Skip to main content

Early Christmas from Kanye? The rapper drops two new songs on SoundCloud

kanye west drake collaborative album kanyewest
Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com
Monday just got more exciting for Kanye West fans. Unannounced, Kanye released two tracks through his SoundCloud page: a remix of 2008’s Say What You Will featuring experimental music composer Caroline Shaw, and a brand new song called When I See It. The latter expands on The Weeknd’s 2015 cut Tell Your Friends, which West produced. It’s unclear if these tracks foreshadow more new music from West soon, but any new music from the 21st century hip hop mastermind is worth noting regardless.

The remix of his 808s & Heartbreak album track, this version of Say What You Will is shorter — and more experimental — than the original. West originally met his collaborator Shaw at one of her performances earlier this year. Interestingly, the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music winner just performed live with Kanye a few days ago in San Francisco.

When I See It features an even more heavily-autotuned, singing West (for better or for worse) than the previous track. At under two minutes, it’s also much shorter than the song by The Weeknd from which it originated. GQ notes that Tell All Your Friends was originally scheduled to be on the rapper’s upcoming album, so maybe this version is a scrapped Kanye West single?

West’s music career hasn’t been the rappers only priority lately, though. Last month, he revealed the second season of his Yeezus clothing line. “There’s something about the way clothes fit and feel and the emotion that they give you,” said the rapper to Vanity Fair recently on why he got into fashion. “… the details of [clothes] that I’ve been passionate about and addicted to since I was five years old.”

Going back to music, it’s unclear if there’s any relationship between the two tracks and the rapper’s upcoming fourth record Swish, but it seems doubtful. In the same Vanity Fair interview, he briefly mentioned that he wasn’t sure about the release date. “I’m not worried about the years,” said West. “I’m worried about the life and the body of work that I can put out while I’m breathing.”

Editors' Recommendations

Chris Leo Palermino
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Chris Leo Palermino is a music, tech, business, and culture journalist based between New York and Boston. He also contributes…
Best Cyber Monday Deals 2022: Laptops, TVs, AirPods, and more
Best Cyber Monday Deals 2022

Cyber Week is here! With some truly epic deals out there, this is the best time of year to buy a new tech gadget. If you slept through the Black Friday sales, then the Cyber Monday sales, you better grab what you need during this week of slowly diminishing deals. From tablets to air fryers, laptops to smartwatches, we've rounded up the best Cyber Monday deals across a range of categories, and you'll find them all below.
Cyber Monday sales: Quick links

Amazon: Huge discounts on laptops, Echo devices, and tablets
Best Buy: Your destination for sales on super-sized TVs
Dell: Unbeatable discounts on gaming laptops, monitors, and more
Gamestop: Cheap video games, console accessories and monitors
HP: Gaming PCs, laptops, monitors, and printers from $129
Kohl's: Home decor, clothing and kitchen appliance steals
Lowe’s: Up to 60% off appliances like refrigerators and decor
Staples: Save big on laptops, home office hardware and supplies
Target: Tons of cheap kitchen appliances and stocking-fillers
Walmart: Great for laptops, and is restocking PS5 and Xbox Series X

Read more
What is hi-res audio, and how can you experience it right now?
Dlyan Wireless Headphones

High-resolution audio, hi-res audio, or even HD audio -- whatever you decide to call it (for the record, the industry prefers "hi-res audio"), it's a catch-all term that describes digital audio that goes above and beyond the level of sound quality you can expect from a garden-variety MP3 file and even CDs. It was once strictly the domain of audiophiles, but now that major streaming music services like Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, Deezer, and Qobuz have embraced it, almost everyone can take advantage of what hi-res has to offer.

But what exactly is hi-res audio? What equipment do you need to listen to it? Where can you download or stream it? And does it actually sound better? We've got the answers.
What does the term 'hi-res audio' mean?

Read more
How to download music from Spotify for offline listening
How to download music and podcasts from Spotify: The downloads folder.

If you're a Spotify Premium user paying that premium Spotify fee, chances are you've taken at least some time curating playlists, liking songs, and using the platform's easy-to-use (and recently revamped) user interface to discover new and old music.

But sometimes all that music or your favorite podcasts aren't available if you find yourself without an internet connection to stream them from — like on a long plane ride or weekend camping trip in the sticks. That's where Spotify's offline listening feature comes in handy, allowing you to download playlists, albums, and podcasts through its desktop and mobile apps so you can still rock out while you're off the grid.

Read more