Kanye West and Weezer Join Forces in This Surprisingly Good Mashup Album
Another day, another mashup album, except today’s entrant—Yeezer, Chuckie Nugget’s deft coupling of Kanye West and Weezer—is more than a collection of mediocre music inspired by a mediocre pun. To be clear, Nugget, aka Ohio State sophomore Alex Hodawanec, did get this idea after a friend came up with the title pun. But he also had a single objective when pairing these two incredibly popular, wildly disparate artists: Make sure “that they sound good together.”
Mission accomplished. Yeezer has some limp and forced moments, but songs like “Barry Jamb” and “Perfect Homecoming” highlight both West’s flow and Weezer’s pop wizardry. Some of the symbiosis here may have to do with a shared approach: Both West and Weezer’s frontman, Rivers Cuomo, began as nerdy outsiders in their respective genres, and responded by making smart, sarcastic, self-conscious music that remade hip-hop and rock in their image. Yeezer doesn’t come near the track-by-track excellence of, say, Danger Mouse’s Grey Album, but it has more than enough bright moments to merit a listen. Enjoy.