From John Legend to Nicki Minaj: a breakdown of all the guests on Kanye’s ‘ye’

Kanye's latest album comes with a star-studded guest list, including Kid Cudi, John Legend, Nicki Minaj, Young Thug, and Kevin Parker.

Kanye’s highly-anticipated 8th album ye was streamed to the world from an exclusive party in Jackson Hole, Wyoming last night – the same place where he reportedly worked on the record.

The album has now dropped on Spotify and Apple Music and TIDAL, and features an abundance of celebrity guests.

The album cover for ‘ye’, which Kim Kardashian said on Twitter as shot on Kanye’s iPhone on the way to the listening party (theyeezymafia/Twitter)

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Here’s our breakdown of everyone we know so far to feature on Kanye’s new record. (But, as last night’s listening party revealed, some guests, like Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, didn’t even know they were on the album until it dropped.)

We’ll update this article if any more details emerge.

Kid Cudi

Kanye’s longterm hip-hop collaborator appears on ‘Ghost Town’, which also features John Legend and emerging rapper 070 Shake, and ‘No Mistakes’.

Kanye and Kid Cudi have also paired up as a hip hop duo, going by the name Kids See Ghost, and are expected to release their eponymous debut album on 8 June.

John Legend

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The suave singer-songwriter graces listeners with his charming goals on ‘Ghost Town’. Kanye helped engineer Legend’s rise to fame, having signed the piano-maestro to his label GOOD Music, before Legend moved on to Sony.

Legend used to sing the hooks on Kanye’s music, and features on previous tracks like ‘Blame Game’.

The pair are also known friends, with Kanye recently sharing private messages with Legend, after the latter confronted him about his alignment with Trump. 

John Legend
John Legend (Getty)

Nicki Minaj

Minaj appears in a voice recording at the end of ‘Violent Crimes’, in which she semi-speaks and raps. Her voiceover includes the phrase: “I’m sayin’ it like…I want a daughter like Nicki.”

Minaj has worked with Kanye before, appearing on his track ‘Monster’, which taken from his fifth album.

Nicki Minaj videos
Nicki Minaj (Getty)

070 Shake

The upcoming rapper from North Bergen, New Jersey, appears on ‘Violent Crimes’, taking the lead on the chorus and in the intro. The gig is obviously a big deal for the artist, who released her debut six-track EP ‘Glitter’ earlier this year, and is set to gain her more fans as she continues her rise to the top.

Kevin Parker

Tame Impala’s frontman was unaware he would be on Kanye’s record, until he actually tuned in at the listening party. The singer features on ‘Ghost Town’, and reportedly exclaimed “Holy shit!” upon finding out the news. 

Parker had allegedly sent Kanye some samples to feature on the album, but didn’t hear back from the rapper and had assumed they didn’t make the cut.

Young Thug

The rapper and singer’s soulful voice opens ‘Wouldn’t Leave’, with him also singing the chorus – this time with Ty Dolla $ign and a choir – later on in the track.  The 26-year old sings: “I don’t feel that she’s mine enough / God, I feel I couldn’t have you whine enough.”

Young Thug performing

Jeremih

The singer-songwriter is featured on the bridge ‘Wouldn’t Leave’, crooning about sundresses and the like. The track is set to prove controversial, following Kanye’s recent comments when he said “slavery was a choice.” Lyrics on the song include: ““I said, “Slavery a choice.” They say, “How, Ye?”/Just imagine if they caught me on a wild day.”

Ty Dolla $ign

The rapper and producer graces our ears on ‘Wouldn’t Leave’, as well as  ‘All Mine’, which includes a catchy, stagnated baseline, an organ at the beginning, and Kanye discussing both “titties” and having a threesome.

Ty Dolla $ign has previously worked with Kanye, and features on two tracks on his seventh album The Life of Pablo – “Fade” and promotional single “Real Friends”.

Ty Dolla $ign performs onstage during Day 3 of Wireless Festival 2016 at Finsbury Park on July 10, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Ollie Millington/Redferns)

Valee

Valee is signed to Kanye’s label GOOD Music – and released his debut album  GOOD Job, You Found Me in March this year – so it’s no surprise to see him appearing on ‘ye’. The rapper talks about  “ass bustin'” supermodels the chorus of ‘All Mine’, which deals with infidelity.

 

Charlie Wilson

Wilson appears alongside Kid Cudi on the chorus of ‘No Mistakes’. The track references Kanye’s “shaky ass year”, with him rapping: “Oh, I got dirt on my name, I got white on my beard/I had dead on my books.”

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