Artist: Kanye WestAlbum: My Dark Beautiful Twisted FantasyRating: 10 out of 10This is the album that we have been hearing about for months. Anyone that was “anybody” had leaked comments to the rest of us about how good it was – how ‘Ye was back – and how this album cleared his name. One year ago Kanye West was an exiled American name. Now? He has returned with a crash that has shaken the Hip Hop world; G.O.O.D Fridays has upped the benchmark for established artists everywhere. “You cannot deny a hit record” – this is a saying that Kanye West should very well live by. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is a true testament to Kanye’s magnificent ability to craft and create music. MBDTF is Mr. West’s fourth studio album – and may very well be his best. The self-entitled “Dark Fantasy opens the album softly; acting as a scapegoat for the gritty, hard, The Infamous-esque beat that soon follows. The song escalates throughout as Kanye’s verses grow increasingly smarter and impetuous. (Kanye’s rhymes have become brasher and sharper while still retaining its lyrical value). Just as you are leaving the feelings Dark Fantasy left you with, quickly you are thrown into “Gorgeous” – featuring Kid Cudi and Raekwon (closing out the song). The beat is something to be felt with a guitar that evokes such raw comparisons to 1970’s Rock. Raekwon comes to bat too (listening to that beat switch up will never got old). Other notables included the obvious releases, “So Appalled”, “Monster”, “Power” and of course the ensemble driven “All of the Lights” (the better “We are the World” of 2010). The “All of the Lights Interlude” actually turned into one of the best placed tracks on the entire album. MBDTF actually turns out to be a story in its own right which narrates itself perfectly. Common was not needed to tie any of the songs together – the placement and selection solves that on its own. Many balked at his use of auto-tune on 808’s & Heartbreaks but it makes a comeback here – “Runaway” includes 3 minutes of Mr. West in almost inaudible auto-tune supported by majestic chords. “Lost In The World” features the same auto tune – combined with a happy segue album which has a very tribal dance feel. Kanye West’s album is stadium music. The tracks are all “big” and “epic” – thus allowing these to be feasible to perform for a dome full of people. In each of Kanye’s previous four albums, there was always one track which stood out amongst the rest – College Dropout “Through the Wire”, Late Registration “Diamonds from Sierra Leone” etc. MBDTF is no different in its presentation of “Blame Game” – easily the best song on the entire album. A gripping tale about love lost, it again plays with your emotions. At first it tells a terrible story of a fallen relationship but then rounds itself into a monologue from Chris Rock. Never has a 180 degree turn been so accepted – Chris Rock’s monologue not only completes the song, it adds to how great the song is. Kanye West’s affixation with the Phoenix has to be a metaphor for his career. In one year his career flourished, died, and resurrected itself in a way that only a mythical creature – or a really talented musician can. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is a redemption album in the best description. The amount of work put into this album is almost immeasurable – only the music can quantify what we already know – Kanye West is back.
Jacques Morel is the creator of www.IFuxksWithThat.com. A journalist, interviewer, and personality he is a College Senior, he attends St Johns University in Queens.