Following Miley Cyrus’ meme-inducing twerk showcase at the 2013 VMA Awards, reports surfaced that she skipped her own after-party to hop in the booth with a “top secret” collaborator, later alleged to be Kanye West. Page Six speculated that the partnership would feature in a Yeezus remix EP to be released later that year. Then everything sorta went quiet — until today.
Earlier this morning, a “Black Skinhead” remix featuring Miley Cyrus and Travis Scott started making its rounds on the internet. The track features Cyrus riffing on lines from Tears for Fears’ 1985 classic “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” “Acting on your worst behavior/ turn your back on all your haters,” sings the then 21-year-old pop provocateur. The track also features vocal punches from Travis Scott, including his signature adlib “straight up!”, though the Houston rapper doesn’t lend a fully fledged verse.
It’s unclear why the track has surfaced now, nearly three years later, but it’s likely the effort is unfinished and unofficial. The production doesn’t bear much of a resemblance to Ye’s Yeezus-era stylings: it’s sonically cluttered and doesn’t employ autotune to the same focused, dastardly effects as tracks like “I’m In It.”
In fact, West has been rather particular about his productions as of late: after first dropping his Kendrick Lamar-featuring “Real Friends” last week, the rapper pulled the track. He later took to Twitter, explaining that he took it down because “there was a slight distortion in the main loop within ‘Real Friends’,” and encouraged “rippers” to wait for the proper version.
But new, Yeezy-approved tunes aren’t far off: if West sticks to Kim K’s promise to release new music each Friday, we should be blessed with some beats tomorrow. West also recently tweeted that his forthcoming album, Swish, now has a release date: February 11, 2016. Watch this space!
Credits
Text Emily Manning
Photography Kate Owen