Monday, November 22, 2010

Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Anyone who knows me knows I'm not the biggest fan of hip-hop. I dabble in it sometimes, but my relationship with rap music has always been rocky. It just takes something incredible, whether it be amazing flow, airtight production, or lush instrumentation, for me to honor a rap tune with repeated listens. Most rappers don't have the creativity (or the right friends) to make their music sound anything but ordinary to me. Of course, most rappers aren't Kanye West.

Kanye's fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, doesn't just have a few songs worthy of repeated listens, the entire album is worth repeated listens. Over and over and over again. Kanye is one of a kind; the perfect storm of creativity, aptitude for the right guest appearances, and pure, unadulterated insanity. Fantasy is an exploration of the complications that being the most talked about pop artist of the last ten years brings. West has always had a penchant for letting the world in on his deepest personal struggles, and that is only exemplified here. He raps about falling in love with a porn star on 'Hell of a Life,' letting the world know "No more drugs for me/pussy and religion is all I need." On 'Blame Game,' the album's most deeply cutting song, he sounds contrite and angry at the same time, as he simultaneously tells his girlfriend he cheated on her and discovers she was doing the same to him. He even addresses the infamous South Park episode on 'Gorgeous,' rapping "...choke a South Park writer with a fish stick." Emotionally, West is all over the place, slipping from manic egotism into soul-cutting depression at the drop of a hat, making this album an incredible look into the deepest recesses of West's convoluted mind.

Much of Kanye's success has always leaned on the guests he features, and the story is no different here. All manner of stars, old and new, make appearances on this record. West's old standby and mentor Jay-Z's two verses are stellar as usual, as are the appearances from old dogs Raekwon and Rick Ross. The standout guest verse to me, however, is newcomer Nicki Minaj's schizophrenic verse on 'Monster.' Minaj switches from sounding cutesy to appropriately monstrous multiple times, and her delivery (Kanye wrote the majority of the verse) makes the verse really memorable. In terms of actual singing, Kanye employs a who's who of today's best, including Rihanna and John Legend.

The production and instrumentation are vintage Kanye West as well. Standout track 'All of the Lights' features grandiose horns and a tight, sick drum line, more than making up for what it lacks in lyrical quality (Fergie's little bit is one of the couple bad guest spots on the record). Overall, the entire album is tightly produced and flows brilliantly. West has really outdone himself this time, delivering a deeply emotional, schizoid album that no one else could have made. 4.7/5.

Standout tracks:

Songs of the Week (some stuff I've been listening to a little more than is healthy this past week.)
The National - Green Gloves - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBhGFu84u90
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