VAULT

Among the most searched-for unreleased recordings in modern hip-hop, "Can U Be" emerged during the sessions for what was then called So Help Me God, an album that would eventually transform into The Life of Pablo. The track exists in multiple iterations, with production that draws from a pitched-up vocal sample and a skeletal drum pattern that leaves room for Ye's best conversational cadence.

A live version surfaced when Kanye debuted the song at a Paris fashion show in 2015, and a demo leaked in full years later, confirming the track's status as a lost centerpiece. The song's melodic hook and introspective verses capture the pivot point between the maximalist gospel of Yeezus and the freewheeling patchwork of Pablo.

Though elements of the song were reportedly revisited during the Yandhi sessions, it has never received an official release. The demand for a finished version continues to outpace most officially dropped singles from the same period.

One of the most intriguing artifacts from the WAR sessions - a collaborative project with British producer James Blake that was teased but never formally announced. "Through the High Wire" strips Kanye's sound to its industrial bones: abrasive synth textures, spoken-word delivery, and a rhythmic structure that feels more mechanical than musical.

The track reflects the influence of Blake's electronic minimalism, creating a soundscape that is unnerving and hypnotic in equal measure. Lyrically, it deals with themes of paranoia, public scrutiny, and the isolating effects of fame. The raw, unfinished quality of the recording has only added to its mystique.

WAR was conceived during a period of intense creative output following Ye's Wyoming sessions. If the project ever saw completion, its contents remain locked away, with "Through the High Wire" standing as one of the few known artifacts from an album that exists only in fragments.

The more melodic counterpart to the WAR project's industrial edge, "Always" reveals a softer current running beneath the abrasive surface of Kanye and Blake's collaboration. Built around a looped vocal sample and a glacial tempo, the track finds Ye in a meditative register, repeating affirmations over a bed of decaying piano chords.

Where "Through the High Wire" pushes outward with aggression, "Always" pulls inward. The song's structure is deceptively simple - a single melodic phrase repeated with slight variations - but the emotional weight accumulates with each pass. It recalls the vulnerable moments of 808s & Heartbreak, filtered through Blake's spectral production.

Like the rest of WAR, "Always" remains unreleased. Its existence is known through tracklist leaks and brief snippets shared by collaborators. The contrast between the two WAR tracks - one harsh, one tender - suggests a project of deliberate emotional scope that never got its moment.