Happy New Year, there's a new Kanye West song in the world. Yes, the big shimmering ball in Times Square wasn't the only thing to drop at midnight on Jan. 1, the long-anticipated Yeezus follow-up and West's collaboration with Paul McCartney, "Only One," was released into the world promptly at 12 a.m.
Pulling away from the abrasiveness of his last album, West goes into singsong mode on "Only One," using the familiar auto-tune that fans of his 2008 album 808s and Heartbreak grew to love. Alongside West's R&B stylings, McCartney accompanied him on the keyboard. As the long instrument to accompany the vocals, "Only One" is stripped down, raw and emotional.
The song puts West in the place of his beloved deceased mother, Donda West, as she looks down from heaven on him and his daughter, North West, Stereogum reports. The key lyric that gives the perspective away comes near the end of the song, when West emotionally repeats "Tell Nori about me."
"Only One" is filled with vulnerable, personal lyrics from West. "I talked to God about you, he said he sent you an angel / And look at all that he gave you / You asked for one and you got two / You know I never left you," he sings in the first verse. Later, West continues the emotional telling with such gripping lines as "And if you knew how proud I was / You'd never shed a tear, have a fear / No, you wouldn't do that."
The song is apparently just one part of a bigger collaboration between West and McCartney. The two were spotted working together last year, and though it's unclear just how involved the former Beatle is on West's new album, it's safe to say much more is in the works for 2015.
Listen to "Only One" below:
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