Theophilus London’s “Can’t Stop,” featuring Kanye West, from new album Vibes—stream it all here (AUDIO).

Hear Kanye’s Classic-Sounding New Verse on Theophilus London’s “Can’t Stop”

Hear Kanye’s Classic-Sounding New Verse on Theophilus London’s “Can’t Stop”

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Slate's Culture Blog
Oct. 28 2014 7:09 PM

Hear Kanye’s Classic-Sounding New Verse on Theophilus London’s “Can’t Stop”

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“It ain’t Ralph, though.”

Photo by David Becker/Getty Images

While most fans are feverishly waiting for Kanye West to let loose his follow-up to last year’s polarizing Yeezus, that’s not the only music he has in store for us. In addition to that forthcoming album, executive-producing Tyga’s seemingly stuck-in-limbo next album, and working on Big Sean’s next album, he’s also the executive producer on Brooklyn rapper and singer Theophilus London’s sophomore album Vibes. (London has also said he’s featured on a single from West’s new album.) Now that London’s album is streaming today via SoundCloud ahead of its Nov. 4 release, we finally get to hear standout track “Can’t Stop,” the only song that features a verse from Kanye.

Much like Kanye’s guest appearance on Estelle’s infectious breakthrough 2008 single “American Boy,” the song sees him tap into his College Dropout-era flow painting a vivid picture of lovers past and present while also checking his competition (“These condom rappin’ ass niggas wasn’t ever raw”). And he does it over a breathtaking, breezy, R&B-tinged beat that finds London singing along with what sounds like a sample of Norman Feels’ “You Can’t Stop My Love” on the smooth hook. The undeniable highlight, though, has to be hearing Kanye self-reference his “But it ain’t Ralph, though” line from his infamous Sway in the Morning interview. You can listen to the whole album, which also features Dev Hynes and Jesse Boykins III, below.

Dee Lockett is a writer for Vulture and a former Slate editorial assistant.