" Black Skinhead " has an industrial-sounding beat , and is part of the Yeezus character 's opening segment of gnarled electro and pounding industrial rap . West begins the song with the lines : " For my theme song/My leather black jeans on/My by-any-means on " a reference to " Good Morning " , the opening track of his third studio album '' Graduation '' . These lines use a " simple aesthetic touch " — leather black jeans — to envelope Yeezus , the character West portrays , in black , rugged gear . This reflects his awareness , expressed on his 2005 single " Diamonds from Sierra Leone " , that money and possessions are often equated with self-worth by young black men . The old West is gone . " Black Skinhead " is " now his theme music . This grimy , grungy tone that does n't require just any jeans , but leather black jeans . " The song 's lyrics do not mention Malcolm X or the Civil Rights Movement . " But when we make the connections between ' by any means necessary ' ( Malcolm ’s famous phrase ) and the jeans call-back to " Good Morning , " and the reference to a cultural movement associated with rebellion , the ghost of Malcolm X and the Civil Rights Movement of the ’50s and ’60s comes alive . " Yeezus views himself as not only a political leader for the Black community , but a superhero . West raps : " Pardon , I 'm getting my scream on " in the fourth line and screams in frustration throughout the song . The rest of song sees Yeezus discussing " racial tensions and his own crumbling mental state . " The " manic repetition " of " Black " shows there is " so much more at stake " for him . West ends the song by repeating " God ! " in an exasperated way . Yeezus is a " leader frustrated by the inaction of his people : ' These niggas ai n't doin ' shit ' . " He " mutates the external idea of God into an internal one " , which leads into the next track " I Am a God " where he " hypes himself up . " Before the album 's release , West performed " Black Skinhead " on the May 18 , 2013 , broadcast of the American sketch comedy television series '' Saturday Night Live '' , where he also performed " New Slaves " . He performed the song in front of a projected backdrop , which alternated between abstractly disturbing black-and-white imagery with colorful vintage price tags and the declaration " Not for sale . " His performance was met with positive critical reviews . Chris Martins of '' Spin '' described it as providing " the sort of aplomb and production value that the show has n't felt since ... well , probably the last time West visited " , noting " Black Skinhead ' documents Ye 's dynamic transition from rap champ to rock star . " '' Stereogum '' s Liz Pelly branded the song an " aggressive new track " and claimed that " West 's stage presence on '' SNL '' was full of rage . " Philip Cosores of '' Paste '' commented on the performance , writing : " The song comes from somewhere usually only seen in small clubs or basements , and the images of vicious dogs adds to the focal point , the angriest dog in a sense . " After the performance , Daft Punk were revealed as the song 's composers and West shared a photo of the handwritten lyrics via Twitter . Although West initially said no singles would be released from the album , " Black Skinhead " was released on June 18 , 2013 . It is the second track on West 's sixth studio album '' Yeezus '' , and was sent to UK contemporary hit radio stations on June 19 . West had previously spoken about avoiding a full-court press roll-out for his album , saying at a listening session in New York : " I have this new strategy , it 's called no strategy . " On June 28 , 2013 , Def Jam Recordings confirmed the song would be serviced to US radio stations as the first single from '' Yeezus '' at the same time as a clean version was released to DJs . The label also revealed that a music video for the song was in production . Following the announcement , " Black Skinhead " was released officially on July 2 to US urban contemporary radio stations . West was set to perform the song at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards on August 25 , 2013 , but ended up performing " Blood on the Leaves " instead
2013 MTV Video Music Awards
2013 MTV Video Music Awards
Black Skinhead