In the studio, Rubin walked in one day. Kanye had sixteen layers of synth on I Am a God . Rubin listened. He said nothing. He just started pulling faders down. One by one. Until only a single, distorted 808 and Kanye’s raw, untreated voice remained.
Kanye walked away from the album not satisfied, but emptied. The glass tower had been built. It stood alone on the skyline of pop music—sharp, ugly, and impossible to ignore. Kanye West - Yeezus -2013-
He built it in his mind first: a skyscraper made of black chrome and broken mirrors. No windows. No lobby. No stairs for anyone else. In the studio, Rubin walked in one day