Yeezus is here.

(Click the photo for the link. You're welcome.)

Yes. It leaked.

It was inevitable. Unlike Watch the Throne, which was a digital only release in its first week, and Jay and Kanye made sure NO one on their close knit team leaked it (can you say engraved rolex watches for the production team?), Yeezus leaked only hours after making it to the stores prepping for its official release on Tuesday. I found a link immediately and began the long process of analyzing the album. Trust me, I'm not going to spoil your listening experience.

Its hard to form your own opinion among Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook (even though facebook is surprisingly quiet about it...chunk it to the fact that facebook is the "senior citizen" of social media in a sense.) comments about the release, but lets face it; it's impossible not to talk about the album. First, lets give a round of sarcastically-laced applause to those "true" fans who refuse to listen to the album until Tuesday. By the time you get around to hearing the 10 tracks, the hype will be dead and all we will be talking about is soundscan numbers.

Now, lets get to the music.

The production is genius. Its a reduced rendition of your typical Kanye. While, MBDTF was full of perfectly placed strings, wood instruments, percussion, and some of the most famous singers singing BACKGROUND vocals for the album ('All of the Lights' had 11 superstars singing vocals...can you name them all? Thought so.), Yeezus is the anti-MBDTF. Expect bass, and raw, clear cut vocals. Kanye is in a dark, but creative space with this album. It's gritty, it's nasty, it's fresh, it's everything.

For those of you turned off by the "lack" of production, you will get your share and some on my favorite track, Blood on the Leaves. Who else but Kanye can put together Nina Simone and C-Murder samples and turn it into the perfect track? Some other favorites are New Slaves (of course) and I'm In It (because im nasty like that).

If for some reason you are waiting for Kanye circa 2004 (College Dropout era) to appear on this album, prepare to be disappointed. Also prepare to be shocked: no one is popping their collars up anymore and we have a black president now. In other words, College Dropout Kanye metaphorically died YEARS ago, and it now the year 2013 A.D. This is the most honest Kanye we've ever gotten, and dare I say it, his most "real" album. No apologizes, no fitting a mold, no barriers. Its the level artists of all mediums hope to get to; the point where they can literally create anything and create such a strong following/hype.

Beware: Yeezus is not for everyone. Is it my favorite kanye album? No. Hell No. That doesn't make it any less amazing. It is an acquired taste. My overall rating, an A-. Yes, im greedy and I can't give an album under 12 tracks (no matter how amazing) an A+. And, at the risk of being persecuted, I think Yeezus lacked a track. I don't know what I was expected to hear from the album, but the album left me with a strange feeling that one of those tracks that were left on the cutting room floor could have completely changed the album. But eh, that's just my intuition-who knows.

The official release date is next Tuesday, June 18th. Yes, I will be at my local Target to buy the album.

And no: I will not do a full review of Born Sinner. It was a straight album. Really good production. One problem: J.Cole was on it. As always I wanted other artists to do every song.

And for those Houstonians disappointed with the city's choice to shut down the New Slaves projections two weeks ago, Yeezus is gracious enough to try it again with several locations. Let's be progressive Houston, because I'm trying to scream 'YASSSSSSS' in downtown houston tomorrow night. Here's the screening locations:

9:30 p.m.: Houston Public Library
10:30 p.m.: TOC Bar
11:30 p.m.: Stereo Live
12:30 a.m.: 407 Main St.
1:30 a.m.: 2401 San Jacinto