Kanye West Releases “Bound 2” As A Single To Trick People Into Thinking ‘Yeezus’ Sounds Like Old Ye

Carl Williott | August 22, 2013 8:12 am

While Kanye West‘s rogue promotional campaign for Yeezus should be applauded for its uniqueness and honest to God not-give-a-fuck-ness, it seems to have failed as a long-term business strategy. The polarizing album stormed the charts, debuting at No. 1 with what was, at the time, the year’s third biggest opening. After that, though, Yeezus sales dropped precipitously, and it seems even Ye realized he’d have to adapt. After declaring he’d release no singles, he changed course, releasing “Black Skinhead” as an official single and video.

That didn’t do much to help, either. So now, whether from Yeezy’s own hunger for measurable success, or label pressure, or a combination of both, he is releasing album closer “Bound 2” as the next single, according to Hip Hop N More. It’s a smart move — “Bound 2” is the only song on the album, by a wide margin, that could’ve come from Kanye 1.0, and it’s the only feel-good track. In fact, West probably missed an opportunity for this to become a summer party anthem with lyrics like “This that red cup all on the lawn shit.”

Nonetheless, for people who somehow missed those incendiary “Black Skinhead” performances and sinister “New Slaves” projections, this single could very well trick them into buying Yeezus on the assumption that it’s filled with other tracks that echo classic Kanye. Give the radio edit a spin below.

Kanye West — “Bound 2”

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