Kanye West releases surprise tracks on Soundcloud

Kanye West released two new tracks on Soundcloud this week, without any prior announcement. Photo / Getty

Rap superstar Kanye West, surprised fans by unexpectedly releasing two songs yesterday.

Without comment West put two tracks on Soundcloud, his first postings on the free sharing website frequently used by little-known bands to promote their work.

One track is a new version of Say You Will, the opening song on his chart-topping 2008 album 808s & Heartbreak.

The other is a new song, entitled When I See It. - it starts with the same smooth R&B beat of Tell Your Friends, by fast-rising Canadian singer The Weekend which was co-produced by West.

The rapper apparently posted When I See It two weeks ago but it only went live on Monday.

It features a mellow West singing of his recollections driving on a Los Angeles highway.

The release immediately sparked speculation on social media that the song will appear on the next West album, which he says will be called Swish.

West himself has played down expectations of an imminent album, recently telling Vanity Fair magazine it was like a complicated painting and could take him another year.

The star, who has likened himself to Michelangelo with his diverse talents, last released an album in 2013, but has remained constantly in the public eye ever since.

In recent months, the husband of reality television star Kim Kardashian scheduled a surprise show at New York Fashion Week and announced, with an uncertain degree of seriousness, that he will run for president in 2020.

- AP