Kanye West is making headlines again, but it's not all about the music now. The rapper shared the tracklist for his upcoming 'WW3' album late Wednesday night (April 2). The 11-song project is already generating controversy for its pieces and deeply troubling themes.
Some of the most provocative track names include "Heil Hitler," "Hitler Ye and Jesus," and "Free Diddy," the last of which seems to allude to the embattled hip-hop mogul. The album's opening track also includes a guest appearance from the rapper Dave Blunts, a less-known collaborator whose presence generates some curiosity in the wake of the project's billowing storm.
Kanye has never been one to shy away from controversy, but 'WW3' seems to have crossed into territory many can't condone. The rapper has a long record of antisemitic stumping, and the lyrics presented from this album suggest that he's doubling down rather than backing off. In the title track, West reportedly raps, "rocking swastikas 'cause all my n##### Nazis," and "They're telling me that I'm a bully/I'm antisemitic, fully." Another line goes, "Reading Mein Kampf, two chapters before I go home to sleep," which references Adolf Hitler's notorious manifesto.
Together, these lyrics and Kanye's previous comments and fashion choices, like his decision to use Nazi iconography, don't precisely form a cohesive argument. Still, they do give a sense of a jarring new artistic direction. Even his description of the project reads alarms. West called the word "My new sound called antisemitic," an unapologetic declaration and emboldened statement coinciding with his ongoing rehearsal of hate speech.
For years, Kanye West was also known as a musical pioneer, defining and reshaping what hip-hop could sound like and serving as the muse for generations of artists. But his music, they wonder, is that really expression anymore or a platform for spreading harmful ideology, as his personal beliefs and actions have become so extreme?
In addition to its disturbing lyrical content, 'WW3' mentions West's lifestyle, including his use of nitrous oxide. One line says, "Went to the dentist and got me some nitrous/Went to the dentist and put in some diamonds." Although this seems like a minor detail in light of the album's grander themes, it adds a different layer to Kanye's increasingly erratic public persona.
Since the announcement of 'WW3,' immediate backlash has ensued, with many asking platforms to get the album shelved before it can see the light of day. West's antisemitic comments have already had massive fallout in recent years, resulting in his losing major brand deals and pushing him further into the industry's fringes. These early previews hint that 'WW3' will follow through on that rhetoric, and if that's true, it could spell a new career low for Abrash. One that some feel should and could render him entirely unmarketable.
Through it all, Kanye West has a fan base, and it will be interesting to see how they react to 'WW3.' Is this album more of Kanye's tendency to provoke, or is it the definitive sign that he's crossed an irretrievable line? Either way, 'WW3' will likely be one of the most disturbing releases in hip-hop history.
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