If you haven't already noticed, Kanye West is back. After a long two years of patiently waiting for him to release a new album, we have My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy as a whole. I say that because it's quite possible you've already heard all the songs on this new album. It doesn't matter, though. Listening to the full album is to bask in the brilliance of the complete production.
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is sheer excess and glamour. One can't help but notice the diversity of sounds involved in each track, how many words are in the album title, how many album covers have been released, the soirée of friends and guest artists featured; the list goes on. The size of West's ego is pretty out in the open; it is more than clear that he tried very, very hard with this album. All this work paid off because, really, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is too good.
The album begins powerfully with the track ""Dark Fantasy,"" which also opens West's noir film ""Runaway."" Once the beat kicks in, you're automatically drawn to the sparkle and sexiness of the album as a whole. ""Dark Fantasy"" is a type of spoken word piece, with West speaking of his past and how he found ""bravery in his bravado.""
""All of the Lights (Interlude)"" is a beautiful string compilation, leading horns and intense percussion to ""All of the Lights,"" which features a total of eleven artists. I'm not the biggest Rihanna fan, but her efforts are the most evident. Elton John also seizes some of the spotlight on the piano, making for one of the more powerful collaborations on the album.
""Monster"" lies in the middle of the album, and it has been changed slightly since its G.O.O.D. Friday release. The track's provocative beat embodies a strong message from Kanye: everyone knows he is a monster. Bluntly, Nicki Minaj's verse is just insane. She speaks in a number of different accents and speeds, messing a little with your mind and topping her performance on the track's summer release.
The instrumentation and beat of ""Hell of a Life"" complement Kanye's anthemic lyrics. The outro of the song sums up Kanye's
prerogative of doing whatever he wants: ""I think I fell in love with a porn star / And got married in a bathroom / Honeymoon on the dance floor / And got divorced by the end of the night / That's one hell of a life."" He asks for judgment, though it's entirely clear that West has no reservations about disregarding the status quo when it comes to living his life.
Opening with ""Dark Fantasy,"" Kanye had no choice but to close his album just as dramatically with ""Who Will Survive in America?"" Bon Iver makes his second appearance on this track (the first being in ""Power""), with one minute of a capella singing in the beginning. The music then breaks into an ensemble of tribal-like sounds, only to blend into Gil Scott-Heron's ""Comment #1."" The spoken word piece is followed by a simple round of claps. There should have been an overwhelming ovation for the album.
Simply put, this album provides a lot to analyze: Producers, guests and even the faces of Kanye West himself. The music is extremely relevant to today's generation because West identifies with a need to be well received and liked, as do most. We should never settle for less.
Kanye has already told himself that he thinks he's the best. What we know, however, is that Kanye is the best. His evolution of hip-hop to an entirely new genre of music is more than apparent on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. His perfectionism and egotistical tendencies force him to produce something he knows no one else can.
Scrutinize and think what you want about Kanye West, he'll never care. Kanye does anything he wants, and judging by this album, what he wants to do is warp the music world into something completely new. On his track ""Gorgeous"" he even makes an allusion to this attitude: ""Is hip hop / just a euphemism for a new religion /the soul music for the slaves / that the youth is missing?"" Though this album features the talents of many other artists, West's distinct genius is the definitive highlight of each track.
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is the domination of Kanye in the musical world, and he invites us to join on ""Power"": ""The clock's tickin' / I just count the hours / Stop trippin' / I'm trippin' off the power / 'Til then, fuck that / The world's ours."" That said, let's have one toast of many to Kanye West and one of the best albums of the year.
