Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Kanye West
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Rating: Chilfos

Yes, Kanye West is a world class douchebag and jackass, as he seems to prove over and over again, and yet, as much as I want to dislike him and discard him, he keeps putting out amazing music. His latest album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, is no exception. Taking it's emotional cue from his previous album 808s and Heartbreaks, the album still finds West mired in his own fragile mental state, but instead of the limited auto-tuned palatte of 808s, he broadens the canvas to extreme widescreen, putting all of his baggage out for the world to sift through.

After a year of troubles following his ridiculous outburst during Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the VMAs, West retreated within the studio trying to figure out why he was universally despised after his actions. Most mainstream artists would have gone on a public relations offensive in an attempt to salvage their reputations and get back within the public's good graces. Kanye, however, used the experience to confront his demons and to reveal those inner workings in his music. Dark's 13 tracks are an amazing portal into the creative process.

First song, "Dark Fantasy," sets the tone quickly with a wicked intro from Nicki Minaj, and jumps deep within Kanye's head:

"Sorry for the night demons that still visit me
The plan was to drink until the pain over
But what's worse, the pain or the hangover?"



Throughout Dark, Kanye keeps returning to his perception in the music industry and his attempts to control his image, and his final realization that it's not up for him to control, and that he has to be who he is, whether that is popular or not. In "Power" he raps

"Now I embody every characteristic of the egotistic
He know, he so, fucking gifted
I just needed time alone, with my own thoughts
Got treasures in my mind, but couldn't open up my own vault
My childlike creativity, purity and honesty
Is honestly being prodded by these grown thoughts
Reality is catchin up with me
Takin my inner child, I'm fighting for custody
With these responsibilities that they entrusted me"



In one of the centerpieces of the album, "All of the Lights," West puts all of his deficiences under the microscope:

"Turn up the lights in here, baby
Extra bright, I want y'all to see this
Turn up the lights in here, baby
You know what I need, want you to see everything
Want you to see all of the lights"



Featuring almost 42 people backing him on the track, it never feels overstuffed, even with the martial drumming and horns, everything is perfectly in sync, showing West is still one of the most in control producers in the industry today. He creates a slamming bass track in "Monster," featuring Bon Iver, Rick Ross, Jay-Z, and and almost track stealing rap from Nicki Minaj, who could have used more tracks like this on her own debut.



The production throughout is just jaw-dropping in its complexity and ability to perfectly fit the mood and emotion of each track, and also to fit the breadth and mood of the album as a whole. From the haunted strings of "So Appalled" where he ends up relishing his perception as villan:

"All of y'all can suck my balls through my draws
Dark Knight feeling, die you be a hero
Or live long enough to see yourself become a villain
I went from the favorite to the most-hated
But would you rather be underpaid or overrated?"



or "Runaway" which begins with the loneliest piano notes and ends with a dense, almost Robert Frippian vocoder solo, with Kanye taking his own shortcomings and turning it into a universal call for understanding:



to "Blame Game," with the beautiful piano sample of Aphex Twin providing a suitable frame for this lament to relationships gone bad:



Dark is the sound of a major artist wrestling with his demons and letting the world watch. Each track is a window into West's head, seeing the good and the bad, and him arranging the mess into art. In this age of artists trying to be so in control of how they are seen and perceived, it is refreshing to see someone let down those walls, saying take me for what I am, warts and all. True art is always about naked, raw emotion. You can't get that from having your music made by committee. As far as I am concerned, Kanye can remain being the jackass he is, as long as he continues to make music as brilliant as this.

Rating Guide

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top albums of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been trimmed or polished.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.