Kanye West – “Brothers”

Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images

Kanye West – “Brothers”

Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images

Kanye West has been a divisive figure lately, but he’s also a working musician, still. And every once in a while, he’ll come out with a new song. Today is one of those days. Last month, we learned that a new West song called “Brothers” would appear in the season premiere of BET’s anthology show Tales, and we heard a snippet of it. That episode aired last night, and now “Brothers,” at least in some form, is out in the world.

The version of “Brothers” that’s out right now is about a minute and a half long, and it was ripped straight from the TV show, so it may not be complete. “Brothers” has vocals from the R&B and gospel legend Charlie Wilson, formerly of the Gap Band, and Complex reports that Murder Inc. producers Irv Gotti and Channel 7 (formerly 7 Aurelius) are responsible for the beat.

The song reflects West’s recent (and recurring) gospel fascination, and it also seems like an honest attempt to recapture his Graduation sound. Lyrically, the song appears to be an olive branch to an old friend. (At first glance, the song seems to be about recent adversary Jay-Z, also the subject of West’s Graduation track “Big Brother.” But some of the lines — “We met when we was young, I forgot the grade / When the last one to base was a rotten egg” — point to an older childhood friendship. But maybe that’s metaphorical?)

In any case, on “Brothers,” West raps, “We should’ve lit cigars, when your baby was born / Should have shouted you out, dedicated a song / I can say I was wrong, I can take the blame / Cuz brothers don’t always have to share the same name.” Listen to it below.

There’s no word yet on if or when “Brothers” will get a proper release.

UPDATE: Gotti has written on Instagram:

There is a lot of speculation right now on who is Kanye West rapping about on the song brothers. So here is the song. That BET cut off because of there way of airing episodes. But it was always meant for the audience to hear the whole record. Listen. And decide for your self if you think Kanye is rapping about Jay Z or Virgil. Both Ye’s Brothers. And also let me know if you liked the episode and song. We did it for yall. My hip hop culture. -IG

more from New Music