"COUSINS" is a song from Kanye West's upcoming studio album, CUCK. It was released as the second single from the album on April 21, 2025. The song, built on samples of "were there originals" by Double Virgo and "10 PERCS" by Dave Blunts, addresses Ye's account of a childhood sexual experience with a male cousin.
Background[]
Ye has previously mentioned a cousin who is currently serving a life sentence for a murder he committed when he was 17 years old, on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on 2018, and in the 2020 documentary Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project.[1]
On April 21, 2025, Ye posted "COUSINS" with an accompanying music video on X. In the post, he went into more detail about the relationship.[2]
This song is called COUSINS about my cousin that’s locked in jail for life for killing a pregnant lady a few years after I told him we wouldn’t “look at dirty magazines together” anymore
Perhaps in my self centered mess I felt it was my fault that I showed him those dirty magazines when he was 6 and then we acted out what we saw
My dad had playboy magazines but the magazines I found in the top of my moms closet were different
My name is Ye and I sucked my cousins dick till I was 14
Tweet sent[P 2]
On April 23, 2025, Ye asked on X about what cover art he should use for "COUSINS".[3] The song was released on digital streaming platforms later that day.[4]
On May 20, 2025, Dave Blunts' reference track for the song would officially leak in its entirety.[5] The file was dated back to March 28, 2025. Some lyrics were eventually scrapped and altered.
Composition and lyrics[]
Comprised of a lo-fi guitar sample, the song details Ye recounting the events of an incestuous relationship that he had with a male cousin that began after the two discovered "dirty magazines" in the closet. A sample of "New Tank" by Playboi Carti acts as a transition into the second half of the song,[6] which builds on a sample of "10 PERCS" by Dave Blunts, with altered lyrics to instead mention Ye's nitrous oxide addiction.[2][P 3]
"COUSINS" was written by Dave Blunts, who also wrote the rest of CUCK. Regarding the writing process of the song, Blunts said:
[Ye] had told me about the situation with him and his cousin, and I could tell that the song was very freeing for him when I made it. I believe that he chose me to write songs because I have a blunt approach to it, and that’s the way that this song needed to be. I mean, it happened exactly like I said in the song, no double entendres. Just, like, “I gave him head.”[7]
Music video[]
The music video was released together with the tweet on April 21, 2025. It features a variety of clips and GIFs, some of violent or sexual nature. It was initially only available in very low quality (224x128 dimensions and 15 frames per second), but a higher quality version is currently available on Apple Music.
Every image described in order:
- POV walking down stairs with camera pointed at feet
- Extremely pixelated footage of an individual in black followed by shaky camera
- Zoomed pixelated shot a snake with superimpositions of footage from the proceeding sequence
- Cut up and zoomed in footage of person in baggy blue jeans walking a German Shepherd with steel fence behind
- Footage of someone being kicked by two individuals
- Arm tattoo of a hermaphroditic woman with large breasts and a penis with the word Marsha above it with a love heart
- Footage of someone being kicked by two individuals with one holding a pistol (different angle as previous)
- Spin the bottle being played by group of people in circle (still photo with animated bottle spinning)
- Woman dives down onto hotel room bed
- Two men in white shirts fight in hotel hallway
- Man in white shirt holding gun and slowly entering room from hallway
- Footage of a child falling down some stairs towards the camera
- Pool at night, two silhouettes in front of pools glow
- Man in jeans laying on back head up pointing gun towards camera
- Silhouette of person holding gun in dark room with light from outside behind
- A computer graphic of a nude woman with swastika over her nipples with a message saying "I GAVE MY COUSIN HEAD" 3 times with music notes under it (the swastikas would later be censored on the Apple Music version of the MV)
- Filmed screen of someone playing racing game
- A looping GIF of girls on a waterslide with Domo plastered on their faces
- A person landing on a power-line
- Zoomed footage of a crowd from stage with "CHAOS[?]IES" in the bottom-left corner, and a bloody hand holding a microphone
- Same pool as before but the two silhouettes dive in separately
- Black and white footage of shirtless man and a woman's hand with studded wristband grabbing top of his pants above crotch
- Black man in glasses that looks to be wearing a dipset shirt wildly moving arms about [zoomed footage], originates from a YouTube review
- Commercial for Birds Eye "F*gg*ts in Gravy"
- Pixelated footage of a video screen playing what appears to be a long snakelike balloon being inflated
- A close up of a snake with its tongue out, camera pulls back to reveal man holding it
- Silhouette of man in white shirt [blue hue]
- "4 F*gg*ts" canned food advert
- Zoomed in video of black man in white underwear with the text "Devil by night" on crotch area
- A cross with a burning fire background behind it
- Car dashcam footage
- The music video for the Radiohead song "Karma Police" and a woman's silhouette running with light behind her flashing back and forth
- Pixelated still of what appears to be military group posing for a photo with head coverings [single frame]
- Animal with white skin close up of black eye with brown pupil [single frame]
- White image that appears to be the back of a person wearing all white [single frame]
- Zoomed in image of naked white man on bed and penis on display with hands behind his back [single frame]
- Extremely pixelated pornography still that looks to be a penis [single frame ]
- 2 frames of trees filmed from what appears to be the backseat of a car through the back window
- Karma Police and woman running in front of light sequence again
- Pixelated still of what appears to be military group posing for a photo with head coverings [single frame repeat]
- Animal with white skin close up of black eye with brown pupil [single frame repeat]
- An advert for Johnson's Boating that reads "You and Your Johnson"
- A silhouette of person dancing in the dark (same source as the one who was holding gun previously]
- A GIF of a character falling off a building taken from the G.I. Joe animated series that loops until the end
Lyrics[]
[Intro: Double Virgo]
I saw you outside again, just hanging out with your friends
[Verse 1: Kanye West]
Hanging with my cousin reading dirty magazines
We seen some n***as kiss and we ain't know what that shit mean
Then we start reenacting everything that we had seen
That's when I gave my cousin head, gave my cousin head
Gave my cousin head, I gave my cousin head
I gave my cousin head
[Bridge: Double Virgo]
(I saw you outside again, just hanging out with your friends)
[Verse 2: Kanye West & Playboi Carti]
And I know these n***as 'bout to judge me now
(And I know these n***as 'bout to judge me now)
Started off when we was hanging out (Started off when we hang)
Told my cousin not to tell nobody (Please, no, don't tell nobody)
People tell me take it to my grave
"Truth will set you free someday"
I don't think they understand
That I'm not attracted to a man (They thought I was gay)
[Chorus: Dave Blunts & Kanye West]
Nitrous don't help me, it just put me in a trance
I'm talkin' about euphoria, I am not talkin' about a man
Told her, "Don't leave me 'cause I need you by my side"
As long as you don't leave me, then I'll probably be alright
And that one time that you left me, I didn't get no sleep that night
And that one time that you left me, I took ten Percs to get high
Ten Percs to get high, pray that I don't die
But if I die, —ee you in the sky
Two pints of the Qua'-Qua', don't leave, just stay, bae
Let's go on a vacay, leave the world behind
[Bridge: Dave Blunts]
Leave the world behind
Leave the world behind
[Chorus: Dave Blunts & Kanye West]
Nitrous don't help me, it just put me in a trance
I'm talkin' about euphoria, I am not talkin' about a man
Told her, "Don't leave me 'cause I need you by my side"
As long as you don't leave me, then I'll probably be alright
Then I'll probably be alright
Took ten Percs to get high
Ten Percs to get high, pray that I don't die
But if I die, —ee you in the sky
Two pints of the Qua'-Qua', don't leave, just stay, bae
Let's go on a vacay, leave the world behind
References[]
- ↑ Vaidyanathan, Vaishnavi (April 23, 2025). "'My cousin did a bad thing, but I still love him': Kanye West in 2018". Hindustan Times. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Matthews, David (April 21, 2025). "Kanye West reveals past incestuous relationship with male cousin". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
- ↑ Ye [@kanyewest] (April 23, 2025). "What cover yall like the best for COUSINS" (Tweet). Archived from the original on April 23, 2025. Retrieved May 30, 2025 – via Twitter.
- ↑ "COUSINS / Ye - TIDAL". Tidal. April 23, 2025. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
- ↑ https://pillowcase.su/f/960e1a83a0d83159e56f07b05853482e
- ↑ Centeno, Tony (April 21, 2025). "Ye Makes Shocking Confession About Explicit Relationship With Family Member". iHeart. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
- ↑ Rajagopal, Mekala (May 9, 2025). "The First Rule of Touring With Dave Blunts? No Shitting On the Bus". Interview Magazine. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
Primary sources[]
- ↑ @chukibeatz (April 25, 2025). ""COUSINS" by Ye produced by Ye, DN & me written by Dave 🫨". Retrieved May 30, 2025 – via Instagram.
- ↑ Ye [@kanyewest] (April 21, 2025). "This song is called COUSINS about my cousin that's locked in jail for life for killing a pregnant lady a few years after I told him we wouldn't "look at dirty magazines together" anymore" (Tweet). Archived from the original on April 21, 2025. Retrieved May 30, 2025 – via Twitter.
- ↑ Chuki Beats II (April 30, 2025). i produced Kanye's latest song... Retrieved May 30, 2025.