Kanye West
The Wyoming Sessions brought Nas and Kanye together for a short, divisive album.
Kanye West produced and executive produced Nas's eleventh studio album *Nasir*, released on June 15, 2018, through Mass Appeal Records and Def Jam Recordings. West served as the album's executive producer, with additional production from Mike Dean, Andrew Dawson, Dot da Genius, and Cashmere Cat, among others. *Nasir* is the fourth out of five seven-track albums Kanye West produced in what has become known as the "Wyoming Sessions", with each album being released weekly. It follows the release of Pusha T's *Daytona*, West's *Ye*, and West's collaboration with Kid Cudi entitled *Kids See Ghosts*, and precedes the release of Teyana Taylor's *K.T.S.E.*.
Quick Facts
- Birth Name
- Kanye Omari West
- Birth Date
- 1977-06-08
- Birth Place
- Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
- Occupation
- Rapper / record producer / singer / songwriter / fashion designer / businessman
- Organization
- Donda · Yeezy
- Years Active
- 1993–present
- Children
- 4, including North
- Mother
- Donda West
- Relatives
- Devo Harris (cousin) / Tony Williams (cousin)
- Awards
- Full list
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
In 2016, Kanye West expressed his wish to produce an album by Nas, seemingly promising Barack Obama that he would achieve this. In April 2018, Kanye West announced that he was producing Nas' new album with a release date of June 15, 2018. West later released an incomplete track listing of the five albums he was working on, revealing the Nas track "Everything". On June 12, West revealed a full tentative tracklist for the album, while the album title and cover art was revealed on June 14, a day before release. A listening party for the album took place on June 14, 2018, in Queensbridge, New York City and was streamed via Mass Appeal's YouTube channel. The album features guest appearances from Kanye West, Puff Daddy, 070 Shake, Tony Williams, and The-Dream.
Reader's Guide
Kanye West's production on *Nasir* is characterized by lavish, triumphant beats that critics praised on songs such as "White Label" and "Cops Shot the Kid." The album samples a wide range of sources: "Cops Shot the Kid" contains samples of "Children's Story" by Slick Rick and dialogue from *Wattstax* spoken by Richard Pryor; "Adam and Eve" samples "Gole Yakh" by Kourosh Yaghmaei and dialogue from *The Godfather Part II* spoken by Al Pacino; "Everything" samples "Space Time Girl" by The Heliocentrics. West's production team included Mike Dean (mixing on tracks 1, 3, 5), Andrew Dawson (mixing on tracks 2, 4, 6, 7), and Jess Jackson (mixing on tracks 1, 3, 5). The album received mixed reviews, with a Metacritic score of 58 based on 16 reviews, and critics noting contradictions between Nas's political awareness and the album's failure to address domestic violence allegations.
Did You Know?
- Kanye West produced *Nasir* as the fourth of five seven-track albums in his 'Wyoming Sessions', released weekly in June 2018.
- West expressed his wish to produce a Nas album in 2016, seemingly promising Barack Obama he would achieve this.
- The album's listening party was held on June 14, 2018, in Queensbridge, New York City, and streamed via Mass Appeal's YouTube channel.
- Nas later said of the album: 'We just didn't get enough time. I wish we'd worked on it more.'
- The track 'Cops Shot the Kid' samples Slick Rick's 'Children's Story' and Richard Pryor dialogue from *Wattstax*.
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