Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Kanyes
Genre: Rap/ Hip hop
“Kendrick is what Kanye would have been if the Kardashians didn’t get him” tweeted The Daily Show host, Trevor Noah, the night of the Grammys on Feb. 15. He is referring to Kendrick Lamar, a lyrically gifted artist who delivered a socially relevant and politically charged performance on stage that night.
It may seem strange to begin this review talking about another rapper in relation to the one I should be reviewing, but it is an apt comparison. And it certainly seems as if at one point Kanye could have been headed in that direction: the basis of his success being underscored by pure talent and not attention seeking erratic behavior.
For someone who is not a big fan of the press, being integrated into one of the most watched families in Hollywood famous seems like a misstep. Who exactly is Kanye? Is he an example of life imitating art, or art imitating life? Is the personality that genuinely believes he is “50 percent more influential than Stanley Kubric, Pablo Picasso and St. Paul the Apostle …for the next 1,000 years” a real person? Do his actions as a person have any effect on his music? Are his art and life even inseparable at this point?
This album demonstrates that in spades. With the exception of a few tracks, this album should be split in two in terms of notability; it’s just as conflict-ridden as the man himself. The Life of Pablo is a reflective pool to the rapper’s lack of self control and censorship. Delayed and apparently still not in its final form as Kanye claims to be working on it continuously, The Life of Pablo is his 9th album release and comes three years after Yeezus.
“Ultralight Beam” is one of the few tracks where he achieves what Kanye excels at, mixing disparate elements into a divinely creative sound. The Dream, Chance the Rapper, and Kirk Franklin lend their talents to this thesis on Kanye’s spiritual struggle between faith and instinct. The tracks that follow are slightly disappointing. Lyrically, they are a prime example of the “New Kanye” that Kanye reflects upon in “I Love Kanye”, a self-aware music-less verse that has landed itself to parody by the internet.
While “Father I Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” is an appealing song with a promising intro, don’t read too much into the shallow lyrics for the first half of the song. However, the breakdown that runs into Pt 2 near the end of the song is worth sitting through.
“Highlights” is over laced with grating auto tune and has what feels like some of the dumbest lines the rapper has ever uttered. This is one that he performed on Saturday Night Live, neglecting to censor himself. “Famous” features that controversial lyric about Taylor Swift. Among other things that he says about her, he claims he made her famous.
A good portion of the first half of TLOP feels like he’s phoning it in for a few of the first tracks, utilizing the crazed persona perpetuated in the media. It’s all set up, but the pay off rides in swiftly after “I Love Kanye”. The end of TLOP is where the real magic happens.
It’s like finally reaching the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow after a long, confusing, tumultuous journey. 10 tracks in, Kanye finally hits his stride whereas the tracks prior to were hit or miss. The last nine tracks on the album have the most substance in terms of storytelling, painting pictures of a man consumed by mental illness, inner demons and fame. “A 38 year old 8 year old with rich [expletive] problems” he admonishes of himself on “No More Parties in L.A” .
“Waves” with Chris Brown and Kid Kudi , which is sweet, simple and repetitive enough to get radio play, functions as a pause before Kanye begins to dig into his feelings. On “FML” with The Weeknd , Real Friends, and those following, he makes multiple references to his late mother, Donna, his concern for wife, Kim Kardashian-West, daughter North and newborn son Saint., not feeling comfortable at family gatherings, his temper, and having trust issues.
While I’m am beyond grateful that Frank Ocean crawled out of the hole he has been in to croon a verse on this iteration, the earlier version of “Wolves” featuring Sia and Vic Mensa was sorely missed.
The album closes out strong with “Fade”, a house jam that deserves to be played on the radio until people’s ears start bleeding palm trees. In that way, “Ultralight Beam” and “Fade” are like stalwart books ends, supporting everything in between with their distinctive musicality, each supplying something unique.
Every song bleeds into the next—just before a track fades to black the ghost of the next is ushered in in jarring fashion. Each track is a strange endless loop of prologues and epilogues. “Real Friends” has touches of “Wolves” haunting melody and so on. Overall, TLOP is a frantic fever dream bursting with introspective, sporadic and braggadocios dialogue. It showcases a dynamic use of sampling, genre mixing and generous collaborations from some of the music industry’s best voices, mainstream and underrated alike.
Zhana Johnson
Senior Features Editor
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