On Tuesday (August 22), Pitchfork released a unique new interview with Black Thought, the iconic emcee best known for his efforts with The Roots. For the story, Thought revisited his favorite albums at certain periods of his life, pinning them down by ages in multiples of 5. When it came to age 35, which was in 2008, Thought said the album that resonated with him most at the time was Kanye West‘s 808s & Heartbreak, released on November 24, 2008.
“(West) was operating from that place of, ‘I’d rather ask for forgiveness than permission.’ He’d be there playing some beats when you arrived, and if you were offended he’d apologize,” Thought said of West in the 808s & Heartbreak era. “That business model worked for him. I’ve always admired people who are able to turn it on in that way, who are that dedicated to the grind and the hustle.”
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However, while Thought showered praises upon the artist West was 15 years ago, he also used this point in time to show much more authentic his music was as opposed to nowadays. Without referencing a specific album or song, Thought continued by saying West’s creations as of late have felt more like a group effort, which eliminates West’s ability to portray personal experiences thoroughly.
“I connect with Kanye’s music less now,” he told Pitchfork. “Maybe it’s because of the rate at which he’s been putting out art and having to keep up. I think his process has become more assembly-line, which in many ways is the Motown model. It works. I don’t know if anything’s lost, but what is sometimes compromised is the personality. The main person it’s supposed to be about is sometimes overshadowed by all these other writers, producers, and people who are contributing. Kanye is less Kanye now than he was when I was a bigger Kanye fan.”
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Though he never made any direct allusions, it’s fair to conclude that Thought is referencing recent West albums like Donda (2021), Ye (2018), and The Life of Pablo (2015). While each of these projects contains tracks that see West bare his soul with his lyricism, such as Donda‘s “Believe What I Say,” Ye‘s “I Thought About Killing You,” and TLOP‘s “Saint Pablo,” Thought is correct in his assertion that he had much more help crafting these songs. And, along with the many more songwriters and producers credited in West’s new music compared to his early work, track lists for Donda and TLOP are loaded with feature guests, sometimes to the point where West feels like a featured artist on his own songs.
Currently, West is at work crafting another studio album, yet to be given a title or release date. If recent trends continue, though, the creation of this impending project will likely involve several cooks in the kitchen, a gripe Black Thought articulated splendidly in his latest interview.
(Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)