Listen to Kanye West’s New Single ‘All Day’

2 minute read

After months of false starts and exponentially increasing hype — interview quips, leaked demos, a performance at the Brit Awards last week backed by dozens of UK henchmen and a mighty flamethrower — Kanye West is releasing the official version of “All Day,” the lead single from his upcoming new album So Help Me God. Working with contributions from stylish Brooklyn polymath Theophilus London and rising, gritty Minnesotan Allan Kingdom, Kanye splits the difference between the abrasiveness and dark colors of 2013’s Yeezus and his gift for lyrical hooks and radio-friendly structure. It’s not hard to imagine the song’s chorus, and its titular bark, streaming from open car windows around the country by rush hour this evening. (The closing minute, a bizarre stew of cheery whistling and frenzied electronics, seems less likely to land on top 40 playlists.)

Of course, “All Day” is still ripe with the sort of incisive statements about class and race that have marked Kanye’s work from the beginning. Even grandstanding, throwaway lines are wrapped in barbed wire, like his hollered proclamation that, “Like a light-skinned slave boy / we in the motherf—king house!” If this really is “cookout music,” it’s cookout music that demands your attention. So Help Me God still doesn’t have a release date, but with an official single on the books and a promotional machine roaring to life, the release of even more new Kanye West music seems imminent.

Read next: Listen to Haim and M83’s New Song for the Insurgent Soundtrack

Artists Who Have Never Won A Grammy

Photo of QUEEN
QueenJohn Rodgers—Redferns/Getty Images
'60s R&B Quintet "Jackson 5"
Jackson 5Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Spice Girls
Spice GirlsRay Burmiston—Photoshot/Getty Images
Pepsi Super Bowl XLIX Halftime Show
Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images
RBC Royal Bank Bluesfest - Ottawa, ON
BjörkMark Horton—WireImage/Getty Images
Diana Ross Performs In Dublin
Diana Ross performs in Dublin.ShowBizIreland/Getty Images
2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival - Night 1 - Show
Nicki MinajDenise Truscello—WireImage/Getty Images
Janis Joplin
Janis JoplinEvening Standard/Getty Images
Photo of Patti SMITH
Patti SmithDick Barnatt—Redferns/Getty Images
"How The West Was Won" Tour - Irvine, CA
Snoop DoggGabriel Olsen—FilmMagic/Getty Images
Photo of Jimi HENDRIX
Jimi HendrixDavid Redfern—Redferns/Getty Images
The Who
The WhoThe Visualeyes Archive/Redferns/Getty Images
Photo of Jim MORRISON and DOORS
The DoorsGunter Zint—Redferns/Getty Images
Led Zeppelin File Photos
Led ZeppelinChris Walter—WireImage/Getty Images
Photo of Flavor FLAV and Chuck D and PUBLIC ENEMY
Public EnemyDavid Corio—Redferns/Getty Images
Journey
JourneyMichael Putland—Getty Images
Kiss
KissMichael Putland—Getty Images
Photo of Run DMC
Run-D.M.C.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
The Ramones
RamonesRoberta Bayley—Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Andre Agassi's 6th Grand Slam for Children Fundraiser - Show
Brian McKnightKMazur—WireImage/Getty Images
Fun Fun Fun Fest 2014
NasMerrick Ales—FilmMagic/Getty Images
Iggy Pop 1988
Iggy PopFrans Schellekens—Redferns/Getty Images
Kid Rock In Concert
Kid RockScott Legato—Getty Images

Listen to the most important stories of the day.

More Must-Reads From TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com