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Good Ass Job

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Good Ass Job is an unreleased studio album by Kanye West, which was intended to be his fifth studio album, following 808s & Heartbreak. It also would have been the fourth album in the College series, following Graduation.[1] It was first worked on in the fall of 2008 before finally evolving to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by the summer of 2010.

Background[]

In 2003, before The College Dropout even released, Kanye West announced his intention to release a series of four albums as part of a tetralogy.[1] These albums were to be thematically linked, reflecting West's journey through the stages of higher education and his subsequent experiences in the music industry. The first three albums in this series, The College Dropout, Late Registration, and Graduation, were released to critical acclaim and commercial success, featuring West's signature blend of soulful samples, thought-provoking lyrics, and innovative production techniques.

Good Ass Job was intended to serve as the culmination of West's tetralogy, exploring his growth and development following his metaphorical graduation from the music industry.[2] However, just 2 months after Graduation released, Kanye's mother, Donda West, passed away on November 10, 2007 due to complications following a plastic surgery.[3] Kanye was devastated by the loss of his mother, and to make matters worse, in the spring of 2008, Kanye broke up with his former fiancée, Alexis Phifer.[4] Kanye's depression, coupled with his struggle of adapting into fame, caused him to scrap the concept of Good Ass Job entirely and instead worked with a completely different sound with the help of the 808.[5]

After 808s & Heartbreak released in November 2008, Kanye began working on new material for his then-upcoming fifth studio album. In December, Kanye produced a five-track-long demo tape.[6] Throughout most of 2009, Kanye worked on the album. However, things took a drastic turn on September 13, 2009. During the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Taylor Swift was accepting her award for Best Female Video when Kanye walked onstage, took the microphone from Taylor, and stated that Beyoncé had "one of the best videos of all time". As the crowd booed Kanye, he handed the microphone back to Taylor, shrugged, and walked off. Kanye would immediately receive immense backlash for the incident from the public as well as several celebrities, including then-U.S. president Barack Obama, who called Kanye a "jackass".[7] Kanye apologized to Taylor on his blog and on The Jay Leno Show, but the damage had been done and Kanye fell into another deep depression due to the overwhelming hate.

After the incident, Kanye decided to take a break from making music altogether and ventured into fashion. However, soon after, Kanye holed himself up in Honolulu, Hawaii to make new music. He invited several artists to his studio, but they were forced to wear black suits. There were also several rules on the wall, nicknamed the "Kanye Commandments", which set the mood for the upcoming album.[8] Big Sean revealed that he was working on the album in February 2010.[9] On July 28, Kanye announced on Twitter that the album would no longer be called Good Ass Job.[10] He revealed in October that the album would be titled My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.[11]

Legacy[]

In 2018, Kanye announced a collaborative album with Chance the Rapper, also titled Good Ass Job. However, it was also scrapped.

Track lists[]

Complex track list #1[]

The first track list from Good Ass Job that Complex revealed. It is rumored to have been created in March 2010.[12]

  1. "Hell Of A Life"
  2. "Dark Fantasy"
  3. "Runaway"
  4. "Joy"
  5. "Heartbreaker"
  6. "Lost In The World"
  7. "Momma's Boy"
  8. "Give It All Away"
  9. "Live Fast, Die Young"
  10. "Monster"

Complex track list #2[]

The second track list from Good Ass Job that Complex revealed. It is unknown when it was made.[12]

  1. "Hell Of A Life"
  2. "Dark Fantasy HIGHER"
  3. "Power"
  4. "Gorgeous"
  5. "Lost In A World"
  6. "Run Away"
  7. "Heartbreakers"
  8. "The Joy"
  9. "So Appalled"
  10. "Mama's Boy"
  11. "Chaka Khan"
  12. "Single Fowl Rhyme"

"Eyes Closed" and "Take One For The Team" were also listed.

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TwyKj75zwg
  2. ↑ https://www.today.com/id/wbna11930083/
  3. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donda_West
  4. ↑ http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20193726,00.html
  5. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20081217114954/http://www.mtv.co.uk/channel/mtvuk/news/460118-kanye-west-opens-his-heart
  6. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/GoodAssSub/comments/16a6kg2/all_kanye_projects_a_timeline/?rdt=61621
  7. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_MTV_Video_Music_Awards#Kanye_West%E2%80%93Taylor_Swift_incident
  8. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20101228123251/http://www.complex.com/CELEBRITIES/Cover-Story/kanye-west-project-runaway
  9. ↑ https://rapradar.com/2010/02/14/big-sean-workin-on-kanyes-good-ass-job/
  10. ↑ https://www.nme.com/news/music/kanye-west-722-1296025
  11. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/kanye-west-announces-dark-twisted-fantasy-title-and-details-955285/
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 https://www.reddit.com/r/Yedits/comments/rrv267/recovering_every_lost_kanye_albumtracklist/?rdt=65126

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