"Cousins" (stylized in all caps) is a song by the American rapper Kanye West, released on April 21, 2025, as the second single from his upcoming thirteenth studio album, "In a Perfect World". It was first surprise released on West's Twitter account before being sent to streaming platforms on April 24. Built on a sample of the song "Were There Originals" by Double Virgo and an interpolation of "10 Percs" by Dave Blunts, West confesses to an incestuous relationship he had with his cousin when they were both children. Blunts wrote the song's lyrics, having been picked by West for his "blunt" approach to songwriting.
Background.
West has previously spoken of a cousin who is currently serving a life sentence in jail for a murder he committed at 17 years old. He has mentioned him on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in 2018 and in the 2020 documentary "Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project".
In a Twitter post made alongside the song's release, West divulged further details. He said that he and his cousin had engaged in an incestuous relationship as children, starting when his cousin was six and lasting until West was 14. He added that his cousin is now serving a life sentence for killing a pregnant woman "a few years after [West] told him [they] wouldn't 'look at dirty magazines together' anymore". West believed he was "self-centered" for taking the blame for his cousin's murder charge and for "[showing] him those dirty magazines when he was 6". He ended his post with: "My name is Ye and I sucked my cousins dick till I was 14."
"Cousins" was written by Dave Blunts, who also wrote the rest of "In a Perfect World". Regarding its creation, Blunts said:
Release.
On April 23, West would post four possible covers for the streaming release of "Cousins", asking fans which cover they "liked the best". The swan cover art, which was featured as the third option counterclockwise, was ultimately chosen. West would post a text message between him and Buster Ross, the director of A&R at distribution label Too Lost, who approved of the cover art. West reaffirmed that this meant "Cousins" would be released on digital streaming platforms. The song would be made available later that same day.
Composition.
Scored by low-fidelity guitar samples, the song details an alleged incestuous relationship West had with a younger male cousin that began after the two discovered homoerotic "dirty magazines" in his mother's closet. Unaware of its sexual implications, they started to "reenact everything that [they] had seen", coming to the song's climax where West realizes he "gave [his] cousin head". He tries to hide his relationship with his cousin, instructing him to "tell nobody" and that those around him will judge him for the experience. The few friends aware of the incest tell West to "take it to [his] grave". West fears how people would view his sexuality as a result of his relationship, stating that people don't understand he's "not attracted to a man". A sample of "New Tank" by Playboi Carti transitions into the second half of the song, which uses altered lyrics from Dave Blunts' song "10 Percs" to focus West's attention towards his public addiction to nitrous oxide and relationship with Bianca Censori.
Music video.
The song's music video was released along with West's Twitter post. In the Twitter upload, the video appears in exceedingly low quality, consisting of eclectic visuals which draw from home media, TV commercials, and pornography. The music video contains visuals such as a burning cross and a woman with swastikas covering her nipples, who is also singing along to the song. The Apple Music version of this video is in HD with improved sound quality.