Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Iconic hip-hop superstar Kanye West is back with his eagerly anticipated follow up to 2008's 808's and Heartbreak, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. This effort finds Kanye getting back to his pure hip-hop roots that seemed to be non-existent on his last release, and also attempting to put his past trials and tribulations behind him and focus on the only things that he's here to do, entertain the masses and making music.

The album starts off with a beauty on "Dark Fantasy", an ecstatic, entertaining jam that shifts tempos every now and then to give the listener a little bit of variety in the process. Kid Cudi and Raekwon guest star on "Gorgeous", a sweet, urban flavored jam that features Kanye's relaxed vocals set amidst the backdrop of instrumentation laid out before you. The disc's first single, "Power" is an anthemic and fast moving track that best encapsulates the subject matter of the album: gritty, unpredictable, and no holds barred. My favorite song off the album is "Monster". The star studded collaboration features an assortment of musicians including Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, and Bon Iver. The song is a thumping, bombastic treat with Kanye's raps moving at a pretty good clip and all guests equally contribute to an absolutely mind blowing track.

The album's second half gets underway with a return guest appearance from Rick Ross on "Devil In A New Dress", a mellow, laid back affair that offers the listener a little something different and also shows the remarkable amount of musical diversity that's found in abundance on this album. "Runaway" features Pusha T of Clipse and includes an intricate piano styled beat heard in the background that gives off a dark and mysterious vibe to it which coincides well with the overall subject matter of the disc. "Hell of A Life" is an uptempo, bombastic blast that allows Kanye to let loose and have some fun with synth samples and unique instrumentation thrown in for a change. We wrap things up with "Lost in the World" featuring another guest appearance from Bon Iver, who sounds almost unrecognizable amidst the synthesizers and random instrumentation mixed in on this unusual but interesting track. It's really hard to figure out who Kanye West really is. Of course, there's the Kanye West who bum rushed the stage during Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the VMA's last year, there's the Kanye West who has written some very bizarre tweets on his Twitter account that recently became satirized in The New Yorker magazine, and finally there's the Kanye West who has churned out album after album, year after year, and has already cemented himself as one of the best hip-hop artists out there today. Regardless of what you might think of him as a person, you can't deny his musicianship and how hard he works at perfecting his craft.

All in all, a great effort here from Kanye West, who has made a name of himself both musically and infamously. While this album is not his greatest effort, it is a brilliantly executed one that doesn't leave any stone unturned and is riddled with unexpected twists and turns that keeps you listening all the way through until the very end.

                                                                                                                                 Album Score: 3.5/5

Track Listing:

1. Dark Fantasy
2. Gorgeous (f/Kid Cudi & Raekwon)
3. Power
4. All of the Lights (Interlude)
5. All of the Lights
6. Monster (f/Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, & Bon Iver)
7. So Appalled (f/Jay-Z, Pusha T, Prynce Cy Hi, Swizz Beatz, & The RZA)
8. Devil In A New Dress (f/Rick Ross)
9. Runaway (f/Pusha T)
10. Hell of a Life
11. Blame Game (f/John Legend)
12. Lost in the World (f/Bon Iver)
13. Who Will Survive In America