Kanye West is certainly one of the most praised artists in the hip-hop community, especially when it comes to the opinions of many of his contemporaries. However, not many were prepared when another music icon from outside the realm of rap music was quick to applauded Kanye's work on The Life of Pablo: Bruce Springsteen.
In a new interview with Variety, the 68-year-old rock star revealed the contents of his iTunes playlist and the surprise inclusion of some work from Ye raised the eyebrows of more than a few people. "I thought that was an amazing creation," said the Boss, a nickname he's had since long before Rick Ross began his ascent through hip-hop's artist hierarchy. "Especially the arrangements.” Other somewhat surprising records that Springsteen listens to are Lana Del Rey's Born To Die - The Paradise Edition and Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton soundtrack. Just when you think you know one of living legends of rock music...
Interestingly, this isn't the first time Kanye West has been applauded by Bruce Springsteen. In a 2014 interview with NPR, he stated that he's a fan of the rapper's production. "I saw him on television," he recounted. "He did the song called 'Blood on the Leaves' on the Later…With Jools Holland — it was fantastic, you know. He’s a very, I still find him very interesting. I’m not necessarily driving [to] it in my car, you know. I probably fall back on the stuff that I listened to as a kid or something if I’m driving around. But I do listen. I listen to a lot because there’s a lot of information in it and it’s just fascinating record-making.” Contrary to most musicians, Springsteen is also a fan of sampling, adding that "it was the music that came along and gave voice to those things outside of what was then considered a protest music context, you know, and did so really beautifully. And so, you know, I’m not well-versed in it but I have listened over the years. You know, Public Enemy, Notorious B.I.G., I listened to Tupac, I listen to Kanye West. Kanye West is incredible."
The Life of Pablo was also touted as a record-setter in the U.K. today, becoming the first album in that region to be certified Gold relying on just streams of the LP.