Highlights and fan favorites throughout the album include the iconic and succinct staccato of a piano on “Runaway,” Mike Dean’s legendary guitar solo in “Devil In A New Dress” and Nicki Minaj’s hard-hitting verse on “Monster” that propelled her to stardom. From the club hit “All Of The Lights,” to melodic rap in “Lost In The World,” Kanye refuses to let MBDTF be defined by a single style. Throughout the rest of the album, Kanye’s trademark versatility and confidence in himself is in full display - every track is a masterpiece, with seamless transitions and no song left feeling like unnecessary filler. In the sketch featuring Chris Rock and Salma Kenas at the end of the song, Salma Kenas’s character butt-dials him and Kanye is forced to listen as his imaginary girlfriend flirts with another man. The album takes a more personal turn with “Blame Game,” where Kanye raps about his split with ex-girlfriend Amber Rose and the arguments they had. Since hip-hop’s inception, the genre has been a powerful platform for evocative expression by Black artists on social issues ranging from police brutality to stigmas around mental illnesses. In the very next track, “Gorgeous,” Kanye asks, “Is hip-hop just a euphemism for a new religion?” The messaging behind this seemingly shallow metaphor is significant - Kanye himself is using hip-hop as a tool to speak to and inspire the Black youth. “Beyond the truest, hey, teacher, teacher/ Tell me how do you respond to students?/ And refresh the page and restart the memory?/ Re-spark the soul and rebuild the energy,” he says. In the hedonistic “Dark Fantasy,” he addresses celebrity worship and the complacency plaguing society with the advent of technology. MBDTF is peak Kanye storytelling, where he meshes together some of the most prominent voices in hip-hop to address some of the pressing issues on his mind. Upon first listen, a few things will immediately stand out about MBDTF - the maximalist production, the samples, the features and, most important, the narrative. Artist George Condo designed five different covers, but Kanye eventually had to censor the first cover so streaming services didn’t find it as offensive and provocative. The album’s cover immediately catches the eye, with its lewd depiction of Kanye entangled with a winged woman. Let’s talk about the old Kanye - the dark, twisted and introspective Kanye.
Ever since, Kanye has gone on to perfect his musical craft by experimenting with the harsh drums and tones of “Yeezus,” the critically acclaimed psychedelic, out-of-this-world vibe of “Kids See Ghosts” and even gospel music in his most recent project, “Jesus Is King.”īut enough about the new Kanye. November marks the 10th anniversary of what many consider to be Kanye West’s magnum opus and the greatest hip-hop album ever produced - “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (MBDTF).
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