Every few generations a person is born with an inexplicable thirst for greatness. We have all seen these sorts of characters. Fiction has given us Odysseus and Voldemort, men whose search for immortality have been their greatest strengths and the cause of their downfalls. History presents all the great conquerors: Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Genghis Khan, human beings driven solely by their desire to never be forgotten, to be, in effect, an enduring monument to themselves, and by extension, the zenith of human achievement.
And then there’s Kanye West. After a self-imposed exile following his highly publicized exchange with Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Music Video Awards, and an experimental album that divided fans and explored the lonely interiors of West’s mind to the much critiqued accompaniment of Auto-tune software, Kanye is both hearkening back to his earlier albums and pushing hip-hop music in a way that hasn’t been seen since Biggie decided it was okay to put a poppy sample on “Juicy.”
“My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” out yesterday on Def-Jam, has Kanye graduated, getting out of that post-college slump and finally carving out his piece of musical history. His lyrics are egotistical; the beats are rock solid, the hooks are catchy as hell and the legend of the man known sometimes as “Yeezy” gets another chapter added to it.
“No one man should have all that power,” West raps on the albums aptly titled first single “Power,” a line that drips of arrogance and should be alienating, but instead has you nodding your head in agreement. The background beat is composed of a King Crimson sample, handclaps and a repeating vocalization that sounds like a chant toward some sort of Ancient Sun god. West has the irritating swagger of a teenager who thinks the whole world should stop to marvel at his talent, but his rhymes and artistic vision allow him to get away with it.
Of course, an album that consists entirely of someone telling you how much better he is than you would normally be awful. “Power” ends with a chorus of Mr. West singing, “This would be a beautiful death,” the first sense that there is, as the title implies, something darker going on.
“Monster” has Kanye, along with Rick Ross, Jay-Z and relative newcomer Nicki Minaj (who has one of the sickest verses ever heard in a long time on this track) comparing themselves to evil creatures of lore and pop culture.
“All of The Lights” features a Rihanna-sung chorus and an infectious club beat that is more complicated then it first appears, and shows that for what another artist would have been a throwaway dance track is for West another chance to impress the critics and cement his legacy.
“Runaway,” the song West premiered with Taylor Swift at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, has doubled in length, incorporating portions of West singing random sounds to generate feedback, a move that would seem at home on a Björk album.
“My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” is an album that shows Kanye West as a talented songwriter, a magician in the studio, and a veritable legend in his own mind. The honesty found in his music invites the audience to go along with him, to listen to his musings, but most importantly, he just wants someone to care about the art he produces. There is soul here, there are philosophical musings, and there is a dedication to creating some of the best mainstream hip-hop that has been seen in years. Who knows? Maybe West’s delusions of grandeur won’t prove unfounded after all.
Eddy Habib can be reached at [email protected].
