Bait and switch was a typically savvy move for Kanye West, whose new EP-length album, “Ye” — seven songs, 23 minutes long — was released on Friday. His production skills are matched by his gift for self-promotion. The rollout has trolled and roiled social media over the past few weeks as Mr. West wore a red Make America Great Again cap, exulted that he and President Trump share “dragon energy” and told TMZ that 400 years of slavery “sounds like a choice.” He also spoke in interviews about his hospitalization for mental problems in 2016, and about getting addicted to opioids after liposuction — topics that loom large on “Ye.”

Mr. West’s self-described “free thought” drew ample attention, including Twitter praise from the president and worries from hip-hop colleagues that his mental illness had worsened. The parallels between Mr. West and the president were clear. Both exploit the feedback loop of inflammatory statements and righteous reactions to stoke attention and present themselves as fearless. Both exult in fame and wealth and put feelings before facts. And both use contradictory pronouncements to cover all bases.

Before “Ye” appeared, Mr. West released an online single, “Ye vs. the People,” that had him debating the rapper T.I. over the symbolism of the cap. After Mr. West insists he “wore it, rocked it, gave it a new direction,” T.I. jabs, “You wore a dusty-ass hat to represent the same views/As white supremacy, man, we expect better from you,” and goes on to add, “You’re taking a bad idea and making it worse.”

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But politics have served largely as clickbait for the surprisingly slight “Ye,” which is part of a promised string of seven-song albums produced by Mr. West: Pusha-T’s “Daytona,” which was released May 25, to be followed by a Kid Cudi-Kanye West collaboration and releases from Nas and Teyana Taylor. While Mr. West’s previous releases have made musical leaps, “Ye” often comes across as a recap, revisiting the gospel mutations of his 2016 album “The Life of Pablo,” the revamped sweet soul of “The College Dropout,” the rock heft of “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” and the stark synthesizers of “Yeezus.”