Collegiate Times

Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Rap megastar Kanye West can do what he pleases. When you put out music this good so often, that’s just how it works. Releasing good portions of the album for free on Twitter? Sure.

Using ballet for your cover and your live performances? Why not?

I’m sure Prodigy of Mobb Deep is scratching his head in frustration as the imagery that derailed his career years ago has become the visual focal point for the hip-hop album of 2010.

“My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” the newest release from West, is good enough to hit the expectations of even the most critical hip-hop listeners.

The album starts with the mellow “Dark Fantasy,” which continues West’s career streak for excellent album-opening tracks. West spares no time digging into his bag of lyrical tricks.

“The plan was, to drink until the pain’s over/but what’s worse, the pain or the hangover?” West raps. He excels lyrically throughout the album, rapping some of the best bars of his career (and maybe using “sarcophagus” for the first time in a rap song).

After “Gorgeous,” featuring a strong verse from Wu-Tang Clan alum Raekwon, the album moves into its lead single “Power.” The reunion of West and soul singer Dwele from Graduation’s “Flashing Lights,” makes the song a rhythmic explosion. “All Of The Lights” continues this high emotion with a seemingly endless guest list and a moving horn section.

The album flourishes with strong guest verses throughout. Appearances that would seemingly detract from the album, such as Rick Ross on “Devil In A New Dress,” blend in nicely.

Nicki Minaj outshines both Jay-Z and West in the standout verse of “Monster,” while Pusha T’s verse in “Runaway” is a great addition to an already great song. John Legend contributes a solid chorus to “Blame Game,” while Bon Iver’s song “Woods” was reconstructed for the album’s concluding track “Lost in the World.” The extended interludes and instrumentals — which feel ready-made for playing in front of thousands — are major highlights of the album, especially on the nine-minute long “Runaway.” You get the feeling that between writing lyrics, producing beats and updating his Twitter feed, Kanye readied his set list for performance.

The album has so much to like, it pains me to have this one minor gripe: I heard too much of it before I purchased the album. It’s one thing to hear short snippets or a few songs of an album, but with the combination of the G.O.O.D. Friday song leaks on his website and the release of the “Runaway” film a few weeks ago, I had heard nearly the entire album before stepping in the store. While its one thing to feed a hungry fan base, I’d like to have more to look forward to with the purchase. Additionally, for his critics, it’s nearly impossible to separate the award show-crashing, heart-on-the-sleeve, outspoken person from the musician. Those who don’t enjoy Kanye the celebrity probably won’t be won over with Kanye the musician on this album (or ever).

With that said, the album is a great addition to an outstanding catalog, up there with “Graduation” and “College Dropout” and puts mile-high expectations on Watch the Throne, a collaborative album with Jay-Z set for release in 2011.

RATING: 4.5/5

Jay-Z: “Decoded”

For a book that might give insight into one of the most enigmatic stars in hip-hop today, it’s hard to say how much can be learned about Sean Carter, better known as Jay-Z, from reading his newly released “Decoded.”

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A version of this article appeared in the Nov 30 issue of the Collegiate Times.