Kanye West Has ‘20 Finished Songs' for New Album

In between trips to Paris for Fashion Week and vacations in Mexico, Kanye West has been in the studio finishing up his new album. While a title and release date still remain under wraps, his frequent collaborator and G.O.O.D. Music signee Malik Yusef shed some light on the follow-up to Yeezus, which is due before the year is out.

“Yeezus was a hard album to work on because it was a departure from where I wanted to be with our music,” Yusef told Rolling Stone. “Kanye was very declarative in his statement of ‘I don’t want this to be a regular Kanye album. I don’t want this to be what people are familiar with.'”

But don’t expect another Yeezus. “This album is different. It’s like a pair of Timberlands; like how Timberlands are not quite leather and not quite suede. It’s not the smooth, slick Chicago music sound we have right now and it’s not the ruggedness of just ‘hip-hop hip-hop hip-hop.’ We’re still working like a motherfucker. We’ve been all around the world [recording].”

West has “20 finished songs,” and the recording process has been smoother this time around. “We fought over Yeezus every day,” he said. “There was no friendly disagreements. It was definitely a war. It’s ‘I don’t give a fuck, Malik. It’s a Kanye album, not a Malik Yusef album.’ Kanye’s kicked me off the label eight times.”

In August, West told GQ that he hoped to release his new album “most likely in September,” but it could take longer. “I was thinking [the record] could somehow come out in June, like Yeezus, and just kill it for the summer,” he said. “But then I’m like, I have to work on adidas and be with my child.”

A two-minute snippet of the first single “All Day” leaked in August.

“It sounds incredible,” French Montana told Rap-Up TV of ‘Ye’s new material. “He’s about to have another classic album. He’s grindin’. It’s that sound that everybody missed about [Yeezus].”