Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Kanye West is undeniably man of the moment. His album is being hailed as a masterpiece (albeit by himself, but that’s not the point), Kim Kardashian is rumoured to be pregnant with his baby and he seems to have made everyone forget about that whole Taylor Swift incident. His new album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, features a whole wealth of guests, from Elton John to Bon Iver, and quite literally everyone in between. The result is that it offers something for everyone, and, as much as I don’t want to make Kanye West’s head any bigger than it already is, it actually isn’t that far off a masterpiece.

Opening track ‘Dark Fantasy’ is the perfect mix of Kanye’s slow paced rapping style and a catchy pop chorus. Setting the album up for great things, it only gets better from there. Following on from the first two catchier tracks, ‘Power’ has got “big hit” written all over it and leaves the listener not just wanting, but needing the rest of the album. The track is so good, the album has to have an interlude after to allow for it to fully sink in. The interlude itself is a beautiful mix of cello and piano, allowing for a relaxing break from the rest of the hard-hitting album. This album is not background music. Kanye West wants you to listen, and you will.

If you go on YouTube and listen to first single ‘Runaway’, one of the comments reads: “After I listen to this song I don't know what to listen to next... nothing is on the same level y'know?”, just showing the effect the album is having. ‘Lost in the World’ is an excellent track to dance to, reminding me of Usher’s ‘OMG’ in its perfect pop song composition. The lyrically sound album finishes on ‘Who will survive in America?’, a wonderfully thought out slap in America’s face, describing the country as “blood and tears instead of milk and honey” and is the best possible way to end the album in that it leaves the listener with something to think about, but still with a distinct thirst for the follow up.

Whatever your opinion on Kanye West, whether you think he’s arrogant, an arse or a musical genius, I’d still advise you to take an hour out of your life to listen to this album. And then you’ll need an hour after that to recover. There’s not one bad track and I don’t know if that makes it a masterpiece, but the huge spectrum of styles and skills exhibited can’t make it far off. For me, Kanye came up on my blind side and offered me one of the best albums of the year. And considering it’s December, that’s pretty good going.

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