Yeezus

File:Paris - palais du Louvre, pavillon Richelieu.jpg. It is indexed in the Base Mérimée, a database of architectural heritage maintained by the French Ministry of Culture, under the reference PA00085992|West first began work on Yeezus at his personal loft in Paris, and on numerous occasions visited the Louvre (pictured) for inspiration.]]

Following the release of his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010), Kanye West collaborated with longtime friend Jay-Z on Watch the Throne (2011).{{cite magazine|last=Christman|first=Ed|url=https://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/retail/1176913/jay-z-and-kanye-wests-watch-the-throne-exclusives-have-retailers-up|title=Jay-Z and Kanye West's 'Watch the Throne' Exclusives Have Retailers Up in Arms|magazine=Billboard|date=July 28, 2011|access-date=March 4, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228032504/http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/retail/1176913/jay-z-and-kanye-wests-watch-the-throne-exclusives-have-retailers-up|archive-date=February 28, 2014}} In July 2012, producer No I.D. revealed that he had been working on West's sixth solo studio album (and seventh overall) and that it would be released after Cruel Summer (2012), a collaborative compilation album between members of West's record label GOOD Music.{{cite web | url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1689121/kanye-west-new-solo-album.jhtml | title=Kanye West To Drop Solo LP After G.O.O.D.'s Cruel Summer | publisher=MTV News | date=July 5, 2012 | access-date=May 20, 2013 | author=Markman, Rob | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524154945/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1689121/kanye-west-new-solo-album.jhtml | archive-date=May 24, 2013 | df=mdy-all }} For Yeezus, West enlisted several collaborators, including Kid Cudi, Charlie Wilson, S1, the Heatmakerz, Mike Dean, Hudson Mohawke, Skrillex, Young Chop, Chief Keef, Frank Ocean, Odd Future, Travis Scott, The-Dream, Cyhi the Prynce, Malik Yusef, King L, John Legend, James Blake, RZA, Mase, and Pusha T. The album features additional vocals by Justin Vernon, Frank Ocean, Kid Cudi, Chief Keef, King L, Assassin, and Charlie Wilson.{{Cite web |last=Perez |first=Joe |date=June 18, 2013 |title=YEEZUS {{!}} Joe Perez |url=https://www.joerperez.com/yeezus/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230627144319/https://www.joerperez.com/yeezus/ |archive-date=June 27, 2023 |access-date=July 11, 2023 |website=www.joerperez.com}}

West was influenced primarily by minimalist design and architecture during the production of Yeezus, and visited a furniture exhibit in the Louvre five times. A single Le Corbusier lamp was his "greatest inspiration". West worked closely with the architect Oana Stănescu, and took "field trips" to Le Corbusier homes. Fascinated by Stănescu's comments on the unusual and radical nature of Corbusier design choices, West applied the situation to his own life, feeling that "visionaries can be misunderstood by their unenlightened peers". West also met with architect Joseph Dirand and Belgian interior designer Axel Vervoordt, and had "rare Le Corbusier lamps, Pierre Jeanneret chairs and obscure body-art journals from Switzerland" delivered to the loft. West also wanted a deep hometown influence on the album, and listened to 1980s house music most associated with his home city of Chicago for influence. Alejandro Jodorowsky's The Holy Mountain was also an inspiration for the album and its ensuing tour.{{cite web|last1=Scarano|first1=Ross|last2=Pasori|first2=Cesar|url=http://www.complex.com/style/2013/11/kanye-west-jodorowsky-holy-mountain/|title=Kanye's Holy Mountain: The Influence of Alejandro Jodorowsky on the Yeezus Tour|website=Complex|date=November 22, 2013|access-date=December 6, 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903035038/http://www.complex.com/style/2013/11/kanye-west-jodorowsky-holy-mountain/|archive-date=September 3, 2015}}{{cite web|last1=Kaye|first1=Ben|url=http://consequenceofsound.net/2013/11/is-kanye-wests-yeezus-an-ode-to-alejandro-jodorowskys-film-the-holy-mountain/|title=Is Kanye West's Yeezus an ode to Alejandro Jodorowsky's film The Holy Mountain?|website=Consequence|date=November 22, 2013|access-date=December 6, 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919230615/http://consequenceofsound.net/2013/11/is-kanye-wests-yeezus-an-ode-to-alejandro-jodorowskys-film-the-holy-mountain/|archive-date=September 19, 2015}} The album was originally titled Thank God for Drugs.{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/kanye-west-yeezus-album-originally-titled-thank-god-for-drugs-2592796-2592796|title=Kanye West's 'Yeezus' was originally titled 'Thank God for Drugs'|website=NME|last=Krol|first=Charlotte|date=January 3, 2020|access-date=January 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104155411/https://www.nme.com/news/music/kanye-west-yeezus-album-originally-titled-thank-god-for-drugs-2592796-2592796|archive-date=January 4, 2020|url-status=live}}

File:RickRubinSept09.jpg co-founder Rick Rubin to executive produce the album.]]

In 2012, West began recording his sixth studio album with collaborators, including No I.D. and DJ Khaled.{{cite web|last=Markman|first=Rob|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1708819/kanye-west-yeezus-dj-khaled.jhtml|title=Kanye West's Yeezus Gets Him 'Don Status' From DJ Khaled|publisher=MTV News|date=June 11, 2013|access-date=June 29, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130614040839/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1708819/kanye-west-yeezus-dj-khaled.jhtml|archive-date=June 14, 2013}} The first recordings were held in January 2013, in the living room of his personal loft at a Paris hotel, referred to in the album's credits as the "No Name Hotel". West kept compositions simple in order to hear the tracks more clearly; too much bass or complexity would simply overpower the room's poor acoustics.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/arts/music/kanye-west-talks-about-his-career-and-album-yeezus.html| title=Behind Kanye's Mask| work=The New York Times| date=June 11, 2013| access-date=June 13, 2013| author=Caramanica, Jon| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612210522/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/arts/music/kanye-west-talks-about-his-career-and-album-yeezus.html| archive-date=June 12, 2013| df=mdy-all}} The beats emanating from the loft space, which sometimes lasted through the night, provoked complaints from neighbors. Reports emerged that he and his then-girlfriend Kim Kardashian had moved to the loft in order for West to begin work on the album.{{cite journal | url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/04/kanye-west-kim-kardashian-paris_n_2806085.html | title=Kanye West, Kim Kardashian Moving To Paris So He Can Work on New Album (Report) | journal=HuffPost | location=New York | date=March 4, 2013 | access-date=May 20, 2013 | author=Sieczkowski, Cavan | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520221336/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/04/kanye-west-kim-kardashian-paris_n_2806085.html | archive-date=May 20, 2013 | df=mdy-all }}

The atmosphere in the studio was described by contributor Evian Christ as "very focused", and West once again brought in several close collaborators. Producer Hudson Mohawke noted the inclusive "group" atmosphere of the sessions, in which multiple contributors would work on similar pieces, with different elements ultimately selected from each.{{cite web|last1=McQuaid|first1=Ian|title=Hudson Mohawke: Kanye West's go-to guy is changing the face of pop|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/mar/14/hudson-mohawke-kanye-west-producer|website=The Guardian|date=March 14, 2015|access-date=July 4, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160521083245/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/mar/14/hudson-mohawke-kanye-west-producer|archive-date=May 21, 2016}} All involved were given a song to work on and return the next day to sit and critique, a process Anthony Kilhoffer compared to an art class.{{cite web| url=https://pitchfork.com/features/articles/9157-the-yeezus-sessions/| title=The Yeezus Sessions| work=Pitchfork| date=June 24, 2013| access-date=June 26, 2013| author=Dombal, Ryan| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130626203159/http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/9157-the-yeezus-sessions/| archive-date=June 26, 2013| df=mdy-all}} Producer Arca described being initially asked to send West music, noting that she purposefully sent perhaps the strangest stuff she had, with West happening to be excited by it.{{cite web|last1=Staff|title=Arca Reveals Details about Working with Kanye on Yeezus|url=http://www.thefader.com/2014/09/30/arca-kayne-west-yeezus|website=The Fader|access-date=July 4, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160712132306/http://www.thefader.com/2014/09/30/arca-kayne-west-yeezus|archive-date=July 12, 2016}} Describing West's collaborative style, Arca stated:

It was a lot of coming up with design, like solving riddles. If the song called for something aggressive, it was up to three or four people to design what in their head was the best solution for that aggression in that moment. Everyone would approach it in completely different ways, and ultimately, it would all be edited by Kanye himself.

File:Kanye West Yeezus Tour Staples Center 1.jpg performing at Staples Center on October 26, 2013, in Los Angeles on The Yeezus Tour.|The record production is characterized as raw and dark. West maintains a stripped-down approach while continuing to use eclectic samples.]]

Determined to "undermine the commercial", several tracks were left off the finished product that were deemed too melodic or more in line with West's previous material. West set parameters regarding sound and style, insisting that there be no "bass wobbles" reminiscent of dubstep. The album's recording process was described as "very raw" by Thomas Bangalter of the French electronic duo Daft Punk, who produced four songs for the album, adding that West was "rapping – kind of screaming primally, actually".{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/exclusive-daft-punk-reveal-secrets-of-new-album-20130413 | title=Daft Punk Reveal Secrets of New Album – Exclusive | magazine=Rolling Stone | location=New York | date=April 13, 2013 | access-date=May 20, 2013 | author=Weiner, Jonah | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130424020430/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/exclusive-daft-punk-reveal-secrets-of-new-album-20130413 | archive-date=April 24, 2013 | df=mdy-all }} While previous albums, particularly Dark Fantasy, took considerable time in the studio, Yeezus was described by Kilhoffer as "the fastest record we ever made". In May 2013, Def Jam executives listened to the "final product", (only later to be changed) describing the album as "dark".{{cite journal | url=http://www.rap-up.com/2013/05/18/kanye-west-to-release-new-album-yeezus-on-june-18/ | title=Kanye West to Release New Album 'Yeezus' on June 18 | journal=Rap-Up | location=Los Angeles | date=May 18, 2013 | access-date=May 20, 2013 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901070609/http://www.rap-up.com/2013/05/18/kanye-west-to-release-new-album-yeezus-on-june-18/ | archive-date=September 1, 2013 | df=mdy-all }} American musician Travis Scott opined that the snippets he'd heard of Yeezus were from the year 3000 and recalled "crazy memories" from being around West during the recording of it.{{cite news|last=Alexis|first=Nadeska|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1709185/kanye-west-travis-scott-yeezus/|title=Kanye West's Yeezus 'Came To Life' In A 'Sacred Process'|publisher=MTV News|date=June 18, 2013|access-date=December 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190624183801/http://www.mtv.com/news/1709185/kanye-west-travis-scott-yeezus/|archive-date=June 24, 2019|url-status=dead}}

W writer Christopher Bagley reports that West's creative process often bordered on perfectionist. In March 2013, West described the album to Bagley as near completion, only to revise this statement one month later to the album being "only 30 percent complete".{{cite news| url=http://www.wmagazine.com/people/celebrities/2013/06/kanye-west-on-kim-kardashian-and-his-new-album-yeezus/| title=Kanye West: The Transformer| work=W| date=June 19, 2013| access-date=June 24, 2013| author=Bagley, Christopher| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624140215/http://www.wmagazine.com/people/celebrities/2013/06/kanye-west-on-kim-kardashian-and-his-new-album-yeezus/| archive-date=June 24, 2013| df=mdy-all}} West made several last-minute alterations to Yeezus, enlisting the co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, Rick Rubin, as an executive producer for additional recording mere days before its release; changes included re-recording whole songs and rewriting entire verses.{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jun/11/kanye-west-yeezus-last-minute | title=Kanye West still working on Yeezus even though it's due out next week | work=The Guardian | location=London | date=June 11, 2013 | access-date=June 11, 2013 | author=Michaels, Sean | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019051204/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jun/11/kanye-west-yeezus-last-minute | archive-date=October 19, 2013 | df=mdy-all }} The rough cut West played Rubin ran nearly three and a half hours long.{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/rick-rubin-finishing-kanye-wests-yeezus-seemed-impossible-20130627 | title=Rick Rubin: Finishing Kanye West's Yeezus Seemed Impossible | magazine=Rolling Stone | date=June 27, 2013 | access-date=June 27, 2013 | author=Blistein, Jon | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630092456/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/rick-rubin-finishing-kanye-wests-yeezus-seemed-impossible-20130627 | archive-date=June 30, 2013 | df=mdy-all }} West's orders to Rubin were to take the music in a "stripped-down minimal direction", often removing elements already recorded. In a September 2013 interview with radio DJ Zane Lowe, West said of Rubin that "he's not a producer, he's a reducer".

For several days in late May and early June 2013, West and a "rotating group of intimates, collaborators and hangers-on" holed up at Rubin's Shangri-La studio in Malibu in service of completing the record. Rubin thought it impossible to meet the deadline and all involved ended up working long hours with no days off in order to complete the record. West had intended the album be 16 tracks until Rubin suggested cutting the album down to fewer tracks, from 16 songs to 10, saying the others could be reserved for a follow-up.{{cite web | url=http://mag.newsweek.com/2013/06/26/rick-rubin-on-crashing-kanye-s-album-in-15-days.html | title=Rick Rubin on Crashing Kanye's Album in 15 Days | website=The Daily Beast | location=New York | date=June 26, 2013 | access-date=July 15, 2013 | author=Romano, Andrew | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001065717/http://mag.newsweek.com/2013/06/26/rick-rubin-on-crashing-kanye-s-album-in-15-days.html | archive-date=October 1, 2013 | df=mdy-all }} Rubin gave as example "Bound", which was "a more middle of the road R&B song, done in an adult contemporary style" before West decided to replace the musical backing with a minimalistic sample, "a single note bassline in the hook which we processed to have a punk edge in the Suicide tradition". Two days before the album had to be delivered to the label, West wrote and sang the lyrics to two songs while also recording the vocals to three others in just two hours.{{cite journal | url=https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2013/06/14/the-inside-story-of-kanye-wests-yeezus/ | title=The Inside Story of Kanye West's 'Yeezus' | journal=The Wall Street Journal | location=New York | date=June 14, 2013 | access-date=June 15, 2013 | author=Jourgusen, Jon | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618022759/http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2013/06/14/the-inside-story-of-kanye-wests-yeezus/ | archive-date=June 18, 2013 | df=mdy-all }}

File:Kanye_Live_Yeezus_Tour.jpg work, the album is driven by abrasive electronics while drawing from an array of industrial, punk and hip-hop subgenres.]]

According to Chicago Tribune critic Greg Kot, Yeezus is a "hostile, abrasive and intentionally off-putting" album that combines "the worlds of" 1980s Chicago acid-house, 2013 Chicago drill music, 1990s industrial music, and the "avant-rap" of Saul Williams, Death Grips, and Odd Future.{{cite news | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/turnitup/chi-kanye-west-yeezus-review-20130616,0,6122329.column | title=Kanye West's 'Yeezus' an uneasy listen| work=Chicago Tribune| location=Chicago| date=June 16, 2013 | access-date=June 17, 2013 | author=Kot, Greg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820101622/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-06-17/entertainment/chi-kanye-west-yeezus-review-20130616_1_kanye-wests-gospel-record-saul-williams|archive-date=August 20, 2013}} The Independent, Mass Appeal, and The Village Voice described it as an experimental release,{{cite web|last1=Shepard|first1=Jack|title=Kanye West releases new album The Life of Pablo exclusively through TIDAL|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/kanye-west-the-life-of-pablo-stream-download-tidal-new-album-release-a6873071.html|website=The Independent|date=February 14, 2016|access-date=July 25, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820014631/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/kanye-west-the-life-of-pablo-stream-download-tidal-new-album-release-a6873071.html|archive-date=August 20, 2016}}{{cite web|last1=Krishnamurthy|first1=Sowmya|title=Eyes off the Throne: A Look Back at Kanye's Rise|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/music/eyes-off-the-throne-a-look-back-at-kanye-s-rise-8254964|website=The Village Voice|date=February 9, 2016|access-date=July 25, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160703132322/http://www.villagevoice.com/music/eyes-off-the-throne-a-look-back-at-kanye-s-rise-8254964|archive-date=July 3, 2016}}{{cite web|last1=Turner|first1=Hadrien|title=Yeezus Walks|url=http://massappeal.com/kanye-west-yeezus-walks/|publisher=Mass Appeal|access-date=July 25, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816203641/http://massappeal.com/kanye-west-yeezus-walks/|archive-date=August 16, 2016}} while Meagan Garvey of The Outline described it as West's "industrial album".{{cite web|last1=Garvey|first1=Meagan|title=No One Man Should Use All That Pinterest|url=https://theoutline.com/post/4435/kanye-west-artistic-influences-mood-board?zd=1&zi=ok66otjr|publisher=The Outline|access-date=May 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507221957/https://theoutline.com/post/4435/kanye-west-artistic-influences-mood-board?zd=1&zi=ok66otjr|archive-date=May 7, 2018|url-status=live}} Rolling Stone described it as "an extravagantly abrasive album full of grinding electro, pummeling minimalist hip-hop, drone-y wooz and industrial gear-grind", while Vulture called it a "punk rap opus",{{cite web |last1=Guan |first1=Frank |title=Here's Why Taylor Swift's '…Ready for It?' Might Sound Familiar |url=https://www.vulture.com/2017/09/why-taylor-swifts-ready-for-it-might-sound-familiar.html |work=Vulture |date=September 5, 2017 |access-date=June 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180529072657/http://www.vulture.com/2017/09/why-taylor-swifts-ready-for-it-might-sound-familiar.html |archive-date=May 29, 2018 |url-status=live }} and Rolling Stone called it an "industrial-rap opus".{{cite magazine |last1=Weingarten |first1=Christoper R. |title=Hear Dälek's Noise-Rap Return LP, 'Asphalt For Eden' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/premieres/hear-daeleks-noise-rap-return-lp-asphalt-for-eden-20160420 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=April 20, 2016 |access-date=June 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143901/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/premieres/hear-daeleks-noise-rap-return-lp-asphalt-for-eden-20160420 |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |url-status=live }} Slant Magazine critic Ted Scheinman described the album as "built on alien, angular beats, slowly morphing drones and sirens, abrupt periods of silence, and a pulse-quickening style of delivery from Yeezy himself", writing that West reconceives the "notion of what kind of music (or noise) can underpin hip-hop".{{cite web|title=Album Review - Kanye West, Yeezus|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/kanye-west-yeezus|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130825010101/http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/kanye-west-yeezus|work=Slant Magazine|author=Scheinman, Ted|date=June 17, 2013|access-date=December 6, 2019|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 25, 2013}} According to Charles Aaron of Spin, Yeezus is "a hip hop album, not a rap album", because of how its sounds and subject matter are assembled together, and although listeners can hear "'punk' or 'post-punk' or industrial'" throughout, "hip-hop has always been about noise and dissonance and dance music as agitation".{{cite journal|author=Aaron, Charles|date=June 15, 2013|url=https://www.spin.com/2013/06/kanye-west-yeezus-first-review/|title=Kanye West's 'Yeezus': Our Impulsive Reviews|journal=Spin|location=New York|access-date=June 24, 2013|display-authors=etal|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618183905/https://www.spin.com/2013/06/kanye-west-yeezus-first-review/|archive-date=June 18, 2013}} The album also incorporates elements of industrial and trap music.{{cite web| url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/06/the-shocking-poignance-of-kanye-wests-i-yeezus-i/276919/| title=The Shocking Poignance of Kanye West's Yeezus| work=The Atlantic| date=June 18, 2013| access-date=June 19, 2013| author=Kornhaber, Spencer| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618154714/http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/06/the-shocking-poignance-of-kanye-wests-i-yeezus-i/276919/| archive-date=June 18, 2013| df=mdy-all}} The record "most closely resembles" 1990s industrial rock, during which the genre had a significant pop culture impact, with artists such as Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, and Marilyn Manson gaining success. The industrial scene created a "vast global underground community", and Esquire notes that one of its epicenters was in Chicago, where West was raised.{{cite news| url=http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/kanye-west-yeezus| title=The Chaos of Kanye West's Yeezus| work=Esquire| date=June 18, 2013| access-date=June 19, 2013| author=Raymer, Miles| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623020749/http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/kanye-west-yeezus| archive-date=June 23, 2013| df=mdy-all}} Evan Rytlewski of The A.V. Club characterized its opening series of songs as electro and industrial hip-hop.

Referencing the sound of Yeezus in September 2013, West stated: "For me as Kanye West, I got to fuck shit up... I'm going to take music and try to make it three dimensional... I'm not here to make easy listening, easily programmable music".{{cite news|last1=Cooper|first1=Leonie|title=Kanye West gives extraordinary interview on BBC Radio 1|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/kanye-west-552-1249575|website=NME|date=September 23, 2013|access-date=December 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726222324/https://www.nme.com/news/music/kanye-west-552-1249575|archive-date=July 26, 2019|url-status=live}} At the same time, he viewed himself as artistically being "here to crack the pavement and break new ground, sonically". West would later go onto describe the sound of the album as "a protest to music". West elaborated, claiming that he "was like 'I'm gonna take my ball and go home'".{{cite web|last1=Britton|first1=Luke Morgan|title=Kanye West says his new album is '80 per cent done' and will be released as a surprise|url=https://www.nme.com/news/kanye-west/83031|website=NME|date=February 20, 2015|access-date=March 2, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223104730/http://www.nme.com/news/kanye-west/83031|archive-date=February 23, 2015}}

Yeezus is primarily electronic in nature, and boasts distorted drum machines and synthesizers that sound like they're malfunctioning, low-resolution samplers that add a pixelated digital aura to the most analog sounds. To this end, the album incorporates glitches reminiscent of CD skips or corrupted MP3's, and Auto-Tuned vocals are modulated to a point in which they are difficult to decipher. Esquire cites "On Sight" as an early example of the album's connection to electronic music, citing its "droning synthesizer tone", which is "modulated until the signal starts throwing off harshly treble-heavy spikes and begins to clip, as if it were overloading a digital audio processor".

{{Listen

| pos = right

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| title = "On Sight"

| description = A sample of the opening track, "On Sight" exemplifies the album's abrasive electronic music. It features a droning synthesizer tone, one that is modulated until the signal gives off harsh treble-heavy spikes and begins to clip.

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| filename2 = Black Skinhead.ogg

| title2 = "Black Skinhead"

| description2 = The album's lead single, "Black Skinhead" has alternately been called an industrial hip-hop song{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/kanye-west-yeezus-1798177119|title=Kanye West: Yeezus|work=The A.V. Club|first=Evan|last=Rytlewski|date=June 17, 2013|access-date=July 9, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130709111934/http://www.avclub.com/articles/kanye-west-yeezus%2C99105/|archive-date=July 9, 2013}}{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2013/05/21/185781341/kanye-west-stands-alone|title=Kanye West Stands Alone|publisher=NPR|first=Frannie|last=Kelley|date=May 21, 2013|access-date=July 9, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130711041251/http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2013/05/21/185781341/kanye-west-stands-alone|archive-date=July 11, 2013}} and "a galloping punk rap manifesto".{{cite magazine | url=https://ew.com/article/2013/07/09/yeezus-album/ | title=Yeezus (2013): Kanye West | magazine=Entertainment Weekly | location=New York | date=June 25, 2013 | access-date=June 29, 2013 | author=Rahman, Ray | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110191805/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20709700,00.html | archive-date=November 10, 2013 | df=mdy-all }}

| format2 = Ogg

}}

Yeezus continues West's practice of eclectic samples: he employs an obscure Hindi sample on "I Am a God", and a sample of 1970s Hungarian rock group Omega on "New Slaves". "On Sight" interpolates a melody from "Sermon (He'll Give Us What We Really Need)" by the Holy Name of Mary Choral Family, although the track originally sampled an old vocal track from the original recording. "Bound 2" features heavy soul music samples and has been described as the only song on Yeezus which recalls the sound of West's early work.{{cite web | url=http://popdust.com/2013/06/17/kanye-wests-yeezus-reviewed-bound-2/ | title=Kanye West's 'Yeezus' Reviewed: 'Bound 2' | publisher=PopDust | date=June 17, 2013 | access-date=August 23, 2013 | author=Unterberger, Andrew | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826153126/http://popdust.com/2013/06/17/kanye-wests-yeezus-reviewed-bound-2/ | archive-date=August 26, 2013 | df=mdy-all }} "Bound", a 1971 song by American soul group Ponderosa Twins Plus One from their album 2 + 2 + 1 = Ponderosa Twins Plus One, serves as the primary sample used in West's track.{{cite web | url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1708420/kanye-west-yeezus-sample-ponderosa-twins.jhtml | title=Who's Kanye West Sampling in Retro Yeezus Preview? | publisher=MTV News | date=June 4, 2013 | access-date=August 23, 2013 | author=Montgomery, James | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130802023436/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1708420/kanye-west-yeezus-sample-ponderosa-twins.jhtml | archive-date=August 2, 2013 | df=mdy-all }}

The album's second track "Black Skinhead" has alternately been called an industrial hip-hop song and "a galloping punk-rap manifesto". "I Am a God" was inspired by a "diss" from a major fashion designer, who informed West of his invitation to a widely anticipated runway show on the condition he agree to not attend other shows. "I'm in It" began with a different sample and melody, but West removed the sample and Rubin edited the track down from a six-minute arrangement. "Blood on the Leaves", which samples Nina Simone's 1965 rendition of "Strange Fruit" and was the first track in the first incarnation of the track list, is an example of West's signature dichotomy in which he melds the sacred and profane. "Strange Fruit", first recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939, brought the lynchings of black Americans to a "startling poignancy", creating "one of the most towering, important songs of the 20th century". West's anthemic re-telling instead details an MDMA-fueled hookup and the perils of fame.{{cite web| url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1709304/kanye-west-blood-on-leaves-strange-fruit.jhtml| title=Kanye West's 'Blood on the Leaves' And The History Of 'Strange Fruit'| publisher=MTV News| date=June 19, 2013| access-date=June 26, 2013| author=Kaufman, Gil| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624015619/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1709304/kanye-west-blood-on-leaves-strange-fruit.jhtml| archive-date=June 24, 2013| df=mdy-all}}

File:New Slaves projection.jpg

On May 1, 2013, West used Twitter to post a single message reading "June Eighteen", leading several media outlets to speculate that the post referred to the release date of West's upcoming album.{{cite journal | url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-kanye-west-reveals-june-18-as-something-20130502,0,6084650.story | title=Kanye West reveals June 18 as ... something | journal=Los Angeles Times | date=May 2, 2013 | access-date=May 20, 2013 | author=Wood, Mikael | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521044954/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-kanye-west-reveals-june-18-as-something-20130502,0,6084650.story | archive-date=May 21, 2013 | df=mdy-all }} On May 17, he began promotion of the album by unveiling the previously unreleased song "New Slaves" through video projections in 66 assorted locations.{{cite web | url=https://pitchfork.com/news/50579-kanye-west-unveils-album-details-via-projections-around-the-world/ | title=Watch: Kanye West Projects New Video "New Slaves" on Buildings Around the World | work=Pitchfork | date=May 17, 2013 | access-date=May 20, 2013 | author=Battan, Carrie | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607111458/http://pitchfork.com/news/50579-kanye-west-unveils-album-details-via-projections-around-the-world/ | archive-date=June 7, 2013 | df=mdy-all }} The following day, West appeared on the American late-night live television sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live and performed the songs "New Slaves" and "Black Skinhead".{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/kanye-west-unleashes-the-fury-of-black-skinhead-on-snl-20130519 | title=Kanye West Unleashes the Fury of 'Black Skinhead' on 'SNL' | magazine=Rolling Stone | location=New York | date=May 19, 2013 | access-date=May 20, 2013 | author=Coleman, Miriam | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605083844/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/kanye-west-unleashes-the-fury-of-black-skinhead-on-snl-20130519 | archive-date=June 5, 2013 | df=mdy-all }} West subsequently revealed the album's cover and title, Yeezus, on his official website.{{cite journal | url=http://www.rap-up.com/2013/05/19/kanye-west-unveils-yeezus-artwork/ | title=Kanye West Unveils 'Yeezus' Artwork | journal=Rap-Up | location=Los Angeles | date=May 18, 2013 | access-date=May 20, 2013 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130915202345/http://www.rap-up.com/2013/05/19/kanye-west-unveils-yeezus-artwork/ | archive-date=September 15, 2013 | df=mdy-all }} Fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar offered his opinion on the title in an interview that same month, stating: "That's crazy, I want to hear that. That's that creative Kanye genius stuff out the box".{{cite news|last=Lilah|first=Rose|url=https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/kendrick-lamar-speaks-on-being-inspired-by-kanye-west-s-marketing-for-new-slaves-news.5739.html|title=Kendrick Lamar Speaks On Being Inspired By Kanye West's Marketing For "New Slaves"|website=HotNewHipHop|date=May 19, 2013|access-date=December 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017113847/http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/kendrick-lamar-speaks-on-being-inspired-by-kanye-west-s-marketing-for-new-slaves-news.5739.html|archive-date=October 17, 2015|url-status=live}} He also claimed that the album's "whole marketing scheme is crazy" and "very inspiring". The iTunes Store made Yeezus available for pre-order on May 20, but the listing was subsequently taken down for unknown reasons.{{cite web | url=https://pitchfork.com/news/50813-kanye-wests-yeezus-is-on-itunes-now/ | title=Update: Kanye's Yeezus Listing Removed From iTunes | work=Pitchfork | date=May 20, 2013 | access-date=June 11, 2013 | author=Battan, Carrie | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130609084838/http://pitchfork.com/news/50813-kanye-wests-yeezus-is-on-itunes-now/ | archive-date=June 9, 2013 | df=mdy-all }} On May 29, A.P.C. founder Jean Touitou unveiled an advertisement for Yeezus which stated that the album would not be available for pre-order.{{cite journal | url=http://www.complex.com/music/2013/05/kanye-wests-yeezus-pre-order | title=Looks Like Kanye West's 'Yeezus' Won't Be Available For Pre-Order | journal=Complex | location=New York | date=May 29, 2013 | access-date=May 30, 2013 | author=Ahmed, Insanul | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130608011136/http://www.complex.com/music/2013/05/kanye-wests-yeezus-pre-order | archive-date=June 8, 2013 | df=mdy-all }} Speaking about the album's minimal promotion, West stated: "With this album, we ain't drop no single to radio. We ain't got no NBA campaign, nothing like that. Shit, we ain't even got no cover. We just made some real music".

In May 2013, American rapper J. Cole called West "one of the greatest artists of our generation" via Twitter, with him following this by tweeting: "Which is exactly why I'm moving my release date up. Born Sinner June 18th".{{cite web|last=Bobb|first=Maurice|url=http://rapfix.mtv.com/2013/05/20/j-cole-moves-up-born-sinner-release-date-drops-official-cover-art/|title=J. Cole Moves Up 'Born Sinner' Release Date, Drops Official Cover Art|publisher=MTV Rapfix|date=May 20, 2013|access-date=December 4, 2019|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130608085004/http://rapfix.mtv.com/2013/05/20/j-cole-moves-up-born-sinner-release-date-drops-official-cover-art/|archive-date=June 8, 2013}} He explained releasing his second studio album Born Sinner on the same day as Yeezus during an interview that same month, saying: "I'm not going to sit [here]... I worked too hard to come a week later after Kanye West drops an amazing album. It'd be like, 'Oh and J.Cole dropped too, a week later.' Nah. I'm going to go see him on that date. He's the greatest".{{cite magazine |last1=Ramirez |first1=Erika |last2=Gale |first2=Alex |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/1563081/j-cole-talks-moving-up-album-release-to-compete-with-kanye-west |title=J. Cole Talks Moving Up Album Release To Compete With Kanye West: Exclusive |magazine=Billboard |date=May 21, 2013 |access-date=December 4, 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607194208/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/1563081/j-cole-talks-moving-up-album-release-to-compete-with-kanye-west |archive-date=June 7, 2013 }} The next month, J. Cole gave further context, claiming for the coinciding release to be "more about the statement" than the sales. J. Cole elaborated on this, admitting that the music being competed over "is art" and he "can't compete against the Kanye West celebrity and the status that he's earned just from being a genius", though stated: "But I can put my name in the hat and tell you that I think my album is great and you be the judge and you decide".{{cite news|last=Alexis|first=Nadeska|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1709365/j-cole-kanye-west-born-sinner-yeezus-competition/|title=J. Cole Went Head-To-Head With Kanye Because 'My Album Is Great'|publisher=MTV News|date=June 20, 2013|access-date=December 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015151253/http://www.mtv.com/news/1709365/j-cole-kanye-west-born-sinner-yeezus-competition/|archive-date=October 15, 2019|url-status=dead}} A lyrical reference to releasing on the same date as West is included in the track "Forbidden Fruit" from Born Sinner.

The physical CD edition of Yeezus was released in a clear jewel box with no album artwork, reflecting the minimalist tone. The packaging consists of little more than a piece of red tape and a sticker affixed to the back, with sample credits and the album's UPC. Other versions of this release have different colors of stickers, with green, yellow and orange being some of the other colors. The front is affixed with a Parental Advisory label.{{cite web|last=Montgomery|first=James|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1709235/kanye-west-yeezus-grammy-recording-package.jhtml|title=Can Kanye's Invisible Yeezus Artwork Still Nab A Best Package Grammy?|publisher=MTV News|date=June 18, 2013|access-date=June 19, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622013640/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1709235/kanye-west-yeezus-grammy-recording-package.jhtml|archive-date=June 22, 2013}} The Source pointed out a resemblance between the Yeezus CD packaging and a packaging concept designed for the single "Crystal" by the English band New Order in 2001.{{cite web|author=Benjammin|url=http://thesource.com/2013/06/27/the-origin-of-the-yeezus-cover-art/|title=The Origin of The "Yeezus" Cover Art|work=The Source|date=June 27, 2013|access-date=June 29, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702051916/http://thesource.com/2013/06/27/the-origin-of-the-yeezus-cover-art/|archive-date=July 2, 2013}} In a 2016 BBC interview with Annie Mac, West explained the album cover; "The whole concept for the Yeezus album is that we're not going to be using CDs in the future and since this is the last time we're going to see it, this is an open casket for the CD."{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5rm46SDVVWQZ1XZFXlM37fd/the-17-best-quotes-from-kanye-wests-interview-with-annie-mac|title=The 17 best quotes from Kanye West's interview with Annie Mac|publisher=BBC|access-date=January 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220082853/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5rm46SDVVWQZ1XZFXlM37fd/the-17-best-quotes-from-kanye-wests-interview-with-annie-mac|archive-date=December 20, 2016|url-status=live}}

File:Yeezus tour.jpg.]]

Def Jam confirmed in late June 2013 that "Black Skinhead" would be serviced to American radio as the album's first single on July 2, 2013, and that a music video for the track was being produced.{{cite magazine | url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/1568684/kanye-west-prepping-black-skinhead-as-first-yeezus-single | title=Kanye West Prepping 'Black Skinhead' as First 'Yeezus' Single | magazine=Billboard | location=Los Angeles | date=June 28, 2013 | access-date=June 29, 2013 | author=Greenwald, David | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702002607/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/1568684/kanye-west-prepping-black-skinhead-as-first-yeezus-single | archive-date=July 2, 2013 | df=mdy-all }} It was officially released to radio in the United Kingdom on June 19.{{cite web | url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/playlist/ | title=BBC Radio 1 Playlist – 19 June 2013 | publisher=BBC Radio 1 | access-date=September 1, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705040005/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/playlist/ | archive-date=July 5, 2013 | url-status=dead | df=mdy-all }} The song peaked at number 69 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and 34 on the UK Singles Chart.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/276709/Kanye+West/chart?f=379 |title=Kanye West - Chart history |magazine=Billboard |access-date=November 27, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225023045/http://www.billboard.com/artist/276709/Kanye+West/chart?f=379 |archive-date=December 25, 2013 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/20130707/7501/ |title=2013-07-13 Top 40 Official Singles Chart UK Archive |publisher=Official Charts Company |date=July 13, 2013 |access-date=November 27, 2013 }} In August 2013, it was revealed that "Bound 2" would be released as the second single from Yeezus.{{cite web | url=http://idolator.com/7479497/kanye-west-bound-2-single | title=Kanye West Releases 'Bound 2' As A Single To Trick People into Thinking 'Yeezus' Sounds Like Old Ye | publisher=Idolator | date=August 22, 2013 | access-date=August 23, 2013 | author=Williott, Carl | url-status=live | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130823150439/http://idolator.com/7479497/kanye-west-bound-2-single | archive-date=August 23, 2013 | df=mdy-all }} "Bound 2" features vocals from American soul singer Charlie Wilson and incorporates numerous samples into its production, including prominent elements of the song "Bound" (1971) by soul group Ponderosa Twins Plus One. "Bound 2" received general acclaim from music critics, who referred to the song as one of the highlights of the album and compared its soul sample-based production to West's early work from his debut studio album The College Dropout (2004).{{cite journal | url=http://www.xxlmag.com/rap-music/reviews/2013/06/album-review-kanye-west-yeezus/ | title=Album Review: Kanye West, Yeezus | journal=XXL | location=New York | date=June 18, 2013 | access-date=August 23, 2013 | author=Buyanovsky, Dan | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823165318/http://www.xxlmag.com/rap-music/reviews/2013/06/album-review-kanye-west-yeezus/ | archive-date=August 23, 2013 | df=mdy-all }} The song has since peaked at number 55 on the UK Singles Chart.{{cite web |url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/kanye%20west/ |title=KANYE WEST | Artist |publisher=Official Charts Company |access-date=November 27, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202225351/http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/kanye%20west/ |archive-date=December 2, 2013 }} In November 2013, producer Hudson Mohawke revealed that "Blood on the Leaves" would serve as the album's third single.{{cite web|last1=Lobenfeld|first1=Claire|title=Kanye's Next Single is "Blood on the Leaves"|url=http://www.complex.com/music/2013/11/kanye-next-single-blood-on-the-leaves|website=Complex|date=November 26, 2013|access-date=November 26, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131129193732/http://www.complex.com/music/2013/11/kanye-next-single-blood-on-the-leaves|archive-date=November 29, 2013}} West subsequently made the announcement in an interview on New York's 92.3 NOW.{{cite web|title=Kanye Reveals Next Single From Yeezus|url=http://hiphop-n-more.com/2013/11/kanye-reveals-next-single-from-yeezus/|work=HipHop-N-More|date=November 26, 2013|access-date=November 26, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131127191332/http://hiphop-n-more.com/2013/11/kanye-reveals-next-single-from-yeezus/|archive-date=November 27, 2013}}

On September 6, 2013, West announced The Yeezus Tour, a North American tour to take place between October 19 through December 7, 2013; two months prior to West's announcement, Yeezus co-producer Mike Dean had announced a tour for the album.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jun/19/kanye-west-to-tour-yeezus-mike-dean|title=Kanye West will go on tour, says Yeezus co-producer|work=The Guardian|first=Sean|last=Michaels|date=June 19, 2013|access-date=December 8, 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017064002/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jun/19/kanye-west-to-tour-yeezus-mike-dean|archive-date=October 17, 2013}} The tour was marketed as his "first solo tour in 5 years", and featured Kendrick Lamar, Pusha T, A Tribe Called Quest, and Travis Scott as the supporting acts.{{cite web |url=http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2013/09/kanye-west-taps-kendrick-lamar-north-american-tour/ |title=Kanye West Is Taking Kendrick Lamar Out on the Road |work=XXL |date=June 8, 2013 |access-date=September 6, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910074412/http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2013/09/kanye-west-taps-kendrick-lamar-north-american-tour/ |archive-date=September 10, 2013 }} On October 30, 2013, while on the road to Vancouver, a truck carrying custom-made video screens and equipment for the show was involved in a car accident, the crash damaged the equipment beyond repair.{{cite web |url=http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2013/10/kanye-west-cancels-tour-dates-truck-crash/ |title=Kanye West Cancels Tour Dates Because of Truck Crash |work=XXL |date=October 31, 2013 |access-date=November 7, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103035753/http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2013/10/kanye-west-cancels-tour-dates-truck-crash/ |archive-date=November 3, 2013 }} The tour resumed on November 16, 2013, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The missed Chicago and Detroit shows were rescheduled however, the rest of the missed dates were cancelled, Def Jam cited routing logistics as the reason.{{cite web |url=http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2013/11/kanye-west-announces-revised-tour-schedule/ |title=Kanye West Announces Revised Tour Schedule |work=XXL |date=November 6, 2013 |access-date=November 7, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131108011300/http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2013/11/kanye-west-announces-revised-tour-schedule/ |archive-date=November 8, 2013 }}

{{Music ratings

| title = Yeezus ratings

| ADM = 8.2/10{{cite web|url=http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/5599/Kanye-West-Yeezus.aspx|title=Yeezus by Kanye West reviews|publisher=AnyDecentMusic?|access-date=October 31, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161101102203/http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/5599/Kanye-West-Yeezus.aspx|archive-date=November 1, 2016}}

| MC = 84/100

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite web|last=Jeffries|first=David|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/yeezus-mw0002554883|title=Yeezus – Kanye West|website=AllMusic|access-date=November 17, 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621043546/http://www.allmusic.com/album/yeezus-mw0002554883|archive-date=June 21, 2013}}

| rev2 = The Daily Telegraph

| rev2score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite news|last=Brown|first=Helen|date=June 19, 2013|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/cdreviews/10130246/Kanye-West-Yeezus-review.html|title=Kanye West, Yeezus, review|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|access-date=March 24, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309111712/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/cdreviews/10130246/Kanye-West-Yeezus-review.html|archive-date=March 9, 2014}}

| rev3 = Entertainment Weekly

| rev3score = A−{{cite magazine|last=Rahman|first=Ray|date=June 17, 2013|url=https://ew.com/article/2013/07/09/yeezus-album/|title=Yeezus|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|location=New York|access-date=June 18, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110191805/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20709700,00.html|archive-date=November 10, 2013}}

| rev4 = The Guardian

| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite news|last=Petridis|first=Alexis|author-link=Alexis Petridis|date=June 17, 2013|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/jun/17/kanye-west-yeezus-review|title=Kanye West: Yeezus – review|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London|access-date=June 17, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627042740/http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/jun/17/kanye-west-yeezus-review|archive-date=June 27, 2013|url-status=live}}

| rev5 = The Independent

| rev5score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|last=Price|first=Simon|author-link=Simon Price|date=June 22, 2013|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-kanye-west-yeezus-def-jam-8669669.html|title=Album: Kanye West, Yeezus (Def Jam)|work=The Independent|access-date=December 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729114019/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-kanye-west-yeezus-def-jam-8669669.html|archive-date=July 29, 2013}}

| rev6 = NME

| rev6score = 9/10{{cite journal|last=Haynes|first=Gavin|date=July 2, 2013|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/kanye-west/14541|title=Kanye West – 'Yeezus'|journal=NME|location=London|access-date=September 30, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705042851/http://www.nme.com/reviews/kanye-west/14541|archive-date=July 5, 2013|url-status=dead}}

| rev7 = Pitchfork

| rev7score = 9.5/10{{cite web|last=Dombal|first=Ryan|date=June 18, 2013|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18172-kanye-west-yeezus/|title=Kanye West: Yeezus|work=Pitchfork|access-date=June 18, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130619070339/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18172-kanye-west-yeezus/|archive-date=June 19, 2013}}

| rev8 = Rolling Stone

| rev8score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite magazine|last=Dolan|first=Jon|date=June 14, 2013|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/yeezus-20130614|title=Yeezus|magazine=Rolling Stone|location=New York|access-date=June 14, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617220314/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/yeezus-20130614|archive-date=June 17, 2013}}

| rev9 = Spin

| rev9score = 8/10{{cite web|last=Tate|first=Greg|author-link=Greg Kot|date=June 18, 2013|url=http://www.spin.com/reviews/kanye-west-yeezus-roc-a-fella-def-jam/|title=Kanye West, 'Yeezus' (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam)|work=Spin|access-date=June 19, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621104359/http://www.spin.com/reviews/kanye-west-yeezus-roc-a-fella-def-jam/|archive-date=June 21, 2013}}

| rev10 = The Times

| rev10score = {{Rating|4|5}}

}}

Yeezus was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 84, based on 46 reviews.{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/yeezus/kanye-west|title=Reviews for Yeezus by Kanye West|website=Metacritic|access-date=July 28, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621203338/http://www.metacritic.com/music/yeezus/kanye-west|archive-date=June 21, 2013}} Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 8.2 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.

Reviewing the album in The Guardian, lead critic Alexis Petridis found it "noisy, gripping, maddening, potent", while Helen Brown from The Daily Telegraph said it was "the most exciting album" she had heard in some time. Jon Dolan from Rolling Stone called it a "brilliant, obsessive-compulsive career auto-correct" that made other abrasive records by "mad geniuses", such as In Utero by Nirvana and Radiohead's Kid A, seem tame by comparison. Pitchfork critic Ryan Dombal viewed it as a "razor-sharpened take" on West's fourth studio album, 808s & Heartbreak, concluding that "cohesion and bold intent are at a premium on Yeezus, perhaps more than any other Kanye album. Each fluorescent strike of noise, incongruous tempo flip, and warped vocal is bolted into its right place across the album's fast 40 minutes". Randall Roberts of the Los Angeles Times felt it was his most ambitious piece of music yet,{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-review-kanye-wests-wildly-experimental-narcissistic-yeezus-20130617,0,3686173.story?track=rss | title=Review: Kanye West's wildly experimental, narcissistic Yeezus | work=Los Angeles Times | location=Los Angeles | date=June 17, 2013 | access-date=June 18, 2013 | author=Roberts, Randall | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620055012/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-review-kanye-wests-wildly-experimental-narcissistic-yeezus-20130617,0,3686173.story?track=rss | archive-date=June 20, 2013 | df=mdy-all }} and Evan Rytlewski from The A.V. Club said it was his most uninhibited record: "Even by the standards of an artist who reinvents himself with each release, it's a drastic departure". In a highly positive review, AllMusic's David Jeffries opined that the album was an "extravagant stunt with the high-art packed in, offering an eccentric, audacious, and gripping experience that's vital and truly unlike anything else". Ann Powers of NPR described the album as "juxtaposing avant-garde industrial and electronic innovations with the high romantic hip-hop West had already perfected."{{cite web |title=NPR Music's 50 Favorite Albums Of 2013 |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/bestmusic2013/2013/12/10/249243871/npr-musics-50-favorite-albums-of-2013 |website=NPR |access-date=March 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626144618/https://www.npr.org/sections/bestmusic2013/2013/12/10/249243871/npr-musics-50-favorite-albums-of-2013 |archive-date=June 26, 2019 |date=December 10, 2013 |url-status=live}} Rock artist Lou Reed reviewed Yeezus in July 2013 shortly before his death, describing it as majestic and inspiring. "He's really trying to raise the bar. No one's near doing what he's doing, it's not even on the same planet".{{cite web|author=Lou Reed|url=http://thetalkhouse.com/music/talks/lou-reed-of-the-velvet-underground-talks-kanye-wests-yeezus/|title=Lou Reed Talks Kanye West's Yeezus|work=The Talkhouse|date=July 2, 2013|access-date=February 7, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207054042/http://thetalkhouse.com/music/talks/lou-reed-of-the-velvet-underground-talks-kanye-wests-yeezus/|archive-date=February 7, 2015}}

Some reviewers expressed reservations. In The New York Times, Jon Pareles said West's innovative transfiguration of his music—with unrefined electronica and drill elements—was undermined by his distasteful lyrics and appropriation of 1960s civil rights slogans "to his own celebrity or to bedroom exploits".{{cite journal| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/17/arts/music/yeezus-kanye-wests-raw-and-jolting-new-album.html| title=A Fighter Returns With Angrier Air Punches| journal=The New York Times| date=June 16, 2013| access-date=June 18, 2013| author=Pareles, Jon| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618023159/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/17/arts/music/yeezus-kanye-wests-raw-and-jolting-new-album.html| archive-date=June 18, 2013| df=mdy-all}} In Robert Christgau's opinion, the combination of harsh rock and hip-hop sounds on Yeezus was as bold as Public Enemy's music during the 1980s, but West's lyrics were grotesquely off-putting. "He's wordsmith enough to insure that his sexist imagery is very hard to take", Christgau wrote in The Barnes & Noble Review,{{cite web|last=Christgau|first=Robert|date=January 24, 2014|url=http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Rock-Roll/The-Consensus-Has-Consequences/ba-p/12189|title=The Consensus Has Consequences|work=The Barnes & Noble Review|access-date=January 28, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140208080017/http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Rock-Roll/The-Consensus-Has-Consequences/ba-p/12189|archive-date=February 8, 2014}} looking at the album as an "alt-rap also-ran".{{cite web|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|date=July 2, 2013|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/ew2013-07.php|title=Odds and Ends 031|work=MSN Music|access-date=March 18, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304033457/http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/ew2013-07.php|archive-date=March 4, 2016}} Chris Richards from The Washington Post found West's lyricism perhaps "his least compelling" yet and "drunk on bitterness", though viewed the album as "West at his most wasted, stumbling through rubble".{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/kanye-wests-yeezus--a-darker-more-twisted-fantasy/2013/06/17/a9df7eb6-d6d6-11e2-8cbe-1bcbee06f8f8_story.html| title=Kanye West's Yeezus – a darker, more twisted fantasy| newspaper=The Washington Post| date=June 17, 2013| access-date=June 18, 2013| author=Richards, Chris| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617224309/http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/kanye-wests-yeezus--a-darker-more-twisted-fantasy/2013/06/17/a9df7eb6-d6d6-11e2-8cbe-1bcbee06f8f8_story.html| archive-date=June 17, 2013| df=mdy-all}} Alex Griffin of Tiny Mix Tapes expressed similar feelings, describing it as "a nebulous, dense, paranoid web of utterly unfiltered expression that's utterly or negligibly fascinating depending on how much you care about Yeezy".{{cite web|url=http://www.tinymixtapes.com/music-review/kanye-west-yeezus|title=Kanye West – Yeezus|work=Tiny Mix Tapes|last=Griffin|first=Alex|access-date=September 5, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118223251/http://www.tinymixtapes.com/music-review/kanye-west-yeezus|archive-date=November 18, 2016}} In The Times, Will Hodgkinson surmised that Yeezus could have been West's masterpiece had he not become "so hopelessly self-important".{{cite news|last=Hodgkinson|first=Will|author-link=Will Hodgkinson|date=June 17, 2013|url=https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list/profile/article/kanye-west-yeezus-5w3przwhcm8|title=Kanye West: Yeezus|newspaper=The Times|location=London|access-date=September 15, 2016|url-access=subscription|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916132535/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/arts/music/albumreviews/article3793366.ece|archive-date=September 16, 2016|url-status=live}}

File:Kanye West Yeezus Tour Bridgestone Arena 1.jpg

Based on 146 individual year-end top ten lists compiled by Metacritic, Yeezus was the most critically acclaimed album of 2013, appearing on 61 lists and being named first on 18 of them.{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/feature/critics-pick-top-ten-albums-of-2013|title=2013 Music Critic Top Ten Lists|access-date=February 5, 2014|date=January 3, 2014|website=Metacritic|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140412154618/http://www.metacritic.com/feature/critics-pick-top-ten-albums-of-2013|archive-date=April 12, 2014}} In October 2013, Complex named Yeezus the sixth best hip-hop album of the last five years.{{cite web |url=http://www.complex.com/music/2013/10/best-recent-rap-albums/kanye-west-yeezus |title=6. Kanye West, Yeezus (2013) – The 10 Best Rap Albums of The Last 5 Years |work=Complex |date=October 7, 2013 |access-date=November 27, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131010060512/http://www.complex.com/music/2013/10/best-recent-rap-albums/kanye-west-yeezus |archive-date=October 10, 2013 }} Yeezus was rated as album of the year by nine publications. Spin named it the best album of 2013, writing, "Yeezus was a thorny tangram puzzle of boxy headbanger blats that exemplified a year of equally stripped-down, basal pleasures".{{cite web|author=Christopher R. Weingarten|url=https://www.spin.com/2013/12/kanye-west-yeezus-album-of-the-year-enter-the-void/|title=Kanye West's Yeezus Is 2013's Album of the Year|work=Spin|date=December 2, 2013|access-date=December 2, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203101946/https://www.spin.com/2013/12/kanye-west-yeezus-album-of-the-year-enter-the-void/|archive-date=December 3, 2013}} The A.V. Club named it the best album of 2013 saying "It's magnificent, and it sounds like absolutely nothing else".{{cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/article/the-23-best-albums-of-2013-106233 |title=The 23 Best Albums of 2013 |work=The A.V. Club |date=December 5, 2013 |access-date=December 6, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205121715/http://www.avclub.com/article/the-23-best-albums-of-2013-106233 |archive-date=December 5, 2013 }} Rolling Stone named it the second best album of 2013, comparing it in concept to Reed's polarizing 1975 album Metal Machine Music: "No wonder the late, great Lou Reed embraced Yeezus, since it's basically the Metal Machine Music concept translated into futuristic hip-hop, all industrial overload and hypertense egomania and hostile vibes".{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/50-best-albums-of-2013-20131202/kanye-west-yeezus-19691231 |title=50 Best Albums of 2013: Kanye West, Yeezus |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=December 2, 2013 |access-date=December 2, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204210229/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/50-best-albums-of-2013-20131202/kanye-west-yeezus-19691231 |archive-date=December 4, 2013 }} Exclaim! also named it the hip-hop album of the year.{{cite web |url=http://exclaim.ca/News/exclaims_best_of_2013-top_10_hip_hop_albums |title=Exclaim!'s Best of 2013: - Top 10 Hip-Hop Albums |work=Exclaim! |access-date=December 6, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207075621/http://exclaim.ca/News/exclaims_best_of_2013-top_10_hip_hop_albums |archive-date=December 7, 2013 }} NME named it the second best album of the year calling it "his most sonically challenging album to date".{{cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/photos/nme-s-50-best-albums-of-2013/326689/1/1?recache=1&t=1231316#49 |title=50 Best Albums of 2013 |work=NME |date=November 26, 2013 |access-date=December 6, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326180909/http://www.nme.com/photos/nme-s-50-best-albums-of-2013/326689/1/1?recache=1&t=1231316#49 |archive-date=March 26, 2014 }} Stereogum, Time, and Complex were also among the publications that named Yeezus the best album of 2013.{{cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1567541/the-50-best-albums-of-2013/list/attachment/kanye_yeezus/|title=Kanye West's Yeezus Is 2013's Album of the Year|work=Stereogum|date=December 3, 2013|access-date=December 6, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205225952/http://www.stereogum.com/1567541/the-50-best-albums-of-2013/list/attachment/kanye_yeezus|archive-date=December 5, 2013}}{{cite magazine|url=https://entertainment.time.com/2013/12/04/arts-and-entertainment/slide/top-10-albums/|title=Top Albums of 2013|magazine=Time|date=December 4, 2013|access-date=December 6, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206141259/http://entertainment.time.com/2013/12/04/arts-and-entertainment/slide/top-10-albums/|archive-date=December 6, 2013|last1=Wolk|first1=Douglas}}{{cite web|url=http://www.complex.com/music/2013/12/the-50-best-albums-of-2013/kanye-west-yeezus|title=The 50 Best Albums of 2013|work=Complex|date=December 9, 2013|access-date=December 9, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212211000/http://www.complex.com/music/2013/12/the-50-best-albums-of-2013/kanye-west-yeezus|archive-date=December 12, 2013}}

Yeezus was also nominated in two categories at the 2014 Grammy Awards including for Best Rap Album and Best Rap Song for "New Slaves". West responded unfavorably to this due to not receiving more nominations. He then addressed the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences at one of his concerts and referred to it as patronizing.{{cite web|last=Sieczkowski|first=Cavan|title=Kanye West Blasts Grammys For Giving Yeezus Only 2 Nominations|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/11/kanye-west-grammys_n_4426894.html|work=HuffPost|date=December 11, 2013|access-date=March 5, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216032950/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/11/kanye-west-grammys_n_4426894.html|archive-date=December 16, 2013}}{{cite web|last=Gundersen|first=Edna|title=Kanye West sounds off about Grammy's Yeezus snub|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2013/12/11/kanye-west-sounds-off-about-grammy-snub/3992487/|work=USA Today|access-date=March 5, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140320125552/http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2013/12/11/kanye-west-sounds-off-about-grammy-snub/3992487/|archive-date=March 20, 2014}} The album received nominations for Foreign Rap Album of the Year at the Hungarian Music Awards,{{cite web |url=http://www.fonogram.hu/jeloltek-2014 |title=Candidates 2014 |date=May 21, 2014 |publisher=Fonogram |access-date=August 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170304115143/http://www.fonogram.hu/jeloltek-2014 |archive-date=March 4, 2017 |url-status=live }} International Album of the Year at the Danish Music Awards,{{cite news|last=Collins|first=Andy|url=http://scandinaviansoul.com/news-2/danish-music-award-nominees-announced|title=Danish Music Awards 2013|publisher=Scandinavian Soul|date=September 26, 2013|access-date=August 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214061510/http://scandinaviansoul.com/news-2/danish-music-award-nominees-announced|archive-date=December 14, 2017}} World's Best Album at the 2014 World Music Awards,{{cite web|url=http://vote.worldmusicawards.com/|title=Choose your Nomination Category 2014|publisher=World Music Award|access-date=August 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140825205415/http://vote.worldmusicawards.com/|archive-date=August 25, 2014}} and Best Album at the 2014 NME Awards.{{cite news|last=Renshaw|first=David|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/various-artists-3063-1228097|title=Arctic Monkeys, Haim lead NME Awards 2014 with Austin, Texas nominations|work=NME|date=January 13, 2014|access-date=August 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203000423/http://www.nme.com/news/music/various-artists-3063-1228097|archive-date=February 3, 2017}}

In January 2014, Yeezus was named the best album of 2013 by The Village Voice{{'}}s Pazz & Jop annual critics' poll. By topping the poll, West attained his fourth album to do so, following on from The College Dropout, Late Registration, and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in 2004, 2005, and 2010, respectively.{{cite web|url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2014/01/15/the-village-voices-2013-pazz-jop-critics-poll/|title=The Village Voice's 2013 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll|work=The Village Voice|date=January 15, 2014|access-date=July 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190714052000/https://www.villagevoice.com/2014/01/15/the-village-voices-2013-pazz-jop-critics-poll/|archive-date=July 14, 2019|url-status=live}} On the same poll for singles, "Bound 2", "New Slaves", and "Black Skinhead" were ranked in the top 10.{{cite web|url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2014/01/15/the-village-voices-pazz-jop-critics-poll-top-10-singles-by-year-1979-2013/|title=The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll: Top 10 Singles By Year, 1979–2013|work=The Village Voice|date=January 15, 2014|access-date=July 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190714052000/https://www.villagevoice.com/2014/01/15/the-village-voices-pazz-jop-critics-poll-top-10-singles-by-year-1979-2013/|archive-date=July 14, 2019|url-status=live}} In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked Yeezus as the 269th album on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.{{cite magazine|title=The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/kanye-west-yeezus-3-1062964/|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=September 22, 2020|access-date=September 22, 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200922183039/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/elton-john-honky-chateau-2-1062982/|archive-date=September 22, 2020|url-status=live}}

Yeezus debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, becoming West's sixth chart-topping studio album and selling 327,000 copies in the United States in its first week.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1568153/official-kanye-wests-yeezus-sells-327000-debuts-at-no-1-on-billboard-200-chart|title=Official: Kanye West's 'Yeezus' Sells 327,000; Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart|magazine=Billboard|date=June 25, 2013|access-date=June 29, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130629000131/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1568153/official-kanye-wests-yeezus-sells-327000-debuts-at-no-1-on-billboard-200-chart|archive-date=June 29, 2013}} The album failed to reach the 500,000 sales projections, and marked West's lowest solo opening week sales in the US. However, it still had the third-best first week sales of 2013 at the time of release and marked the highest first week sales by a hip-hop album since Drake's 2011 album Take Care.{{cite web |url=http://news.radio.com/2013/06/26/on-the-charts-kanyes-worst-opening-sales-week-still-leads-yeezus-to-no-1/ |title=Kanye's Worst Opening Sales Week Still Leads 'Yeezus' To No. 1 |publisher=CBS Radio |access-date=June 29, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702073117/http://news.radio.com/2013/06/26/on-the-charts-kanyes-worst-opening-sales-week-still-leads-yeezus-to-no-1/ |archive-date=July 2, 2013 }} Simultaneously, Born Sinner entered at number two on the Billboard 200 with sales of 297,000 copies, selling 30,000 less than Yeezus. The second week sales saw the album fall dramatically; although it descended two places to end at number three on the chart, sales dropped by 80% to 65,000 units, making Yeezus the largest second-week percentage drop for a number one-debuting album in 2012–13 and the fourth-largest for a number one-bowing album in the SoundScan era. Billboard{{'}}s Keith Caulfield attributed the diminished figures to the non-traditional marketing, considering that the lack of singles and public appearances led the album to find "difficulty in sustaining its momentum".{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1568847/kanye-wests-yeezus-sales-drop-80-in-second-week|title=Kanye West's 'Yeezus' Sales Drop 80% In Second Week|magazine=Billboard|first=Keith|last=Caulfield|date=July 3, 2013|access-date=July 3, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130706222532/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1568847/kanye-wests-yeezus-sales-drop-80-in-second-week|archive-date=July 6, 2013}} That same week, Born Sinner remained at number two on the Billboard 200, outselling Yeezus by nearly 20,000 units with sales of 84,000 copies.{{cite web|last1=Paine|first1=Jake|url=http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.24539/title.hip-hop-album-sales-the-week-ending-6-30-2013|title=Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 6/30/2013|work=HipHopDX|date=July 3, 2013|access-date=December 4, 2019|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130706175236/http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.24539/title.hip-hop-album-sales-the-week-ending-6-30-2013|archive-date=July 6, 2013}} The following week, Born Sinner climbed to number one on the chart, tying the peak position attained by Yeezus previously.{{cite magazine|last1=Caufield|first1=Keith|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1569400/j-coles-born-sinner-jumps-to-no-1-on-billboard-200-chart|title=J. Cole's 'Born Sinner' Jumps to No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart|magazine=Billboard|date=July 10, 2013|access-date=December 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130713075458/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1569400/j-coles-born-sinner-jumps-to-no-1-on-billboard-200-chart|archive-date=July 13, 2013|url-status=live}} On August 12, 2013, Yeezus was certified gold in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 copies.{{cite web |url=http://www.complex.com/music/2013/08/yeezus-gold-sales |title=Yeezus Gold Sales |work=Complex |date=August 14, 2013 |access-date=August 25, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130817060419/http://www.complex.com/music/2013/08/yeezus-gold-sales |archive-date=August 17, 2013 }} By September 19, 2013, the album had sold 537,000 copies, being outperformed by the 599,000 copies sold of Born Sinner.{{cite web|last1=Tardio|first1=Andres|url=https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.25486/title.j-cole-comments-on-born-sinner-outselling-kanye-wests-yeezus|title=J. Cole Comments On "Born Sinner" Outselling Kanye West's "Yeezus"|work=HipHopDX|date=September 19, 2013|access-date=December 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915204708/https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.25486/title.j-cole-comments-on-born-sinner-outselling-kanye-wests-yeezus|archive-date=September 15, 2018|url-status=live}} J. Cole responded to this by commenting that he doesn't "live for the accolades" and claiming: "I'm more so about the music. Making it, and putting it out. Those are the two best feelings". Yeezus was later certified platinum in the US by the RIAA on January 8, 2014, for shipments of one million albums shipped to stores and digital retailers.{{cite web | url=http://www.musictimes.com/articles/3504/20140117/kanye-west-yeezus-goes-platinum-despite-album-sales-less-700k.htm | title=Kanye West 'Yeezus' goes platinum despite album sales of less than 700k | work=Music Times | date=January 17, 2014 | access-date=January 9, 2016 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160127113047/http://www.musictimes.com/articles/3504/20140117/kanye-west-yeezus-goes-platinum-despite-album-sales-less-700k.htm | archive-date=January 27, 2016 | df=mdy-all }}{{cite web | url=http://www.complex.com/music/2014/01/kanye-west-yeezus-platinum | title=Kanye West's "Yeezus" Ships a Million Copies, RIAA Certifies As Platinum | work=Complex | date=January 15, 2014 | access-date=January 9, 2016 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160127125152/http://www.complex.com/music/2014/01/kanye-west-yeezus-platinum | archive-date=January 27, 2016 | df=mdy-all }} Yeezus was ranked as the 37th most popular album of 2013 on the Billboard 200.

On the ARIA Albums Chart, Yeezus initially debuted at number two after selling 9,500 copies in three days, entering behind The Great Country Songbook by Troy Cassar-Daley and Adam Harvey at the summit. However, after a data error was found, a re-count of sales was done. The re-count found that Yeezus was actually the number one album of the week. ARIA issued an apology and the chart was fixed.{{cite web | url=http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/kanye-west8217s-yeezus-bumps-adam-harvey-and-troy-cassardaley-from-top-of-aria-chart/news-story/aa52e318c87baa550cddee3de386a0e8 | title=Kanye West's Yeezus bumps Adam Harvey and Troy Cassar-Daley from top of ARIA chart | work=News Limited | date=June 24, 2013 | access-date=March 23, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323231521/http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/kanye-west8217s-yeezus-bumps-adam-harvey-and-troy-cassardaley-from-top-of-aria-chart/news-story/aa52e318c87baa550cddee3de386a0e8 | archive-date=March 23, 2018 | url-status=live }} The album stood as West's first chart topper in Australia.{{cite web|url=http://www.aria.com.au/documents/ARIAChartsmediarelease22June2013.pdf|title=ARIA Albums Chart – 24/06/2013 (Chartifacts)|publisher=Australian Recording Industry Association|access-date=June 25, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110001624/http://www.aria.com.au/documents/ARIAChartsmediarelease22June2013.pdf|archive-date=November 10, 2013}} Yeezus reached number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, becoming West's fifth chart-topping album in Canada.{{cite news|url=https://www.fyimusicnews.ca/articles/2018/06/10/coeur-de-pirate-has-weeks-best-selling-album|title=Coeur De Pirate Has This Week's Best-Selling Album|publisher=FYIMusicNews|date=June 10, 2018|access-date=November 4, 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191205082854/https://www.fyimusicnews.ca/articles/2018/06/10/coeur-de-pirate-has-weeks-best-selling-album|archive-date=December 5, 2019}} In the United Kingdom, the album experienced a chart-topping performance, with it debuting at number one on the UK Albums Chart and giving West his first number one on the chart since Graduation in 2007, as well as his fourth top ten album in the UK.{{cite web|last=Lane|first=Daniel|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/kanye-west-scores-number-1-album-with-yeezus-2306/|title=Kanye West scores Number 1 album with Yeezus|publisher=Official Charts Company|date=June 23, 2013|access-date=June 29, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630014642/http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/kanye-west-scores-number-1-album-with-yeezus-2306/|archive-date=June 30, 2013}} The following week, Yeezus descended five places to number six on the UK Albums Chart.{{cite news|last1=Crossan|first1=Jamie|title=Tom Odell's 'Long Way Down' knocks Kanye West's 'Yeezus' off Official UK Album Chart top spot|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/tom-odell-3-1263919|website=NME|date=June 30, 2013|access-date=December 4, 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191205082557/https://www.nme.com/news/music/tom-odell-3-1263919|archive-date=December 5, 2019}} The album was ultimately certified gold in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on February 20, 2015, for sales of 100,000 units. Yeezus was also a chart topper in Denmark, New Zealand and Russia.{{cite web|url=https://charts.nz/weekchart.asp?cat=a&year=2013&date=20130624|title=Album Top 40 – 24/06/2013|publisher=Hung Medien|access-date=December 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724122155/https://charts.nz/weekchart.asp?year=2013&date=20130624&cat=a|archive-date=July 24, 2019|url-status=live}} The album was the ninth best-selling cassette album in the US in 2017.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8092853/cassette-album-sales-rising-2017|title=U.S. Cassette Album Sales Rose 35% in 2017, Led by 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Awesome Mix Tapes|magazine=Billboard|last=Caulfield|first=Keith|date=January 5, 2018|access-date=January 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331164404/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8092853/cassette-album-sales-rising-2017|archive-date=March 31, 2018|url-status=live}}

File:Kanye West @ Governors Ball Music Festival.jpg, where he performed several tracks from Yeezus publicly for the first time.]]

Public reaction to Yeezus, including its unorthodox and deliberate lack of promotion as well as its brash and aggressive sound, was mixed. Yeezus was noted as one of the most anticipated releases of 2013 by major publications, but the lack of a major radio single was regarded as a risky move.{{cite news |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1708812/kanye-west-yeezus-album-review.jhtml |title=Kanye West's Yeezus – Our First Take on the Year's Most Anticipated Album |publisher=MTV | date=June 11, 2013 |access-date=June 21, 2013 |author1=Markman, Rob |author2=Montgomery, James |name-list-style=amp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620164814/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1708812/kanye-west-yeezus-album-review.jhtml |archive-date=June 20, 2013 }} Regardless, radio stations still played tracks from Yeezus on air, despite it being a departure from the normal playlists found on hip-hop stations.{{cite news| url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1709443/kanye-west-yeezus-radio.jhtml| title=Kanye West's Yeezus: Will It Be A Hit on Radio?| publisher=MTV| date=June 21, 2013| access-date=June 21, 2013| author=Markman, Rob| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624080233/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1709443/kanye-west-yeezus-radio.jhtml| archive-date=June 24, 2013| df=mdy-all}} "When I listen to radio, that ain't where I wanna be no more", stated West at his headlining June 9, 2013 Governor's Ball performance, where he unveiled several tracks from the record for the first time. Rolling Stone summarized the audience's response: "Half the crowd cheered, half almost audibly rolled their eyes".{{cite magazine| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/kanye-west-performs-yeezus-songs-at-governors-ball-20130610| title=Kanye West Performs Yeezus Songs at Governors Ball| magazine=Rolling Stone| date=June 10, 2013| access-date=June 21, 2013| author=Anderson, Stacy| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130613025412/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/kanye-west-performs-yeezus-songs-at-governors-ball-20130610| archive-date=June 13, 2013| df=mdy-all}} West's June 11 interview with Jon Caramanica of The New York Times was similarly viewed with a mixed reaction, with many outlets mocking West's seemingly vain statements. In the article, West compares himself to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and refers to himself as "the nucleus of all society".{{cite magazine| url=http://popwatch.ew.com/2013/06/12/kanye-yeezus-new-york-times/| title=The unbearable narcissism (and 'complete awesomeness') of Kanye's big Yeezus interview| magazine=Entertainment Weekly| date=June 12, 2013| access-date=June 21, 2013| author=Busis, Hillary| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615165356/http://popwatch.ew.com/2013/06/12/kanye-yeezus-new-york-times/| archive-date=June 15, 2013| df=mdy-all}}

Within four days prior to the release, Yeezus was leaked online.{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-kanye-west-yeezus-leak-20130614,0,3633049.story | title=Kanye West's Yeezus leaks, Internet goes crazy | work=Los Angeles Times | location=Los Angeles | date=June 14, 2013 | access-date=June 18, 2013 | author=Roberts, Randall | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617205350/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-kanye-west-yeezus-leak-20130614,0,3633049.story | archive-date=June 17, 2013 | df=mdy-all }} The New York Times wrote that the leak "stirred up a Twitter frenzy" and received widespread media coverage. The Washington Post commented on the significance of the leak: "Kanye West’s new album didn’t leak online over the weekend. It gushed out into the pop ecosystem like a million barrels of renegade crude — ominous, mesmerizing and of great consequence". Critics were very kind to Yeezus regarding critical reviews, but others viewed the release as "musical and commercial suicide", and "fans live-blogged their own befuddlement on Twitter and Facebook".{{cite news| url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/06/how-kanye-wests-i-yeezus-i-is-like-i-sgt-pepper-i-or-i-kid-a-i-or-i-riot-goin-on-i/277087/| title=How Kanye West's Yeezus Is Like Sgt. Pepper, or Kid A, or Riot Goin' On| work=The Atlantic| date=June 21, 2013| access-date=June 21, 2013| author=Hamilton, Jack| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621192016/http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/06/how-kanye-wests-i-yeezus-i-is-like-i-sgt-pepper-i-or-i-kid-a-i-or-i-riot-goin-on-i/277087/| archive-date=June 21, 2013| df=mdy-all}} The New Yorker{{'}}s Sasha Frere-Jones suggests that Yeezus may be preferred over any of West's previous works in coming decades by a new generation due to the "lean vibrancy" of the album.{{cite magazine| url=https://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/musical/2013/06/24/130624crmu_music_frerejones| title=Black Noise| magazine=The New Yorker| date=June 21, 2013| access-date=June 21, 2013| author=Frere-Jones, Sasha| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618084241/http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/musical/2013/06/24/130624crmu_music_frerejones| archive-date=June 18, 2013| df=mdy-all}} "One of the most fascinating aspects of Yeezus' arrival is the discursive crisis it's caused, produced by a fast-react culture colliding with a work of art so confounding", wrote The Atlantic{{'s}} columnist Jack Hamilton.

West was criticized by the UK and US Parkinson's disease Associations for controversial lyrics in lead-song "On Sight".{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jun/20/kanye-west-parkinsons-offensive-lyric |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=June 20, 2013 |access-date=June 30, 2013 |title=Kanye West under fire as Parkinson's groups condemn offensive lyric |first=Sean |last=Michaels |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110201919/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jun/20/kanye-west-parkinsons-offensive-lyric |archive-date=November 10, 2013 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.contactmusic.com/news/kanye-west-under-fire-for-parkinson-s-disease-lyric_3726629 |access-date=June 30, 2013 |title=Kanye West Under Fire for Parkinson's Disease Lyric |publisher=Contact Music |date=June 20, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624042139/http://www.contactmusic.com/news/kanye-west-under-fire-for-parkinson-s-disease-lyric_3726629 |archive-date=June 24, 2013 }} Oasis lead member Liam Gallagher criticized Yeezus over its title, saying of West: "He's a fucking idiot. You'll never see Jesus banging his head".{{cite news|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/beady-eye-51-1248928|title=Liam Gallagher on Kanye West: 'You'll never see Jesus banging his head'|work=NME|date=June 15, 2013|access-date=December 6, 2019}} American rapper Hopsin dissed West over the album within the lyrics of his single "Hop Is Back" in October 2013, while the music video included Hopsin reenacting one of West's numerous encounters with the paparazzi.{{cite news|last1=Harling|first1=Danielle|url=https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.25919/title.hopsin-disses-kanye-west-kendrick-lamar-on-hop-is-back|title=Hopsin Disses Kanye West & Kendrick Lamar On "Hop Is Back"|work=HipHopDX|date=October 22, 2013|access-date=December 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518000944/http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.25919/title.hopsin-disses-kanye-west-kendrick-lamar-on-hop-is-back|archive-date=May 18, 2017|url-status=live}} That same month, Hopsin went on to explain the diss, admitting that he is a fan of West who likes a lot of his older music and viewing Yeezus as West "on some straight up [bullshit]".{{cite news|last1=Hunte|first1=Justin|url=https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.25476/title.hopsin-explains-dissing-kanye-west-kendrick-lamar-on-hop-is-back|title=Hopsin Explains Dissing Kanye West & Kendrick Lamar On "Hop Is Back"|work=HipHopDX|date=October 29, 2013|access-date=December 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430224004/https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.25476/title.hopsin-explains-dissing-kanye-west-kendrick-lamar-on-hop-is-back|archive-date=April 30, 2019|url-status=live}}

Jay-Z described Yeezus as "polarizing", though claimed "that's what great art is" and that West "pushes the genre forward" with his experimentation.{{cite magazine| url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/1569415/jay-z-talks-magna-carta-miley-cyrus-kanye-wests-yeezus| title=Jay-Z Talks 'Magna Carta,' Miley Cyrus & Kanye West's 'Yeezus'| magazine=Billboard| date=July 10, 2013| access-date=December 5, 2019| author=Poulsen, Drew| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190727130216/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/1569415/jay-z-talks-magna-carta-miley-cyrus-kanye-wests-yeezus| archive-date=July 27, 2019| url-status=live}} Expressing his thoughts on the mixed reception of the album in October 2013, fellow rapper Lupe Fiasco viewed himself as not facing the same difficult struggle. Lupe Fiasco continued, assuring that his then-upcoming studio album Tetsuo & Youth (2015) wouldn't be as open for interpretation as Yeezus.{{cite news| url=https://www.bet.com/article/bhfrev/lupe-fiasco-talks-yeezus-crack-and-kendrick-lamar| title=Lupe Fiasco Talks Yeezus, "Crack" and Kendrick Lamar| publisher=BET| date=October 18, 2013| access-date=December 5, 2019| author=Muhammad, Latifah| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131127052621/https://www.bet.com/news/music/2013/11/18/lupe-fiasco-talks-yeezus-crack-and-kendrick-lamar.html| archive-date=November 27, 2013| df=mdy-all}} In February 2014, English singer Lily Allen announced that she would title her third studio album Sheezus. In an interview with Australian radio station Nova, Allen stated that she is terrified that West would think it's "a diss rather than a tribute". She said that she thinks West is brilliant and praised him for speaking his mind all the time.{{cite web|title=Lily Allen concerned Kanye West will call her out over Sheezus|url=https://www.nme.com/news/lily-allen/75803|work=NME|access-date=March 5, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305010402/http://www.nme.com/news/lily-allen/75803|archive-date=March 5, 2014}} That same month, Jack White, a vocal advocate of analog recording, remarked that Yeezus "is obviously recorded on Pro Tools but sounds unbelievable, because it is very simple and there aren't a lot of components going on, and this really allows the songs to shine. Plus he mixed using analogue components".Tingen, Paul (October 2014). [http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/oct14/articles/it-10-14.htm "Inside Track: Jack White"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022153128/http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/oct14/articles/it-10-14.htm |date=October 22, 2014 }}, Sound on Sound. Retrieved October 22, 2014. West went on to make the claim in October 2015 that despite many people rating My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy as his best album, Yeezus is "so much stronger" in comparison.{{cite news|last=Smith|first=Trevor|url=https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/kanye-west-says-808s-and-yeezus-are-so-much-stronger-than-mbdtf-news.18041.html|title=Kanye West Says "808s" & "Yeezus" Are "So Much Stronger" Than "MBDTF"|website=HotNewHipHop|date=October 6, 2015|access-date=December 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814040250/http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/kanye-west-says-808s-and-yeezus-are-so-much-stronger-than-mbdtf-news.18041.html|archive-date=August 14, 2017|url-status=live}} In 2013, Yeezus was voted as both the year's "Most Overrated Album" and "Most Underrated Album" by Pitchfork readers.{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9295-2013-readers-poll-results/|title=2013 Readers Poll Results|work=Pitchfork|date=December 31, 2013|access-date=May 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516040125/https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9295-2013-readers-poll-results/|archive-date=May 16, 2021|url-status=live}}

{{Clear}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Yeezus track listing

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| title1 = On Sight

| writer1 = {{hlist|Kanye West|Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo|Thomas Bangalter|Malik Jones|Che Smith|Elon Rutberg|Cydel Young|Derek Watkins|Mike Dean}}

| extra1 = {{hlist|West|Daft Punk|Dean{{ref|b|[b]}}|Benji B{{ref|b|[b]}}}}

| length1 = 2:36

| title2 = Black Skinhead

| writer2 = {{hlist|West|de Homem-Christo|Bangalter|Jones|Young|Rutberg|Wasalu Jaco|Sakiya Sandifer|Dean|Watkins}}

| extra2 = {{hlist|West|Daft Punk|Gesaffelstein{{ref|b|[b]}}|Brodinski{{ref|b|[b]}}|Dean{{ref|b|[b]}}|Lupe Fiasco{{ref|b|[b]}}|Jack Donoghue{{ref|b|[b]}}|Noah Goldstein{{ref|b|[b]}}}}

| length2 = 3:08

| title3 = I Am a God

| writer3 = {{hlist|West|de Homem-Christo|Bangalter|Ross Birchard|Justin Vernon|Jones|Smith|Rutberg|Young|Dean|Watkins|Clifton Bailey|Harvel Hart|Anand Bakshi|Rahul Burman}}

| extra3 = {{hlist|West|Dean|Daft Punk|Hudson Mohawke{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length3 = 3:51

| title4 = New Slaves

| writer4 = {{hlist|West|Christopher Breaux|Young|Ben Bronfman|Jones|Smith|Rutberg|Sandifer|Louis Johnson|Dean|Gábor Presser|Anna Adamis}}

| extra4 = {{hlist|West|Bronfman{{ref|a|[a]}}|Dean{{ref|b|[b]}}|Travis Scott{{ref|b|[b]}}|Goldstein{{ref|b|[b]}}|Shama Joseph{{ref|b|[b]}}|Che Pope{{ref|b|[b]}}}}

| length4 = 4:16

| title5 = Hold My Liquor

| writer5 = {{hlist|West|Dean|Vernon|Keith Cozart|Rutberg|Smith|Jones|Alejandra Ghersi|Young|Watkins}}

| extra5 = {{hlist|Dean|West|Arca{{ref|b|[b]}}|Goldstein{{ref|b|[b]}}}}

| length5 = 5:26

| title6 = I'm in It

| writer6 = {{hlist|West|Vernon|Jeffrey Ethan Campbell|Josh Leary|Jones|Young|Sandifer|Rutberg|Dean|Andre Harris|Jill Scott|Vidal Davis|Carvin Haggins|Kenny Lattimore}}

| extra6 = {{hlist|West|Evian Christ{{ref|a|[a]}}|Dom Solo{{ref|a|[a]}}|Goldstein{{ref|b|[b]}}|Arca{{ref|b|[b]}}|Dean{{ref|b|[b]}}}}

| length6 = 3:54

| title7 = Blood on the Leaves

| writer7 = {{hlist|West|Birchard|Rutberg|Jones|Tony Williams|Young|Dean|Lewis Allen}}

| extra7 = {{hlist|West|Hudson Mohawke|Lunice|Carlos Broady{{ref|a|[a]}}|88-Keys{{ref|b|[b]}}|Dean{{ref|b|[b]}}|Arca{{ref|b|[b]}}}}

| length7 = 6:00

| title8 = Guilt Trip

| writer8 = {{hlist|West|Scott Mescudi|Young|Dean|Larry Griffin, Jr.|Keith Elam|Kevin Hansford|Dupre Kelly|Chris Martin|Al-Terik Wardrick|Marlon Williams|Terrence Thornton|Tyree Pittman}}

| extra8 = {{hlist|West|Dean|S1|Travis Scott{{ref|b|[b]}}|Ackee Juice Rockers{{ref|b|[b]}}}}

| length8 = 4:03

| title9 = Send It Up

| writer9 = {{hlist|West|Johnson|de Homem-Christo|Bangalter|Ghersi|Mike Levy|Sandifer|Ab Liva|Rutberg|Dean|Moses Davis|Colin York|Lowell Dunbar}}

| extra9 = {{hlist|West|Daft Punk|Gesaffelstein{{ref|a|[a]}}|Brodinski{{ref|a|[a]}}|Arca{{ref|b|[b]}}|Dean{{ref|b|[b]}}}}

| length9 = 2:58

| title10 = Bound 2

| writer10 = {{hlist|West|John Stephens|Charles Wilson|Pope|Rutberg|Young|Jones|Sandifer|Dean|Norman Whiteside|Bob Massey|Robert Dukes|Ronnie Self}}

| extra10 = {{hlist|West|Pope{{ref|a|[a]}}|Eric Danchick{{ref|b|[b]}}|Goldstein{{ref|b|[b]}}|No I.D.{{ref|b|[b]}}|Dean{{ref|b|[b]}}}}

| length10 = 3:49

| total_length = 40:01

}}

Notes

• {{sup|{{note|a|[a]}}}} signifies a co-producer
• {{sup|{{note|b|[b]}}}} signifies an additional producer
• "I Am a God" credits God as a featured artist and features additional vocals by Justin Vernon
• "New Slaves" features additional vocals by Frank Ocean
• "Hold My Liquor" features vocals by Chief Keef and Justin Vernon
• "I'm in It" features vocals by Justin Vernon and Assassin
• "Guilt Trip" features uncredited vocals by Kid Cudi{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/54155-kid-cudi-is-annoyed-with-his-yeezus-feature/|title=Kid Cudi Is Annoyed With His Yeezus Feature|work=Pitchfork|last=Battan|first=Carrie|date=February 28, 2014|access-date=August 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623165728/https://pitchfork.com/news/54155-kid-cudi-is-annoyed-with-his-yeezus-feature/|archive-date=June 23, 2018|url-status=live}}
• "Send it Up" features vocals by King L
• "Bound 2" features additional vocals by Charlie Wilson

Sample credits

• "On Sight" contains an interpolation of "Sermon (He'll Give Us What We Really Need)", written by Keith Carter Sr.
• "I Am a God" contains samples of "Forward Inna Dem Clothes", written by Clifton Bailey III and H. Hart, performed by Capleton; and samples of "Are Zindagi Hai Khel", written by Anand Bakshi and Rahul Burman, performed by Burman, Manna Dey and Asha Bhosle.
• "New Slaves" contains samples of "Gyöngyhajú lány", written by Gábor Presser and Anna Adamis, performed by Omega.
• "I'm in It" contains samples of "Lately", written by Vidal Davis, Carvin Haggins, Andre Harris, Kenny Lattimore and Jill Scott, performed by Lattimore.
• "Blood on the Leaves" contains a sample of "Strange Fruit", written by Lewis Allan, performed by Nina Simone
• "Guilt Trip" contains interpolations of "Chief Rocka", written by Keith Elam, Kevin Hansford, Dupre Kelly, Christopher Martin, Alterick Wardrick and Marlon Williams, performed by Lords of the Underground; and a sample of "Blocka (Ackeejuice Rockers Remix)", written by Terrence Thornton and Tyree Pittman, performed by Pusha T featuring Travis Scott and Popcaan.
• "Send It Up" contains a sample of "Memories", written by Anthony Moses Davis, Collin York and Lowell Dunbar, performed by Beenie Man.
• "Bound 2" contains interpolations of "Aeroplane (Reprise)", written by Norman Whiteside, performed by Wee; samples of "Bound", written by Bobby Massey and Robert Dukes, performed by Ponderosa Twins Plus One; a sample of "Sweet Nothin's", written by Ronnie Self, performed by Brenda Lee.

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.

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Technical

• Noah Goldstein – associate production, additional programming (3; SFX on 8), engineering (all), mixing (1, 6–8)
• Hudson Mohawke – production consultancy, additional programming (4)
• Arca – production consultancy, additional programming (4)
• Young Chop – production consultancy
• Ken Lewis – noises and vocal sounds creation and engineering (4), "oh" vocals creation (6), choir production (1)
• Tammy Infusino – "oh" vocals creation (6)
• Che Pope – additional programming (3)
• Travis Scott – additional programming (3)
• Anthony Kilhoffer – engineering (1–8, 10), mixing (4, 9)
• Mike Dean – engineering (1–6, 8)
• Andrew Dawson – engineering (1, 9)
• Brent Kolatalo – engineering (6)
• Marc Portheau – engineering assistance (all)
• Khoï Huynh – engineering assistance (all)
• Raoul Le Pennec – engineering assistance (all)
• Nabil Essemlani – engineering assistance (all)
• Keith Parry – engineering assistance (all)
• Kenta Yonesaka – engineering assistance (1–5, 7, 8)
• David Rowland – engineering assistance (1–5, 7, 8)
• Sean Oakley – engineering assistance (1, 2, 4–8), mixing assistance (1, 4, 6–9)
• Eric Lynn – engineering assistance (1, 2, 4–8), mixing assistance (1, 4, 6–9)
• Dave "Squirrel" Covell – engineering assistance (1, 2, 4–8), mixing assistance (1, 4, 6–9)
• Josh Smith – engineering assistance (1, 2, 4–8), mixing assistance (1, 4, 6–9)
• Kevin Matela – engineering assistance (4)
• Mat Arnold – engineering assistance (6, 8)
• Dale – engineering assistance (6)
• Damien Prost – engineering assistance (7)
• Manny Marroquin – mixing (2, 3, 5, 10)
• Delbert Bowers – mixing assistance (2, 3, 5, 10)
• Chris Galland – mixing assistance (2, 3, 5, 10)
• Kyle Ross – mixing assistance (4)
• Uri Djemal – choir engineering (1)
• Vlado Meller – mastering
• Mark Santangelo – assistant mastering engineering
• Chris Gehringer – mastering (2)

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Musicians

• Mike Dean – additional instrumentation (guitar solo on 5; bass, guitar on 10)
• Chris "Hitchcock" Chorney – additional instrumentation (cellos on 8)
• Dylan Wissing – drums (1)
• Matt Teitelman – percussion (1)
• Alvin Fields – choir direction (1)
• Carmen Roman – choir (1)
• K. Nita – choir (1)
• John Morgan – choir (1)
• Jessenia Pena – choir (1)
• Ronnie Artis – choir (1)
• Crystal Brun – choir (1)
• Sean Drew – choir (1)
• Natalis Ruby Rubero – choir (1)
• Lorraine Berry – choir (1)
• Gloria Ryann – choir (1)
• Timeka Lee – choir (1)
• Matthew Williams – music consultancy
• Benji B – DONDA music consultancy

Artwork

• Kanye West – creative direction, art direction
• Virgil Abloh – art direction
• Matthew Williams – art direction
• Justin Saunders – DONDA art direction
• Joe Perez – DONDA graphic design
• Jim Joe 13 – illustration and type treatment for DONDA
• Todd Russell – art production
• Kristen Yiengst – art production
• Alex Haldi – art production
• Andrew Zaeh – art production
• Meredith Truax – art production
• Tai Linzie – art production
• The DGS Team – art production

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{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for Yeezus}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|title=Yeezus|artist=Kanye West|type=album|award=Gold|certyear=2013|access-date=December 6, 2019}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|title=Yeezus|artist=Kanye West|type=album|award=Platinum|certyear=2020|relyear=2013|id=9605|access-date=October 15, 2020}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|title=Yeezus|artist=Kanye West|refname="RMNZ"|type=album|award=Platinum|number=2|relyear=2013|certyear=2025|source=radioscope|access-date=March 24, 2025}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|title=Yeezus|artist=Kanye West|refname="bpi"|type=album|award=Gold|relyear=2013|certyear=2015|id=12559-2991-2|access-date=December 6, 2019}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|title=Yeezus|artist=Kanye West|type=album|award=Platinum|number=2|certyear=2020|refname="riaa-pl"|access-date=November 25, 2020}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true}}

• 2013 in hip-hop
• Born Sinner
• "Hop Is Back"
• List of number-one albums of 2013 (Australia)
• List of number-one albums of 2013 (Canada)
• List of UK top-ten albums in 2013
• List of UK R&B Albums Chart number ones of 2013
• List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 2013
• List of Billboard number-one R&B/hip-hop albums of 2013
• List of Billboard number-one rap albums of 2013
• List of number-one albums from the 2010s (Denmark)
• List of number-one albums from the 2010s (New Zealand)
• List of UK Albums Chart number ones of the 2010s
• Sheezus
• Tetsuo & Youth

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Official website|http://www.kanyewest.com/}}
• {{Discogs master|567491|type=album}}

{{Kanye West}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2013 albums

Category:Albums produced by 88-Keys

Category:Albums produced by Arca (musician)

Category:Albums produced by Benjamin Bronfman

Category:Albums produced by Gesaffelstein

Category:Albums produced by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo

Category:Albums produced by Hudson Mohawke

Category:Albums produced by Kanye West

Category:Albums produced by Lunice

Category:Albums produced by Lupe Fiasco

Category:Albums produced by Mike Dean (record producer)

Category:Albums produced by No I.D.

Category:Albums produced by Symbolyc One

Category:Albums produced by Thomas Bangalter

Category:Albums produced by Travis Scott

Category:Albums recorded at Shangri-La (recording studio)

Category:Alternative hip-hop albums by American artists

Category:Def Jam Recordings albums

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Category:Industrial hip-hop albums

Category:Kanye West albums

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Category:Albums involved in plagiarism controversies