WHEN MACCA MET YEEZY: DESPITE THE INEVITABLE SCEPTICISM, THE RESULTS OF PAUL MCCARTNEY AND KANYE WEST’S BRIEF GET-TOGETHER WERE NONE TOO SHABBY…

RIK FLYNN

Kayne West: “People say he’s eccentric, which you’d have to agree with,” said McCartney

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When unconfirmed reports filtered through that Paul McCartney had engaged in a collaboration with a certain headline-grabbing, self-aggrandising rapper, many checked their calendars to check it wasn’t some kind of prank. Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello had all seemed like a natural fit; even the spontaneous rock McCartney had cut with the two remaining Nirvana members (and a Foo Fighter) sounded strangely appropriate. But Kanye West and the 73-year old icon? It didn’t seem quite possible.

Out of those initial whispers, one enigmatic sonic snippet surfaced online: a short video clip leaked on Instagram, with a voice that sounded suspiciously like Kanye’s heard repeating the churlish words “Piss on your grave” over some distinctly Kanye-style beats. Suddenly, it seemed the unthinkable was indeed fact. Was this coarsely-titled oddity really their first work together? Or – more likely – was it nothing more than the cogs churning out the usual West-ian hype? Page Six reported that “West’s wife Kim Kardashian has been heard telling friends she was a little surprised they chose such a provocative name”. It was clearly on, but Kim needn’t have worried; that rather crass lyric thankfully turned out to be a red herring.