“After years of experiencing West through Auto-Tune and mike effects, hearing his natural voice is a reminder that doubt remains his greatest motivation”

West hasn’t released much music since “Yeezus,” an album on which his voice began to sound mangled, swallowed by a digital rasp. Instead, we’ve heard more of his normal speaking voice. He’s lectured at Oxford and given a talk at Harvard. After years of experiencing West through Auto-Tune and mike effects, hearing his natural voice is a reminder that doubt remains his greatest motivation. There’s a slight quaver to it, a tendency to sound like he’s making an appeal, even when he’s offering bold, declarative statements. It’s as though the man who refers to himself in song as a “God” and a “genius” still craves validation; the arrogance is real, but it’s also a pose.

Hua Hsu, “A God Dream”, The New Yorker (22 February 2016), 68.