10 Topics Kanye West Will Address On His New Album

May 6, 2013 - 4:55 pm by Chris Yuscavage

Finally, some new Kanye West music is on the way. A cryptic Yeezy tweet last week ("June Eighteen") appears to indicate that Ye has something in store for us. Plus, he's been confirmed as the musical guest for the season finale of Saturday Night Live on May 18. So it's likely that he's preparing new songs—and, further, a new album—soon.

We haven't heard a single—or even a snippet—from the project. We don't have an album title or any artwork, either. And we don't know who will appear on the album or what kind of sound Kanye is going for this time around. But one thing we do know is that Mr. West will have a lot to talk about on the project, regardless of when it drops. Here, 10 topics we think Ye will (and has to) address.

The Topic: Fatherhood Why He'll Address It: Sometime in July, Kanye is set to become a father for the first time. That's no doubt weighing heavily on his mind right now. As a result, we wouldn't be surprised to hear one or two songs on his new album devoted to the topic. Hell, we wouldn't be surprised to hear the entire album dedicated to discussing the issue of fatherhood. We suspect that Ye won't go too overboard—he seems content with keeping his personal life with regards to Kim Kardashian under wraps—but it wouldn't feel right if he didn't take a little time to talk about what it's going to feel like for him to become a father.

The Topic: The Paparazzi Why He'll Address It: Kanye has spent the past 12 months doing three things: Making music, making a baby and trying to avoid the paps, who want to know more about the first two things. Every time he steps out anywhere with Kim, the two are swarmed by armies of men with cameras around their necks. That has to be weighing on their relationship and giving Kanye a new sense of what it's like to be super famous. He enjoyed plenty of fame when he was single. But now that he's with Kim, he's more famous than ever. So we expect him to talk about what it's like to deal with that fame every day.

The Topic: Ray J Why He'll Address It: How can he not address it?! We wouldn't expect Kanye to write an entire diss track aimed at Kim Kardashian's ex-boyfriend. But after "I Hit It First," Kanye is required to write at least one slick line (or half a bar) directed at Ray J. That's all he deserves from Yeezy.

The Topic: His Relationship With Jay-Z Why He'll Address It: Very few people understand what Kanye West has to deal with on a daily basis. One of those people is Jay. Like Ye, Jay is married to one of the most famous women in the world. He's also making major moves on his own and trying to continue his music career while pursuing his other interests. So we're sure that these two communicate frequently about, well, everything. With that in mind, we're sure Kanye's got some sort of new "Big Brother" track on the way, complete with him giving Jay plenty of love for helping him through the tough times that he's had to endure over the course of the last few years. Despite that little Justin Timberlake jab on SNL, these two have a bromance that can't be broken.

The Topic: Kid Cudi's Departure From G.O.O.D. Music Why He'll Address It: Was Cudi's split from G.O.O.D. really as amicable as he made it seem? Was Kanye upset when Cudi called him and told him he was leaving? Is Kanye going to continue signing artists to G.O.O.D. or has he lost interest in the label? We have a lot of questions about both Cudi and G.O.O.D., so hopefully we'll get some answers after listening to Kanye's new solo project.

The Topic: The Murder Rate In Chicago Why He'll Address It: Kanye doesn't seem to spend much time in his hometown these days. But we imagine that he keeps up on all of the crime that has plagued the city in recent years. And we wouldn't put it past him to speak out about all of the murders that have taken place in the city. In fact, we wouldn't put it past him to do so on a track with Chief Keef in order to spark some real change in the city. The two did work together in Paris recently. So who knows? Maybe they'll surprise us.

The Topic: Reality TV Why He'll Address It: We never thought we'd see Kanye West take part in reality TV. But because he's currently dating one of the reigning queens of reality TV, he has to take part in it. We hear rumors all the time about why he does or doesn't like reality TV. But we've never really heard him talk about what it's like to be involved with it or how he feels about Kim's entire life being chronicled for a TV show.

The Topic: The Grammy Awards Why He'll Address It: Back in February, Ye was upset with the Grammy organizers. He did a show and ripped them for only nominating his projects in "black categories." He's also shown a propensity for dissing other awards shows, too. So we wouldn't be surprised if he took aim at the Grammy Awards—and awards shows altogether—on a song. It's clear that he doesn't like the way his work is being judged these days.

The Topic: His Love For Paris Why He'll Address It: In the last six months or so, Kanye has spent a ton of time in Paris. He's reportedly been over there working on both his music and his fashion line. So we're sure he's developed a love for the city that has probably affected the way he's made music this time around. And we think he'll work some of that love into his music. In some way, whether big or small, Paris will play a role in the project. Kanye has spent too much time there for it not to have an impact on the topics he talks about on his album.

The Topic: His Fans Why He'll Address It: It's hard to be a Kanye West fan these days. Why? Well, he doesn't do interviews. He barely tweets. And the only time you really get to hear what's on his mind is during his rants at his shows. If you're a diehard Yeezy head, you're not getting much from him, outside of paparazzi pics and cryptic tweets every three months or so. So we hope that he takes some time to address his fans on the album. He owes it to them. After all, without them, we wouldn't be clamoring for June 18 to get here right now.

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