Kanye West Went to Bollywood for His ‘Yeezus’ Sample

But no one can figure out exactly which artist he sampled.

By Jamilah King Jun 18, 2013

Yeezus is here. Kanye West’s highly anticipated sixth studio album hits (legal) digital downloads today. A version of the album already leaked late last week, so fans and critics alike have already had time to talk about it. So, is Ye’ really the nucleus? Is this album a testamant to his awesomeness? Will everyone just stop hating on him?

The short answer: no.

But at the very least, the new album shows that, once again, Kanye knows how to sample a wide range of songs from different genres. And this time he went to Bollywood for one of his most narcissistic tracks, "I Am God."

The Aerogram explains:

The third track on the album, one humbly titled "I Am a God," is credited as being written by Kanye West, the duo better known as Daft Punk, and — here’s where it gets interesting — Anand Bakshi and Rahul Burman, among others. This is because a sample of "Are Zindagi Hai Khel" is used in the song.

Here’s the thing: people can’t seem to figure out where, exactly.

While I do appreciate the fact that he isn’t wearing a Sherwani and pretending to be something he isn’t like — ahem — some people, it would be nice to, you know, actually be able to recognize the sample being used. Still, Yeezy is known for not only sampling a wide range of songs from different genres, but distorting them in different ways. I must confess, I’ve listened to both songs about a dozen times each at this point and can’t figure out where exactly he hid the R.D. Burman classic.

Want to help solve the mystery? Go see more at the Aerogram.