005) earned critical acclaim.
• Released eleven US Billboard 200 number-one albums; five US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles.
• Known for stylistic shifts from chamber pop to electropop, gospel, and industrial rap.
• Founded GOOD Music label; ventured into fashion with Louis Vuitton, Nike, and Adidas (Yeezy).
• Has 24 Grammy Awards and sold an estimated 160 million records.
• Faced major controversy for antisemitic statements from 2022 and later expressed remorse.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metacritic: universal acclaim based on a weighted average score of 84 out of 100 from 46 critic scores
• The Guardian's Alexis Petridis found it 'noisy, gripping, maddening, potent'
• Rolling Stone's Jon Dolan called it a 'brilliant, obsessive-compulsive career auto-correct'
• Pitchfork's Ryan Dombal viewed it as a 'razor-sharpened take' on 808s & Heartbreak
• The Los Angeles Times' Randall Roberts felt it was West's most ambitious piece of music yet
• The New York Times' Jon Pareles said the lyrics undermined the innovation of the sound
• Robert Christgau found the sexist imagery very hard to take
• Lou Reed reviewed it in July 2013 shortly before his death, calling it majestic and inspiring

Reappraisal

• Rolling Stone ranked it 269th on its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list in 2020
• Resident Advisor ranked it number 16 in its Best Electronic Records 2000–25 list in 2025
• Pitchfork readers voted it both the year's Most Overrated and Most Underrated album in 2013

Records

• Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 327,000 copies in its first week
• Number one in Australia, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand, Russia and the UK
• Nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2014 Grammy Awards
• Named the best album of 2013 by The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop poll
• Certified double platinum by the RIAA
• Certified gold in the UK by the BPI on February 20, 2015, for 100,000 units

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album was originally titled Thank God for Drugs before the final title Yeezus was chosen.
• A rough cut that Rick Rubin received ran nearly three and a half hours long.
• Rubin suggested cutting the album from 16 songs to 10 and saving the others for a follow-up.
• West set a rule of no 'bass wobbles' reminiscent of dubstep.
• Yeezus was the most acclaimed album of 2013 according to Metacritic, appearing on 61 year-end lists.
• A truck carrying custom-made video screens for the Yeezus Tour was involved in a car accident on October 30, 2013, and the equipment was damaged beyond repair.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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