It seems as if The Life of Pablo, Kanye West's 7th full length LP had a release that was based more so around the spectacle itself than it was actually around the music being created. From the way that the man known as Yeezy decided to handle the release, premiering it at Madison Square Garden alongside his latest fashion venture Yeezy Season 3 (which you watch in full over at TIDAL here) to the multiple name changes of an album that began as So Help Me God, which then became SWISH, and stopping at Waves before finally ending up with the title The Life of Pablo. It seemed to be a lot of ego stroking, and left expectations varied among those waiting for the album's release.
While West has had a history of successful releases, with his debut full-length effort The College Dropout winning him one of his many Grammy Awards and giving him his first hit single with Jesus Walks, it wasn't until 2010's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy that Kanye truly came into his own as an artist. The album was an introspective and dark look in at the life of a man who had transcended being a rap artist and had now become an infamous pop culture star thanks to his outspoken ways, and in particular his run in with Taylor Swift at the 2009 Video Music Awards. He continued to impress critics and fans alike after the release of MBDTF with his following album Yeezus, a record that saw the GOOD Music founder experiment with elements of abrasiveness and noise rap for the first time. It was yet another standout release, and managed to convert many former unimpressed listeners into bonafide fans.
On his new release The Life of Pablo, we're getting what feels like a reflection on his career as well as a combination of all the sounds he's incorporated in the past. Tracks like Father Stretch my Hands and Highlights are both reminiscent of his early material, the Graduation record in particular, and the I Love Kanye interlude takes a similar formula to the skits found on his aforementioned full-length debut The College Dropout. That interlude is one of the most interesting moments on the album due to the way that Kanye embrace his reputation as a self-centred egotistical man much like he did on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, while also poking fun of it in humorous fashion. Unfortunately, aside from that single track we don't hear much more of that same introspective side of the rapper throughout the LP. We do however get a few cuts similar to those found on the album Yeezus, as both Feedback and FML bring out that same abrasive and a touch more experimental side of Kanye we've seen before, making them enjoyable cuts worth hearing.
While there were many artists recruited to collaborate on the album,(Kid Cudi, Chris Brown, Rihanna, Post Malone, and The Weeknd to name a few) it's the guest verse of rap superstar Kendrick Lamar that really steals the show as far as the star studded features go. His appearance on No More Parties in L.A, which was released as a snippet earlier on, is one of the best moments you'll find on the album. K.Dot has constantly proven himself as one of if not the premier emcee in the game, and he does so here yet again on another artists record.
That does however lead into the biggest problem with the project, as many of the best tracks found in the listing were already released as singles. Not only have you already heard the core of the album by listening to the tracks that have already been released, but you've also heard the best moments. When Kanye originally tweeted out the track listing, the album contained just a mere 9 tracks, and some of the singles which had already been released had been left off. No More Parties for example, was originally not going to be on the album, yet ended up being one of the best tracks, making it appear as if the singles were just thrown on either from fear or nervousness. The final single released from the album, 30 Hours, ended up being one of the least impressive moments found on The Life of Pablo, as the song clocks in at five and half minutes, yet feels as long as the name would imply it to be. Like quite a few other cuts scattered throughout, it doesn't bring anything new to the album, and the beat is nothing more than generic and boring filler. Kanye killed a lot of the momentum found on the original album by making the decision to add so many tracks at the last minute, as quite a few of them fail to stand out on their own, and hardly justify the delayed release.
Most of what's found on the album feels very familiar, as if it's already been heard quite a bit before. Even the most controversial moment on the album, the line from the track Famous where Kanye states that not only might he still have sex with Taylor Swift, but that he in fact made her famous, it feels as if he's living in the past of something that was relevant over 7 years ago. All of the emcee/producer's former releases are enjoyable for their own reasons, but when placed into one single project, it feels more like a convoluted mess than anything new.
At the end of the day, The Life of Pablo is not Kanye's best release, and when compared to his last two albums, it seems like a step backwards. Is it a bad release? Not by any means. But when considering the roll that the Chicago native has been on over his last few albums, and the hype that was surrounding one of the biggest rap releases of the year, it can't help but leave a bit of a sour taste in your mouth.
Favorite Tracks: Feedback, I Love Kanye, Real Friends, No More Parties in L.A
Least Favorite Tracks: Highlights, 30 Hours
Rating: 3/5
If you've heard the album, what did you think of it? Go ahead and let me know your thoughts down below, if you disagree tell me why I'm wrong or just call me mean names.
No comments:
Post a Comment