People are saying Kanye West returned to form with new song 'Beauty and the Beast'

Many of his fans are praising the cut.
Marni - Front Row - Milan Fashion Week - Womenswear Fall/Winter 2024-2025
Marni - Front Row - Milan Fashion Week - Womenswear Fall/Winter 2024-2025 / Arnold Jerocki/GettyImages
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While Kanye West captivated music listeners with his early releases, many have complained about his latter albums. The common critique is that West abandoned his sample-heavy, boom-bap production style, which he displayed on albums like 2004's The College Dropout, and 2005's Late Registration.

But fans are now praising his new song "Beauty and the Beast," saying it sounds like his earlier work. The cut finds the 47-year-old crooning over sparse backing music, similar to his 2008 LP, 808s & Heartbreak.

Plus, unlike some of West's previous material, which plays more like scores than regular songs, "Beauty and the Beast" is understated, probably because he used the ASR machine for sampling and the SP-1200 drum machine, two older pieces of equipment.

"Think about it every night and day to try to stay away, to keep my audience up / Don't take this as disrespect, I'm sitting here trying to redirect / I'm thinkin' 'bout it every night and day to try to stay away, to keep my audience up / Don't take this as disrespect, I'm still here in a trifecta," West sings in the chorus. The song may appear on his forthcoming album Bully, which he's now working on in Tokyo.

West previewed "Beauty and the Beast" last month in Haikou, China during his Vultures 2 listening event. But producer Mike Dean, who distanced himself from West over his anti-Semitic remarks, called it a leftover track from Donda , West's 2021 album.

But regardless, people raved about it on West's Instagram page. "He is so back," read one comment. "This is gonna be Ye's greatest comeback album," wrote someone else. And a third person wrote, "Got a feeling Bully gon be a classic."

How do you like "Beauty and the Beast?" Please let us know on our Twitter page.