Kanye West releases versatile and egotistical album “The Life of Pablo”
Kanye West’s antics, along with his ego, prohibit listener’s from fully appreciating his most recent studio album “The Life of Pablo.”
Kanye West’s highly anticipated seventh album has finally been released, and it was most-definitely worth the wait. Rumors of Kanye’s album have been floating around since last April, and this February, Kanye released “The Life of Pablo” on the music streaming service Tidal. The title of the album, similar to the release date, was not set in stone and changed numerous times. The album was originally titled as “So Help Me God,” then changed to “SWISH,” then changed to “Waves,” and Kanye finally settled on “The Life of Pablo.”
The album consists of eighteen tracks, featuring artists including Rihanna, Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd, and Post Malone to name a few. The album has a dysfunctional and moody sound that incorporates soul, catchy beats, and the occasional deep lyric. However, on the more upbeat tracks, Kanye’s lyrics become self-centered and egotistical, and some might even consider the lyrics just plain rude.
The album begins with a gospel song of sorts titled “Ultralight Beam,” featuring Chance the Rapper. With a gospel choir harmonizing to a slow, catchy beat, Kanye and Chance the Rapper rap about faith and family. The album picks up with a sound reminiscent of what listeners would describe as “Old Kanye,” with beats that are fast-paced, catchy, and unique.
However, on the more upbeat tracks, Kanye’s lyrics become self-centered and egotistical, and some might even consider the lyrics just plain rude.
— Michael Hunter
However, these tracks are weakened by Kanye’s arrogance and occasionally controversial lyrics about drugs, women, and money. While “Famous,” featuring Rihanna, has one of the smoothest beats and refrains on the entire album, Kanye throws in an unnecessary lyric saying that he essentially made Taylor Swift famous. This caused more controversy and, once again, took the focus off of Kanye’s music.
Later, listeners hear what is one of my personal favorites on the album: “Waves” featuring Chris Brown. With a beautiful harmonized refrain from Chris Brown, Kanye raps about accepting life’s struggles, his failures, and his fears. Then, the album takes a much darker turn, with songs like “FML” featuring The Weeknd, “Wolves,” featuring Frank Ocean, and “Real Friends,” featuring Ty Dolla $ign.
To end the album, Kanye decides to speed it back up, finishing the album with songs “30 Hour,” “No More Parties in L.A.” which features Kendrick Lamar, and features Kanye’s best lyrics since his 2010 album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.”
“The Life of Pablo” will most likely be remembered for the wrong reasons: the struggle to find a name, the ever-changing release date, and Kanye’s insane twitter rampages, which sparked fans to start the #PrayForKanye. All of these instances have made him look arrogant, disrespectful, and downright crazy. Kanye actually praises these traits while simultaneously stroking his ego in his track “Feedback,” where ask listeners to “name one genius that isn’t crazy.” The unique beats, the versatility, and the catchy refrains will all be overshadowed by Kanye’s antics, causing “The Life of Pablo’s” to most likely be less popular than the album deserves.
