Kanye West -- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

A little while back, I watched Kanye’s 35-minute video (or movie, whatever you want to call it) for Runaway. It was colorful, full of imagery and a little slow at times. But it was very creative and gave a preview of this album. I liked the bits I heard from the album but mostly, I found myself staring at Selita Ebanks on the screen. Sure, she played some kind of phoenix-bird thing and had wings and feathers but I’m sure this woman looks good in anything. If you don’t know her, shame on you. Go Google her and thank me later.

Back to Kanye, he is an extremely talented man. He makes good albums and he isn’t afraid to push the limits and do what he wants. His last album, 808s and Heartbreak, was far different from his other works. It was toned down musically and full of auto-tuned singing. But he was dealing with a breakup and the death of his mother. If that helped him get through things, that’s good. And even though a lot of people hated that album, I didn’t think it was that bad.

This album plays out kind of like a musical. The listener is along for some crazy, wacked-out ride. And while it’s not full of auto-tuned songs with minimal instruments, it’s again Kanye showing that he can be successful doing whatever he wants. There are rap anthems, rock anthems, ballads, all kinds of things here. Most people, especially critics, have been trying to figure out West for years. Here, it seems like Kanye is psychoanalyzing himself and lets us see his notes. No more guessing, he’s telling us what is going on in his head.

When I say this is like a musical, it’s actually like some fairy tale musical. It opens with Nicki Minaj reading the beginning of the fairy tale in “Dark Fantasy” with a British accent. Then the choir enters and sings “Can we get much higher?” and I’m wondering if Kanye is actually wondering whether or not he can get any better or if he’s at the top right now. Once the choir quiets, the beat hits and Kanye starts rapping. My favorite line is “The plan was to drink until the pain over/But what’s worse, the pain or the hangover?” I enjoyed the track and knew I was in for some good things.

Kid Cudi and Raekwon join him for “Gorgeous” and Cudi begins the song by singing the chorus. This ended up being one of my favorite tracks of the album. Kanye even gives a reference to the South Park “Fish Sticks” stuff.

“Power” is the first single from the album and is Kanye returning to the rapper we knew before 808s and Heartbreak. It samples several songs and uses clapping to keep the rhythm. The song ends with West singing “Now this would be a beautiful death/ Jumping out the window/Letting everything go”. So then I’m left wondering if the power is getting to him.

There is an intro to “All Of The Lights” and it’s only about a minute but is a beautiful piece of music. Then the song kicks in and includes 11 other artists. That’s a lot of people to put onto a track. Rihanna starts off singing the chorus but it also features appearances by Alicia Keys, Elton John (on piano), Fergie, John Legend, The-Dream, Tony Williams, Kid Cudi, Charlie Wilson, Ryan Leslie and Elly Jackson. With that many artists, you’d think the song would be about half an hour long but it’s actually about five minutes.

Next up is “Monster” and features Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj and Bon Iver. West’s verse is full of very creative lyrics. I’m not sure which is my favorite, there are several good ones. Jay-Z and Ross’ verses are nice but Nicki Minaj steals the show with hers.

“So Appalled” is also full of guest appearances. We hear Jay-Z, Pusha T, Prynce Cy Hi, Swizz Beatz and RZA on this track and we’re starting to realize that West is going all out here. This time, it’s Jay’s verse that stands out as he takes some shots at critics and a nice shot at Hammer (Yep, MC Hammer).

“Devil In A New Dress” features only Rick Ross. What, only one guest? It samples Smokey Robinson’s “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” that repeats over and over. There is no hook here, just raps. Kanye blows Ross away though. Maybe it’s because Ross seems to rap about the same stuff all the time. Yes, we know you say you used to deal and he just seems to rap about all the rich things he has. It gets old, maybe it’s just me.

“Runaway” was performed in the 35-minute movie West made and it’s probably my favorite track. It has a nice beat and, for some reason, I really enjoy the piano key being hit repeatedly. Maybe that’s because I suck at the piano but hey, even I can hit a key over and over right? This track is a little over nine minutes of West showing off his creative genius.

“Hell Of A Life” is West rapping about his desire to marry a pornstar. It’s got a dark synth beat throughout but full of aggressive lyrics. And at his wedding to said pornstar, they both screw the bridesmaids. The closing verse is “I think I fell in love with a pornstar/And got married in the bathroom/Honeymoon on the dancefloor/And got divorced by the end of the night/That’s one hell of a life”.

“Blame Game” features John Legend. I’m a big fan of Legend and he sings the chorus but seems to do a little bit more. In this track, West describes a relationship that goes bad and explains that he’s at fault and she’s at fault. He explains “I know that you are somewhere doing your thing/And when the phone called it just rang and rang/You Ain’t pick up but your phone accidentally called me back/And I heard the whole thing”. It’s a very emotional track with insight about one of his relationships. But then, Chris Rock makes an appearance at the end and gives his comedy routine. You’ve got to hear this one. I’d try to describe it but I think it’s too vulgar to try and clean up for this.

“Lost In The World” features Bon Iver and goes back to the auto-tuned singing. It starts off slow but moves into a much faster beat, almost like a dance track. It’s bringing you to the close of the story and the album and is one of the better tracks, even though it only has one verse. The rest is filled with the chorus over and over. It also leads into the final track (which isn’t really a song) called “Who Will Survive In America”. It keeps most of the music from “Lost In The World” but the words are a spoken-word excerpt from Gil Scott-Heron.

West seems to be trying to create his masterpiece and maybe he achieved that here. I used the word “genius” earlier and I don’t think I’m wrong. I’m not sure who else could have pulled this off. Hell, I’m not sure who else would have tried something like this. West isn’t afraid to try new things and he sure isn’t afraid to be different. This is a really good album that is getting rave reviews. He may be written as a douchebag in his real life but he sure proves that the man makes some good music.

You’ll be hearing a lot about this album and I’m sure several songs will become releases. This may even be up for album of the year. Do yourself and favor and check this one out, it’s worth it.