“Ego Death” is a song many including me have been excited to hear ever since it was discovered to be a leaked track off Kanye West’s never released Yahndi. Close friend and frequent collaborator, Ty Dolla $ign has received Yeezy’s blessing to release this throwaway as a record of his own. Today we will be analyzing the single and figuring out if it was worth the long wait.
The track opens up with a sample from the classic Xaviera Gold hit, “You Used To Hold Me”, which plays into a baseline remnant of West’s 2016 hit “Fade”. The instrumental builds up alongside Ty’s engulfing vocals. He puts the listener in a trance over this psychedelic disco ballad as he talks about his ego being hurt by a former lover. After his verse, a sample from singer Ultra Naté plays, which is followed by an appearance from Yeezus himself. Kanye absolutely nails his part as he cohesively addresses personal and social issues on his mind. Specifically, he goes into depth about the corrupt Grammys and system he and others have been oppressed by. Ye flexes his newly found billionaire status before ending the verse. After this, Ego Death enters its epic grand finale, which is led by singer FKA Twigs. Along with the help of a Queen Latifah sample, Twigs uses her transcending vocals to teleport the listener into a different dimension until the track fades out.
With Skrillex behind the boards, Ty, Kanye, and FKA are all given their portion of the record to shine. Each artist makes the song feel like their own with their distinct and immersive performances. It is evident Kanye also had a say in the sonic direction of this track as the sampled bridges have his signature style all over it. After two consecutive days of stellar records, I’m super excited to see what Mr.West has in store with his next album God’s Country.
Rating: 8.5/10
