“My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”
Kanye West
Roc-a-Fella, Def Jam Records
Def Jam Records
“My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” is Kanye at his best ““ conceited, imaginative, weird, self-indulgent and infectious.
It’s like the electronic, auto-tuned failure of “808s & Heartbreak” never happened. West is back in full force, producing what is likely to be his most impactful album yet.
To start off, the sampling is superb. “Hell of a Life” samples Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man,” “Devil in a New Dress” samples Smokey Robinson’s “Will You Still Love me Tomorrow.” There are few artists who take as many risks as Yeezy, and with this record it more than paid off.
The album features everyone from Rihanna and Rick Ross (“All of the Lights”) to John Legend (“Blame Game”). Kid Cudi, Raekwon, Pusha T and Bon Iver all make an appearance. Yeezy clearly took the time to think this one through and find the best in the music world to complete his fantasy.
As far as individual tracks go, “Monster” is arguably the catchiest song on the record. Even Nicki Minaj kills it on the track, finally putting her trademark variation between yelling and an awkward baby voice to good use. The fourth single “All of the Lights” gets stuck in your head ““ the fact that it is about domestic violence isn’t as striking as the beat. “Dark Fantasy” probably has the wittiest lyrics and best vocals on the whole record.
There is nothing about the album that is halfway done. Finally, Yeezy steps up and thinks through every demonic reference and every allusion to his own douchebaggery.
West brings killer wit as usual. For those looking for a TV reference, “Gorgeous,” featuring Kid Cudi and Raekwon, gives the line “All of them fallin’ for the love of ballin’ / Got caught with 30 rocks, the cop look like Alec Baldwin.” For the music enthusiasts, “Dark Fantasy” provides “Sex is on fire, I’m the King of Leon-a Lewis.” West is unstoppable, and I want to hear all about his darkest fantasies because he’ll somehow do it cleverly.
The album is strange, the samples are well-varied, the guest stars are outstanding. Most importantly, no track was safe ““ nothing about it was boring. And that risk-taking is exactly why only one man can have all that”‘Power.”