It seems like Kanye West has lost his soul in the enterprise of becoming a superstar.

He recently fell into an emerging category of hip-hop known as Trap Music – a consequence of his own doing. Having abandoned the soulful touch to beat making, West now focuses on bass-driven production with noticeable dissonance throughout.

Basically, his newer songs are not easy on the ears.

While he may have changed musical styles tremendously over the past decade, many fans still wonder if the old Kanye will ever return.

By the looks of it, he probably won’t. The reason lies in the artists he currently works with, the production he now employs, as well as tracks he promotes such as “Clique”, the new single for his collaborative studio album “Cruel Summer”. Upon hearing the other three singles – “Mercy”, “Cold” and “New God Flow” – you will undoubtedly notice menacing similarities between them.

Kanye has developed an obsession with southern rap beats that suffer from heavy electronic influence. As a result, they are also saturated with mind-numbing bass. The G.O.O.D. Music executive went from being a respected producer, who used to concentrate on sampling, to a trap rapper of epic proportions. By associating himself with people like Hit-Boy and Mike Dean – the guys responsible for “Niggas in Paris” – he unfortunately stepped down to the level of artists like 2 Chainz and Gucci Mane.

Within the trap world, rappers like to brag about how much money they make, how long their chains are and how fine their big-booty-hos appear to be. They deliver basic rhyme schemes and emphasize the grandeur of their image instead of substance.

As junior music major Carrie Miller put it, mainstream hip-hop doesn’t always express the most meaningful content to listeners. Degrading women through bombastic songs is not appealing, let alone admired.

If anything, Kanye is doing the hip-hop community a disservice by fully embracing his ‘Yeezy’ persona – a stage name he adopted over the years. He is no longer a legitimate artist, but instead a commercialized hype-man with a very mechanical repertoire as of 2010. His lyrics and music carry no weight considering how shallow and empty they have become.

The song “Hell of a Life” puts things into perspective. Just read the beginning excerpt.

I think I just fell in love with a pornstar

Turn the camera on, she a born star

This is the celebrity we recognize in modern times – a man who depicts himself as having sex with angels on the cover art of “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”.

Obviously Kanye is notorious for incorporating controversy in his material, but never has he been so overt. Sometimes he has children rapping explicitly in videos – like in “Cold” – and sometimes he broadcasts nude photos of his girlfriend on Twitter. Yes, I am referring to Kim Kardashian, the one he calls his “perfect bitch”. Clearly nothing is off limits for him.

What’s more, he constantly refers to himself as the voice of our generation. However, this so-called voice only speaks of fortune and fame while the rest of us are struggling to pay tuition. It’s completely obnoxious how often Kanye throws exaggerated success in our faces and, at the same time, tries to relate to us. He can’t just be a king in his own mind; we must always be reminded of it too.

Here’s the real problem: beat selection.

West’s creative direction changed significantly from “808s & Heartbreak” up until “Watch the Throne”. He has experimented with eccentric chord progressions, diverse instruments and entirely different tones in composition. Whereas in his first three albums he commanded a more uplifting tone with sped up soul samples, his more recent production consists of low pitched drums and entrancing melodies, which give off a darker and more sinister vibe.

Freshman music major Allison Kang reminisced about her middle school days when Kanye West songs had more meaning and a message attached to them. She said she felt as though he is being manipulated more so now rather than doing the innovating, as he should be.

“He has always been catchy as an artist, but ‘Mercy’ was way dark compared to his earlier stuff,” said Kang.

Nevertheless, Kanye tries to maintain magnificence in all ensuing efforts. Hits like “Power”, “Dark Fantasy” and “H.A.M.” reflect this by how operatic the final products were presented.

Consider his visual elements. Lately, he seems to enjoy shooting intricate music videos for his singles – some might even go as far as to call them short films. “No Church in the Wild” portrays a violent clash of street anarchists and city police. Aside from the annoying piece playing in the background, the video itself is quite entertaining.

While I personally cringe at the sellout road West is paving, senior dance major Nicole Matthews said she thinks differently.

“He might still be exploring who he wants to be as an artist. His style is changing, and he’s trying different things,” said Matthews. “I don’t see it as bad. He actually impressed me with ‘Runaway’ because of the chords he used.”

While there may be differing opinions on the matter, one thing is for sure: Kanye West has changed. In all likelihood, he will continue to grow into his own personal sound and might even put out all kinds of weird stuff in the meantime. All we can do is wait and listen. I just wish Kanye would steer away from a regal approach to hip-hop and get back to the good music again – you know, the soul beats.