FYI people: Kanye West's new album,
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, is racking up 5-star, 10/10 reviews all over the place. Say what you want about his public persona, but this guy knows how to make some seriously good music. I got a copy yesterday and I've listened to about half of it. I gotta say--it's freakin' awesome. The track I originally embedded below from Soundcloud has Kanye sampling "21st Century Skitzoid Man" from King Crimson's classic 1969 debut album,
In The Court of the Crimson King. Super awesome. Also, check out the second to last track, "Lost In The World," featuring Bon Iver. Jay-Z, RZA, Kid Cudi, Nicki Manaj, John Legend, Raekwon, Rick Ross, and others also guest. The final track, "Who Will Survive In America," is performed by Gil Scott Heron. My only real complaint--and it's not necessarily about
Kanye's album, per say--is that I can't help but wonder how this same album would have been received if it were recorded by a woman. I'm thinking, of course, of Janelle Monae's release from earlier this year,
The Archandroid. I think Monae's album is every bit as good, if not better, than this album, and she's still relatively unknown. Is it possible that by simply showing off your music cred by sampling prog-rock albums, having guest appearances by the likes Justin Vernon, Jay-Z, and Kid Cudi, and maintaining a contentious public persona, you'll receive universal praise from white music critics? Or is it the fusion of rock and hip-hop that expands Kanye's audience? There's enough guitar, piano, and (live?) instrumentation in this album to move it close to the world of rock. Janelle Monae did something similar, and while she
did receive a fair amount of critical praise, she has not received the popular praise she deserves. Surely this album is more than a flexing of muscles--it is precise, detailed, and paced well. And it's catchy as hell. Give it a listen and let me know what you think. And don't forget to give the album cover a close look (Is that Taylor Swift on top?):
Artist: Kanye West
Album: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Year: 2010
Label: Def Jam / Roc-A-Fella
Click
here to listen
Track List:
Dark Fantasy
Gorgeous (Ft. Kid Kudi & Raekwon)
Power (Ft. Dwele)
All of the Lights Interlude
All of the Lights
Monster (Ft. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj & Bon Iver)
So Appalled (Ft. Jay-Z, Pusha T, Prynce Cy Hi, Swizz Beatz & The RZA)
Devis in a New Dress (Ft. Rick Ross)
Runaway (Ft. Pusha T)
Hell of a Life
Blame Game (Ft. John Legend)
Lost in the World
Who Will Survive in America
3 comments:
Gotta remember that Kanye has a longer history and has built a much larger fanbase starting way back in 2004 with The College Dropout (which likely only got attention because he had already built a reputation as a solid producer) and Janelle Monae is still relatively new to the scene. I don't necessarily disagree with your points, but I'm not sure this is the comparison to make them with.
Not to say The College Dropout wasn't worthy of attention. Just that, as we are well aware, quality isn't necessarily what draws that attention.
Ugh, sorry for the triple post.
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