Review: Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

this ballerina looks surprised to see me.

Kanye West is one of those artists I can’t help but defend.  He’s one of the more talented artists out there today.  People tend to focus on solely on the negative aspects of his personality and discount his music as a whole, which is really quite a shame.  In reality, he’s everything a great artist should be.  He evolves over time, he’s not afraid to be different, and he’s a little odd.  2004′s The College Dropout was a refreshing rap record that focused less on the conventional subject matters of the time (getting laid and drunk) and more on complicated things like the nature of family and God.  Late Registration, released in 2005, was in a similar vein – but on a higher level as far as musical arrangements go.  In 2007, West completely switched his style up with Graduation, which retained a similar lyrical style on top of synth-y party beats.  2008′s 808s and Heartbreak, West’s most controversial album stylistically so far, was a minimalistic (and underrated, in my opinion) experience where Kanye refrained from rapping in favor of autotuned vocals.

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, the next step in Kanye’s artistic development, is the exact opposite of everything 808s was.  It’s full of rapping as opposed to singing, the musical style is more complex, and it sounds huge. It’s also a fantastic look into the lifestyle of the eccentric West.  And it’s his best album yet.

When Fantasy begins with a fairy-tale style monologue by up-and-coming rapper Nicki Minaj over choir vocals, there’s a sense that West is going places musically and lyrically that he’s never been – that the experience of this album is going to be different than anything that the listener has heard before.  In the chorus of “Dark Fantasy” a voice sings, “Can we get much higher?”  It’s a statement of the album’s goal more than anything, and West really does take his music to a higher level with this release.

One thing I’ve always liked about Kanye West is that he seems to focus much more attention on the beat of the song than the average rapper or producer does.  To him, it seems as if the sonic qualities of the music – how everything sounds underneath the verses – is just as important as what is being said in those verses.  The second track, “Gorgeous,” features a fuzzy guitar throughout the majority of the song.  However, when Raekwon (who guests on the track) begins his verse, the guitar drops out, giving more room for his quieter, more restrained vocal styling.  It seems to be really important to West that the listener can find something new in the musical arrangements during each listen, which is why he pays such attention to them.

This musical focus is also readily apparent on the album’s second single, “Runaway.”  The single version was about five minutes long, but the album version runs for nine minutes and features a three minute long vocoder solo by West.  While West has never been one to hold off on his artistic vision to be more conventional or accessible, this really is a bold mood for him.  In today’s popular musical landscape, there’s no room for subtlety or implied meaning.  Kanye throws that attitude away and asks more from his audience (which is pretty much the entire world at this point).  It’s something you don’t get from many albums, and it’s definitely something you never hear in mainstream music.  It really is refreshing.

Lyrically, Fantasy manages to be intensely personal.  It’s obvious that Kanye struggles with his fame, egotistical attitude, and the status quo.  “As long as I’m in polos they think they got me/but they would try to crack me if they ever see a black me,” a line from “Gorgeous” shows this struggle – should he continue to be a more accessible and likable rapper, or should he show that he has a tough side and has been through a lot like some of his counterparts?  “Blame Game” focuses on the intricacies of relationships on a personal level – maybe he should stay with this girl despite the fights – or maybe he should just focus on finding random chicks and flings.  It’s a brutally honest look at his life, and it’s something that’s easy to admire about him.

Despite my attempts at it, this album really is indescribable in the best possible way.  Don’t believe me about its greatness?  Pitchfork gave it a 10/10 rating, and Rolling Stone gave it five stars.  It’s already being called the best album of the year by a lot of popular music sites.  It has the potential to be one of the first real classics of the 2010′s, depending on how the rest of the decade goes.  It’s definitely worth a listen.

Listen To: “Lost in the World” “Blame Game” “Gorgeous”