Kanye West, "I'm in It"

It took Kanye West 6 albums to show himself. It took him that long to look past his love of his mother, the torments of poverty, and the petty dangers of fame. It took him that long to find himself in it, and I am so thankful for “I’m in It.”

The moan which begins the track – is it of pain, or pleasure? The voice which begins the first verse – is it Kanye’s, or a demon’s? The discordant horn, the dog’s metronomic barking, the repetition, the dedication to “Uh” as an opening lyric – are we on Earth? What's beyond us? And, more hauntingly, what's left?

His answer, I think, is that we have gone inside. And, thus, deeper.

He rhymes “soft” with “off,” and “ass” with ass.”

He’s in it.

He’s “chasin’ love”; he’s “eatin Asian pussy” with “sweet and sour sauce.”

He’s in it.

His endowment, his manhood, a veritable “reptile,” has one stated purpose: to keep her “super wet” after the shower is already “off.”

He’s in it.

We are given the image of a “Star fucker.” It is too simple, I think, to apply this label to whichever person last scorned Kanye West. Are the stars beyond his appetite? Is the sexual pursuit of a supernova beyond a person who seems comfortable receiving “head by the nuns” while sleeping with his “nightlight”?

That he chose Bon Iver for the haunting, ponderous background wails is perfect. Bon Iver mastered the id on For Emma, Forever Ago and sold it on Bon Iver. That the sole woman we hear from the song, the woman coming, is a jagged repetition of Kanye’s own voice, filtered and passed through whatever electronic program would service it, is perfect, too. It’s where we’ve arrived.

We’re in it. Can you hear its electronic cry? Is it yearning?

Is it alive?

We’ve arrived here, and I'm not certain whether Kanye West brought us or is simply our tour guide. The most important question, is, of course: Do you like it?