The Newcomer Paul McCartney

The best joke of early 2015 was watching teenagers on Twitter ask who Paul McCartney was. Kanye had just announced a collaboration with McCartney and Rihanna, and a vocal corner of the internet genuinely believed this was some old man catching his big break off a Kanye feature. Incredible. A crystallized document of the moment.

The video for FourFiveSeconds is black and white, stripped bare—the three of them in what looks like a single unbroken shot, acoustic guitar, no production armor. McCartney strums. Rihanna closes her eyes. Kanye stands there being Kanye, which from a man who once compared himself to God on record is surprisingly still. The song is fragile in a way none of their recent solo work has been. It lands.

Who Kanye discovers next is anyone’s guess. Missy Elliott could use the exposure.