Love him or hate him, you can’t deny the sheer genius that is Kanye West‘s marketing plan. One second, the dude is taking over the social media world, the next he is sharing anecdotes with Rolling Stone, then he releases a music video that isn’t a music video at all. In just the last week alone, he conducted a Ustream chat from Korea, where he told viewers that he was influenced by Thom Yorke and Trent Reznor. Hours later, he hit the studio with Beyonce and then promptly released the end result on the radio.
Showing no signs of slowing down, West delivered a surprise performance at the Box in New York City last night, teaming up with none other than Roots collaborator John Legend. Along with several old favorites, West performed two new cuts — the previously released first single “Power” and a number called “Mama’s Boyfriend”, which we first got a taste of during West’s a capella at Facebook. And while we’ll reserve full judgment until we hear the beats accompanying Ye’s rhymes, “Mama’s Boyfriend” is further proof that the Chicago based rapper is back to dropping the same quick-witted and potent lyrics that first defined him nearly a decade go.
Below, you can watch “Mama’s Boyfriend” in full (via Prefix). After that, watch a montage of other clips from the performance, which feature West performing “Run This Town” and “Homecoming”.
In other news, Rolling Stone has confirmed this week’s earlier reports that Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon will be appearing on West’s new studio album. The indie-folk frontman flew to West’s studio in Hawaii, where he rerecorded the vocals from the Bon Iver track “Woods”. Vernon’s collaboration will appear on a track titled “Lost in the World”.
West’s still untitled fifth studio album is due for release on November 16th via G.O.O.D. Music.
“Mama’s Boyfriend”
