College Dropout is one of my favorite albums of all time. Even when I listen to it today, it's a great refreshing change of pace to the humdrum clones radio "hip-pop" puts out. It was the story of someone who always felt he was great, but no one else saw it. I felt I could relate. Once given the opportunity, he showed he could do something truly incredible. It inspired me to persevere until my opportunity came.
When Late Registration was released, I continued to follow the story of Kanye West. At this point, he was well known and established as an artist. It would be difficult to match how groundbreaking College Dropout was, but this new LP was still honest and still great. Kanye began to explore other realms of music while still maintaining an overall true hip-hop feel.
With Graduation, Kanye really began to explore music. While there were a lot more tracks that “missed” than there were in his previous albums, I enjoyed the “hits” so much that the album was still a great success in my eyes. The third in the series of “school themed” albums, Graduation did lose a lot of the “down to earth” feel the first two had. At this point, Kanye had launched and he was well aware of it.
The album 808s and Heartbreaks was announced that it would be all done in auto-tune, I definitely was among the first to stand up and say “wtf mate?” Luckily I received it in a White Elephant Christmas exchange, so I didn’t have to buy it –I wouldn’t have sought it out otherwise. After several listen-throughs, I concluded that the album was a lot better than I initially thought it would be. I liked it because I could relate, but it wasn’t the Kanye I had come to love as an artist. “He was supposed to save hip-hop,” I kept thinking.
Kanye was headed down a path and I didn’t really like it. I will concede it is his artistic right to make whatever type of music he likes and that there is a group of people out there that genuinely likes that direction they see, but it’s honestly just not for me (I’m looking at you right now, Kid Cudi). If you follow from College Dropout to 808s, you can see where he starts to diverge from his base and venture off into more experimental music as art, kind of like the Beatles toward their later years. Kanye going from “All Falls Down” to “Love Lockdown” was like watching the Beatles evolve from “I Want to Hold Your Hand” to “I am the Walrus”. It’s not a bad evolution, per se, but it is definitely a case of different strokes.
That being said, I waited with bated breath for Kanye’s newest album –this would make or break how I perceived him. I didn’t care much to be a fan of an artist whose music I haven’t truly loved for a while. And after all the drama with George Bush, Taylor Swift, etc. et al, ad nauseum, it might serve my character better to not be associating myself with such unsavory figures in the media. I couldn’t tell from the GOOD Friday singles whether Kanye had shaken the experimenting, perfected it, or was diving further into it, but I was more than interested to find out. (side note: the GOOD Friday singles feature a lot of quality, free tracks -definitely worth checking out)
After an almost full week of listening and nearly 700 words of introduction, I present my full review of Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (or “The Album Formerly Known as: Good Ass Job”) *props to Mr. Shah Jackson for the hookup*
There are lots of different ways people evaluate albums. I think it’s important to assess the quality of the songs you don’t hear on the radio as much as the singles. When you see how much production goes into the songs they’re not marketing as singles, you can truly see how good the album is as a whole, and instead of just focusing on how much you enjoy the few songs you’ve heard 50,000 times on the radio. How many times have you purchased an album solely based on a song you heard on the radio, only to end up liking one or two more songs (if that) and hating the rest? Don't make that mistake.
It’s easier to evaluate these songs since I haven’t heard them on the radio much, if at all yet. You’re welcome to skip my individual song notes if you want to wait to hear the official release for yourself before passing judgment. I will finish up with a summary and my overall evaluation at the end.
1) Intro + Dark Fantasy - The introductory “poem” was interesting until I figured out it was Nicki Minaj. I didn’t hate it because it was Nicki Minaj, I hate it because she ruined it with her classic Nicki Minaj style. The combination of the beat, plus the slowdowns and beautifully sung hook make for a very solid start.
2) Gorgeous - This song combines Cudi's experimental rock influence with Kanye's classic style, like OG Kanye production. Overall Cudi's hook is solid, as is the song. Raekwon's verse actually adds value as a "feature", unlike many (and I mean many) in hip-hop today that are just there for the sake of being there.
3) Power - This was the first officially released single from the album, and I must say it was a strong single (pun intended?). The song shows us Kanye's evolution both as a producer and as a rapper as he is both creative and artistic, yet still manages to keep this song hip-hop. The video preview is extremely intriguing, especially when you know the entire story behind it (hint: did you know it is depicting an execution?)
4) All of the Lights (Interlude) - It's extremely difficult to say an interlude can add too much value to an album overall. However, this combined with the song that follows is literally a must-hear musical experience. The interlude highlights all of the elements from "All of the Lights" that you may not notice. Without all the beats and singing, All of the Lights truly is a powerful song with a beautiful melody.
5) All of the Lights - This is the best song that I have heard in a very long time. I didn't like the radio much before, but after hearing this, I almost despise it. "All of the Lights" is one of the rare songs you hear and it makes you feel something and everytime you listen to it, it just makes you say, "Wow." Please don't confuse this track with the garbage version featuring Drake, please. There are lots of artists featured on the official track and they fit in exactly where they need to be, especially the bridge at 4:06 and Alicia Keys' signature "woah-woah" that follows it. This is the first Rihanna song that I've liked and she fits in and sings the hook beautifully. The song is perfect. Might be my favorite song of all time...
6) Monster - Monster shows that Kanye hasn't lost his bounce. Plain and simple. The beat is great and I enjoy that there is cohesion and actual theme between the different artists verses. Though I think Rick Ross was underutilized (his verse is like ten seconds long? ...not kidding. it's literally ten seconds.), Jay-Z adds a classic Jay-Z verse and fits in very well. Nicki Minaj doesn't ruin the song, in fact I respect her flows a little more after hearing this, but her portion is still definitely skippable -she is given way too much time.
7) So Appalled - I really don't favor the slow and dark beats. Just because it's a Kanye West song doesn't make that an exception. I skipped this song everytime until I actually forced myself to listen to it. When I did, truthfully, I almost fell asleep. After hearing Swizz Beats, you kind of expect the beat to pick up at some point; it doesn't. There are some good lines in there, but the song overall is dreary and tiring -that is until the RZA wakes you up in the end.
8) Devil in a New Dress - Another slower song, but at least the beat isn't as depressing. Kanye's voice and flow helps keep the tempo up a little bit, but it really seems like Rick Ross verse was just tacked on as an afterthought to make the song longer. I wish everything was a little more integrated.
9) Runaway - This song is too damn long. Really. I understand not caring to abide by common radio song lengths, but when you produce a song in such a way that actually allows you to cut unnecessary fat from it and still get all the meat, it probably should have been trimmed from the beginning. On a similar note, why the hell would any station try to edit this song for the radio? 1) I already said it's too long and 2) if you don't want to allow Kanye to say "douchebag" and "jerkoff", the song really loses a lot. You do the song a huge injustice, seemingly to try to please a mainstream fanbase for which the song obviously isn't intended. That being said, I actually like the significant portion of this track (the first six minutes or so). The song is slower also, but its classy and a refreshing breath from the dark and dragging beats of the previous two tracks. Plus, it's just clever and ironic. Pusha's verse could have been better, but it fits and it is definitely necessary.
10) Hell of a Life - I think this song is good, but I just don't like it much personally. The beat, tempo and overall production are all great and the hook is interesting, but some of the lyrics are just too vulgar for my taste. I guess that might be the point, since I'm assuming "Hell of a Life" is a double entendre here.
11) Blame Game - A truly beautifully composed song. John Legend's unique voice gives the song a genuine, emotional feel that only he could add. Kanye's verses fit the tone and theme of the composition well. My only complaint is the end of the second verse portion when all the voices come in from different speakers -I don't understand it. Chris Rock's skit at the end, while funny, seems to take away more from the "Blame Game" than it adds, considering the lyrics. In previous Kanye albums, it would likely be a separate skit on a separate track.
12) Lost in the World - This is a strong finale, for a strong album. The tone starts out quiet and relaxing then picks up in tempo and gets more uplifting, all welcome feelings given the emotional journey the album has taken us through. Ironic that I feel uplifted and inspired considering the title, verses and hook all emphasize the theme "Lost in the World."
13) Who Will Survive in America - Interesting, but not necessary, especially in the words that the poet chooses. I would have preferred a shorter or different poem to end after Lost in the World, or even just end it there.
There are some interesting themes in this album. First of all you may notice that though there are only thirteen tracks, including one interlude and one outtro, the album is over a solid hour. That's because the songs are long. No joke. Unfortunately, some of the songs are unnecessarily long. Whether it's forced, or it's just Kanye utilizing his artistic license to get every bit into every song is truly anyone's guess.
I enjoyed that Kanye explored his artistic side in this album, but didn't go overboard with it. After listening to the album through as a whole, you realize that you've just experienced and felt something -always a good sign when listening to music. There are lots of features and cameo appearances in this album, and while some of them may seem out of place, they're not abused or arbitrary like they are in many mainstream songs today (*ahem* Lil Wayne *ahem*).
Lastly, if you haven't taken the time to see the short film "Runaway" yet, I would highly suggest you do so AFTER listening to the album. Having the context of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy behind me the whole time helped me get through some of the slower parts, but regardless I think that it was definitely worth watching.
Overall Grade: 98/100 - A. The album is a classic. It's not The Cool or College Dropout, but it's a must-listen for music fans of all genres and it's a must-own for hip-hop fans everywhere. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy isn't the traditional Kanye West, but what really is? It may not be hip-hop as you might commonly expect it, however, there is no denying that it really is GOOD Music.
Top Three, Favorite Tracks:
1) All of the Lights
2) Blame Game
3) Monster
Bottom Three, Least Favorite Tracks:
1) So Appalled
2) Devil in a New Dress
3) Hell of a Life
Number of Music Tracks I Would Skip Nine Times out of Ten: 2 (out of 12 total)
excellent review. I feel that when I listen to track 5- "All of the Lights", I NEED to listen to the interlude - track 4. Elton John did a beautiful job. I wonder who came up with it. I just realized I now know my rank of favorite Kanye albums.
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