Depending on who you ask, Kanye West's 2013 album Yeezus was either among the best albums of the year or, as 50 Cent recently put it, "weird." The album sparked controversy for its harsh, experimental qualities, and now Young Chop, who worked on some of the album, says that Kanye knew that Yeezus would be less popular than his other albums.
In a new interview with Vlad TV, the Chicago producer was asked about the mixed critical reception that Yeezus got, and replied:
“Kanye knows that. He knew that when he was working on it. He knows that shit. He just wanted to do the shit… just to prove a point to the shit. He could do anything, you feel me? Shit he could do any motherfucking record. That’s Kanye. And I sat down with him and shit. Like bro really motherfucking talented. He knows exactly what he wants and that the shit is just gonna grow off that because the shit is just genius work.”
Chop's respect for Kanye was made very clear, leading the interviewer to ask if he was the best producer Chop has ever worked with. "Hell yeah," he quickly replied, "Until I work with Pharrell... That's the number one producer I always fuck with."
Chop later said that working with Kanye made him less "afraid to take risks with that shit," noting that he started out scared to add elements to his well-defined sound.
When asked if he and Kanye had more collaborations in the works, Chop said, "Most definitely. Yeah we got some crazy shit finna come out." He quickly corrected himself, laughing and saying, "No, I ain't say that," alerting us that this news was supposed to be a secret.
What do you think of Kanye releasing Yeezus knowing full well that a great deal of his fanbase would feel alienated by it? Let us know in the comments.
Watch Young Chop's full interview below.