Entertainment

Kanye References North & Saint On 'T.L.O.P.'

by Kristie Rohwedder

Well, the moment has finally happened: On Thursday, Kanye West debuted The Life of Pablo at Madison Square Garden. Those of us not fortunate enough to sit in that stadium alongside Kim Kardashian, North West, the rest of the Kardashian-Jenner family, Lamar Odom, and Naomi Campbell (oh, and the thousands of other people in attendance) were not totally out of luck: the entire fashion show and album debut streamed on Tidal. Bajillions (rough estimate) of us hit the “play” button on our laptops, and then we proceeded to watch Kanye hit the “play” button on his laptop. We looked at the Yeezy Season 3 fashion. We attempted to absorb the new songs as best as one can on first listen. We took note of the lyrics. And two of the many, many standout lines from The Life of Pablo were the ones he added to a song we'd already heard before. At end of the powerful track "Wolves," West references kids North and Saint:

Cover Nori in lambswool/We’re surrounded by the f**king wolves

And:

Cover Saint in lambswool/We’re surrounded by the f**king wolves

My chills have goosebumps. And my goosebumps are sweating. And my sweat has goosebumps. And my— Ah, I think you get it.

So what do these lyrics mean? Are these verses a nod to the paparazzi who follow his family’s every move? Or to a society that tries to “consume” his family? Or a reference to his kids’ lamb-like innocence? Whatever it means, that is some haunting and evocative imagery. Look, I’m no lyricologist; I don’t got the answers, Sway. All I know is that I can't wait to listen to "Wolves" (and all of T.L.O.P., for that matter) again.