Could we soon see the second coming of Kanye West’s “Yeezus”? According to producer Rick Rubin, there’s a possibility.
In a career-spanning interview for Newsweek’s Daily Beast, the venerable, Def Jam-founding producer said that when West sought his help in completing “Yeezus” — roughly five weeks prior to its scheduled release date — he’d planned on including 16 tracks.
Kanye West, ‘Yeezus’: Track-by-Track review
Rubin countered, “Maybe you should make it more concise. Maybe it is two albums. Maybe this is just the first half.” According to Rubin, West took to this idea with enthusiasm, leading to the final version of “Yeezus” containing just 10 songs.
So is another “Yeezus” coming? “Might be,” Rubin says.
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The shortened format might have done them both well. In the interview, Rubin also describes how West wrote the entire song lyrics to two “Yeezus” cuts the final night before the album was due.
“Yeezus” debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 327,000 units sold (according to Nielsen Soundscan), making it the third-largest sales week of the year.