Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music Compilation 'Cruel Summer' Set For September

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Little more than a year after the release of Watch the Throne, Kanye West is set to unleash another high-profile collaboration: Cruel Summer, a compilation of songs performed by artists on West’s G.O.O.D. Music label. The album, which is said to include all of the label’s current artists including John Legend, Common, Big Sean, Kid Cudi, Mr. Hudson, Cyhi the Prynce, Mos Def, Pusha T, D’Banj, Teyana Taylor, Q-Tip, Hit-Boy and (as of now, unofficially) 2 Chainz, is scheduled for release on September 4.

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The album’s first single, “Mercy,” featuring West, Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz, was released in April, and a follow-up, “New God Flow” featuring West and Pusha T, is set for official release on August 7, although West has already issued it via his GOOD Fridays website. Additionally, West directed a short film, also entitled "Cruel Summer," which is meant to accompany the release of the album much like the short that was released concurrently with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

West’s G.O.O.D. Music labelmates appeared together on the cover of Complex’s August/ September Issue, and participated in a roundtable interview. 2 Chainz, who is currently signed to Def Jam Records, revealed that he isn’t an official member of G.O.O.D. Music’s roster: “I’m not officially signed, paperwork-wise, to G.O.O.D. Music,” he said.

In the interview, Common, Q-Tip, Kid Cudi, Pusha and 2 Chainz offer effusive praise for their producer, fellow artist and label head, indicating that his approach is more intense and creative – if also demanding – than with other artists with whom they have collaborated.

Cudi remembered, “One day, I got to the studio early, and I was like, ‘I’m going to make a beat.’ Then he came in, and I was all excited to play it.... He made this face. I was like, ‘Oh my God. I want to make sure he never feels like that about anything that I ever make again’.” Common added, “He was the first producer that I had that was like, ‘Man, change that verse.’ or ‘Nah, that line is weak. Hell nah’.”

Check out Complex’s interview for more details about the forthcoming album and the collaborative environment at G.O.O.D. Music. Watch the video for the current G.O.O.D. Music single "Mercy" below.