Kanye West became hip-hop establishment because he was never willing to conform to other artists styles. But in the last few months, the 41-year-old visionary reversed course, skewing his own sound by ingratiating himself to the SoundCloud generation. In some cases, its been commercially successful (albeit creatively bankrupt) likeI Love It featuring Lil Pump. And in other cases, flat-out disturbing, like hisXXXTentacion collaboration One Minute.
But onYNW Mellys Mixed Personalities, Wests vision is realized. The song, from its Cole Bennett-directed visual to its overtly processed vocals, sounds unmistakably current. But Wests verse amplifies how indebted YNW Melly is to Wests now-classic album808s & Heartbreak.By rediscovering his old sound the way a new generation hears it, West sounds completely revitalized.
I think I got mixed personalities/This bitch switched up my whole mentality, Kanye sings through AutoTune with glee. The line feels like it was delivered with a wink. After the ye artist spent the majority of 2018 dealing with the stigma of his mental health issues its disarming to hear him sing about Mixed Personalities in the context of a straight forward pop song. Its also a tad offensive (but even that harks back to peak-Ye.)
Instead of overwhelming Mixed Personalities with his sonic footprint, West is comfortable playing co-conspirator to YNW Melly. The Florida rapper is rising thanks to emotionally raw songs like Murder on my Mind, so its nice to see Melly on the happier side of the spectrum for a change.