The festivities took place
at Manhattan's Milk Studios, but rather than following the countless PR and
fashion events that Milk has hosted before, West instead chose the Meatpacking
District building's loading dock. Attendees were let in one by one, a slow
process that would have led one to believe that only a select few were being
given the privilege of the record. That was not the case: The venue was open to
the street, so anyone within earshot could hear the album which had hitherto
been shrouded in secrecy, and anyone within eyesight could see the basic video
imagery that went along with the audio.
That's in keeping with
West's public -- and global -- debut of "New Slaves," but there's
more to the theme than a simple stunt. Though the likes of Jay-Z, Beyonce,
Busta Rhymes, Theophilus London, Timbaland and Q-Tip stopped by, West seemed
most pleased to see that his work had the potential to be heard by passersby.
Long after Jay-Z and Beyonce had stopped their all-out, hands-in-the-air
dance-along to the vibrant album, West became excited when a city bus drove by
and grabbed the microphone to remark on the fact that the event was "out
here in the middle of New York City blasting music and nobody is shutting us
down."
West also put one matter of
confusion to rest: "I want to explain something about the album title. Simply put,
'West' was my slave name and 'Yeezus' is my god name."
At this point, near the end
of the second spin of the album, West was decidedly free-spirited, dancing and
shaking hands with fans. It was easily his happiest public appearance in
months, a period during which bloggers noted West's perma-scowl. At the start
of the night, West seemed more antsy, rattling off a series of somewhat curious
justifications, saying he didn't release singles because he didn't enjoy seeing
his work on YouTube next to "related artists" ("When you buy a
Louis-Vuitton bag..."), reminding fans that his father was in the Black
Panthers and letting the crowd know that didn't hear Joy Division's music when
he was growing up. It made sense at the time, but it was certainly a
stream-of-consciousness diatribe.
"I had to learn about
giving, this whole album is about giving -- this whole process is about giving
... no f--ks at all," West said after memorably explaining his new outlook
as such: "I have a new strategy, it's called 'no strategy.' I have a plan
to sell more music it's called 'make better music.'"
All in all, it was a
triumphant night for West, who made sure to give every member of his team a
shout-out and reminded the audience to surround themselves with the best.
"If I'm standing next to someone, that means they're smarter than
me," he said, shirt soaked with sweat, before leaving a bit past midnight.
"If I'm standing next to someone, that means they're better at something
than I am."
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