My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West| Album Review and Meditation

DISCLAIMER…
Usually when I know that I’m going to be reviewing an album I try to stay away from reading anything about it, I feel most albums deserve the attention of un-bias or un-informed thought, that said who could’ve possibly ignored the outrageously discriminatory nature of blogs/television shows/radio shows/ magazines this week when they all happily let Kanye West (figuratively and literally) infiltrate their anus’. And while I’m not here to try and debunk MJ comparisons nor to ride dicks of any variety, I do have a responsibility to acknowledge the fact that our former president George W. Bush recently awarded Kanye’s statement “the president (Bush) hates black people” as the most painful point of his presidency, as I also have the responsibility to ask if “…one man should have all that power?”

PART 1: The Wild Wild West

I’m not sure if a hip-hop album has ever demanded as much attention culturally and academically (per say) as My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy has. MBDTF is a truly unique and innovative album, assuredly the blueprint for many future projects. Kanye West is one of a kind and truly the golden bastard child of pop music and hip-hops past decade of fornication. This being said, MBDTF is as flawed as any of his previous works, if not more so due to it’s bravery and exploratory nature. Regardless I applaud the man loudly.

After the first third of MBDTF ends one thing is quite clear: Kanye has made the first rap album to ever be deem-able as a headphone record, a title formerly reserved for traditional genres. The first third of the album is carried by Kanye’s seamless fusing of two of his most important personas: the egotist and the consciously demonized minority (and of course stellar production). With each persona comes a compositional parallel that, together, create some of Kanye’s most effective sounds. It begins with “Dark Fantasy”, the most grandiose gutter/grimy beat ever-made. Covered in the RZA’s fingerprints and water-marked with Kanye’s arrogance “Dark Fantasy” is easily the greatest song to ever open a Kanye album. Kanye effectively shares his sentiments through both his lyricism and the production, telling a tale of his rise to fame and his current concerns, which all come full-circle on the infectious chorus. From here on the album struggles to maintain continuity. On “Gorgeous” the production is once again effective, but where “Dark Fantasy” prevails in it’s production/lyrical cohesiveness “Gorgeous” begins illuminating later issues that ultimately muddle Ye’s sound. “Power” combines a bit of both personas found on the opening tracks, allowing Kanye to effectively hover above his situations. Original listens felt bland, but hearing it through some quality headphones reinvigorates your perception.

After a short but beautifully inserted interlude “All Of The Lights” (arguably the albums best track) surfaces with a barrage of horns and 808 kicks, leaving you once again completely captivated by Ye’s unparalleled genius on the boards, but unfortunately the only place to go from the summit is down. Throughout the first three tracks Kanye contained our attention with his production and composition alone, occasionally drawing a laugh from boasts about his “toys”, coaxing us with familiar lyrical content, only asking us to listen and enjoy. On “All Of The Lights” he asks a little too much. The song is one spherical metaphor about life decisions being influenced heavily by bull-shit aka all variations of lights, great idea. The problem arises when after a few listens you’ve completely forgotten what the man was talking about and your left with “well the beat was raw, but I only remember him talking about spousal abuse and then Rihanna (the poster-girl) singing the chorus.” And while you can call me a fool for needing a few listens to fully grasp the concept, I find it hard to imagine that Mr. West would be pleased if everyone who heard the album missed his point due to his beats polarizing any message he was trying to relay.

PART 2: Those Damn Roc Boys and Their Hostile Nostril’s

Rick Ross and Pusha T open Rick James’ coffin to find a kilo of yayo buried with the late legend, they grab it and make a mad dash for the cemetery gates, the ghost of Rick James rises from the grave and stops Ross and Pusha before they can make an escape.

“Ricky Ross and Pusha T! I knew you’d be back for my candy.” -Rick James

“It’s different this time, Kanye’s recording this new album and he said he’d put me on a track if I brought that flame.” – Pusha

“We have cable in hell, don’t come around here acting like I didn’t see the VMA’s, I saw what Ye did to that poor white girl. That was surely the blow talking.” -James

“Come on Rick we really really need it, I swear we’ll pay you back somehow!” -Pusha

“What happened to your lucrative business connections Mr. Ross?” -James

“I don’t wanna talk about it.”-Ross

“Okay, fair enough, i’ll make a deal with you guys. Since dying i’ve sort of become the grim reaper of souls that are possessed by the demon known as blow-caine. Promise to bring me Kanye’s soul and i’ll give you all the candy you want.” -James

“Alright man, we’ll bring you his soul, but only after we win some grammy’s and get signed to G.O.O.D. Music, deal?” -Pusha

“It’s a deal boys, but be warned… no one man should have all that powder. MWAUHAHAHA!” -James

After assembling a fantastic slew of tracks to open his album Kanye binges heavy on that white with his conglomerate of enablers taking advantage of the zoned out Mr. West. “Monster” and “So Appalled” are rare strains of sabotage. Willfully de-railing any chance of a album long concept materializing, anyone and everyone takes shots at the masterpiece Kanye had begun to assemble. Never, and I truly mean this, has an album gone from so promising to so disappointing so quickly. Not to throw “Monster” or “So Appalled” totally under the bridge (they’re okay songs on their own), but what the hell was Ye thinking following an Elton John piano solo with a deflated Jay-Z attempting to sound as gimmicky as Nikki Minaj, who by the way bodies every other guest verse on the album. Between Swizz Beatz sounding like an awkward dyslexic kid reciting his favorite club song and Jay-Z once again bragging about his bank roll “So Appalled” cries out desperately “Ye you own me a verse for that one time, remember?”. Not to mention the graphic nature of Bob Digi’s first sniff of cocaine in a decade being recorded while he struggles out of a straight-jacket …this being forever engraved in our minds. The oddest part being that Kanye, the man who in the past had used wack rappers as condoms and somehow legitimized them at the same time repeatedly on his albums allows himself to be brutally gang-raped for a total of 12-minutes on his so-called masterpiece. I’m reminded of the scene in Requiem for a Dream where Jennifer Connelly sells herself for some you know what.

PART 3: The Light at The End of The Tunnel

Not many men could right the ship that the Roc Boys just tried to sink but Kanye does pretty damn well with producer Bink assisting in hauling the ship out of the eye of the storm. “Devil In A New Dress” and “Runaway” nicely reassemble earlier bright spots of the album with Kanye back to his old tricks, including the pardoning of Rick Ross and Pusha T who he compliments with building instrumentations before each rappers respective verses, obliterating any further need for concern. Kanye delves into some self-deprecating humor and begins re-evaluating his previous relationship with Amber Rose, all building up to the poignant climax that is “Blame Game”. Before “Blame Game” Kanye can’t help but regress and glorify his ego and lifestyle once again on “Hell of a Life”, but for the first time it serves him well in setting up the brutal honesty he’s about to unleash. “Blame Game” is everything we had hoped 808′s would’ve been. Here John Legend lends his talents, surprisingly for the first time ever, as Kanye speaks the universal truths of relationships in a strikingly poetic fashion that manages to humanize Mr. West in the most resonating light in his career. Then in one of the most brilliant strokes of his career he synthesizes the essential but played-out follies of skits into one Chris Rock diatribe that systematically ruins his ex-girlfriend, acknowledges Kanye’s worst fears, and makes a seemingly dark reality somewhat laughable.

The album closes with “Lost In The World”, an auditory recap of the album that relays into an interestingly chosen Gil Scott-Heron sample. When all is said and done My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is a truly unique and original piece of art, consisting of elements drawn from all over music history. Kanye aims extremely high and succeeds in creating an album that challenges contemporary ideals and boundaries but fails in it’s mission of making a definitive statement on culture and celebrity and our overall condition. I said earlier this is now the blueprint, and surely others will attempt works of a similar caliber but it’s quite clear that Kanye West is in a league of his. Let’s not appoint him king status just yet, I have a feeling he has yet to master his sound and that his ability to demand relevancy has yet to peak. And I’m thankful and excited to see what his does next.

By The Baron

mp3-Dark Fantasy by Kanye West
mp3-All of the Lights by Kanye West