Kanye West performs "New Slaves" on Saturday Night Live.
Photo: Getty Images
If you are, in any way, a Kanye West fan, the likelihood that your weekend was insurmountably OWNED by Yeezy (or rather, by Yeezus) is a good one. Ye kicked off our Friday night with the drop of a new song, "New Slaves," and accompanying visual. A music video of sorts, Team Yeezy didn't just upload the clip to the interwebz; instead he took the "New Slaves" premiere out into the physical universe, setting up viewing sites in some 66 worldwide locations and projecting the visuals onto choice buildings. After a short intro loop of discount price and sale tags, a massive tight-shot of Kanye's face staring squarely into camera and rendered in grayscale, a kind of verse-spitting Yeezy version of Shepard Fairey's OBEY Giant, appeared sprawling on the walls and windows of museums, universities, hotels, landmarks, and (most notably to us) high fashion boutiques and shopping districts across the globe. The track itself is fraught with controversy, its lyrics jarringly blending racism and consumerism, and with projection sites like FIT University, New York's 5th Avenue Prada store, the Chanel boutique on Rodeo Drive, and Versace's Miami house, it's unavoidably clear that fashion is at the center of focus.
