“Guilt Trip,’’ off Ye’s 2013 studio album “Yeezus,” is a masterpiece. It’s a heavenly track produced by Ye himself, along with legendary producer Mike Dean and additionally psychedelic rap icon Travis Scott. The song kicks off with the mentioned synth, followed by this almost sparkly sound. It’s as if otherworldly piano keys were being played upwards. Guilt Trip is a perfect example of Ye’s experimental side and a rare part of his emotional side.
Further into the production, the song samples 2 different audios, “Chief Rocka” by Lords of the Underground, made in 1993 and “Blocka (Ackeejuice Rockers Remix)” by Pusha T, featuring Popcaan and Travis Scott. Ye is known for his samples in his production, with this being no exception.
The lyrics in “Guilt Trip” starts off with him mentioning a girl with the detail of her being a capricorn going with the astrological sound of the song. The setting starts with his party, shown by the lyric “dancing on the lawn.” The song goes deeper into this rabbit hole, of him getting closer and closer with this girl with activities such as trips to Rio de Janeiro, but soon the relationship turns mostly sexual.
The theme of star signs is a large part with the beat, additionally showing an audio interpretation of the night sky dancing, in another line mentioning them, “Maybe it’s ‘because she was into Leos and I was into trios.” Showing the same repeated themes of sexual innuendo and stars.
He eventually ends it by saying “onto the next saga,” showing that he is attempting to move on from this love and find the next person of interest in his life. But it soon shows that is all but the truth. Kid Cudi, one of the hip-hop artists with the single best vocals, has often been described as transcendent or even heavenly. He repeats over and over again whilst the synths are matching him, “If you love me so much, why’d you let me go?” The power behind this lyric is immense, showing the raw emotions of Kanye when he couldn’t find the right words to express.
Guilt Trip is a song full of raw emotions, consisting of Ye trying to find himself within his own song, trying to find how this relationship should work. and trying to figure out why it went wrong. Was it his fault? Or was it just the way things go? The song produced by some of the greatest, with features from another huge artist and at the time close friend, this song is one of if not my favorite Ye songs. It’s a must-listen for fans or for opposers of him, and something that you need to listen to.
