Kanye West releases God Level: The rapper's new song for Adidas is primal and aggressive.

Kanye West's New Song Is Primal, Aggressive, and Could Have Been on Yeezus

Kanye West's New Song Is Primal, Aggressive, and Could Have Been on Yeezus

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Brow Beat
Slate's Culture Blog
May 24 2014 12:27 PM

Kanye West's New Song Is Primal, Aggressive, and Could Have Been on Yeezus

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Kanye returns with the modestly titled "God Level."

FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty Images

Some weeks ago Kanye teamed with Future and released the highly unfortunate "I Won," a grating ode to male ego and trophy wives. The song was West succumbing to all his worst, most offensive, and most reductive impulses. His new song, part of an Adidas campaign, is a bit more palatable, and far more interesting musically: in fact, "God Level" is very much of a piece with West's work on Yeezus, which employed an aggressive and industrial production. 

The track, low on lyrics, heavily features the pounding percussion and almost tribal beat of songs like "Black Skinhead." Hudson Mohawke, 88-Keys, Mike Dean, and Noah Goldstein helped West with production; you can hear the song below.

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Update, May 24, 2014: According to producer Hudson Mohawke's Twitter account, this isn't the full version of "God Level." We'll update the post when the full track is released.

Sharan Shetty is on the editorial staff of the New Yorker. You can follow him on Twitter