Review by Hannah Luterek
If anyone misses the old Kanye, it’s me. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is the pinnacle of Kanye’s career, and I think this is the album most people refer to when they say, “he used to be so good!”
Regardless of how Mr. West presents himself now, there’s no denying MBDTF is a masterpiece in its own right. In the decade since it’s been released, I can see how it has served as a point of influence and inspiration for modern rappers. West pushed the envelope with an eclectic mix of instrumentals, features from other big-name artists (even Bon Iver, which is especially impressive to me), and raw verses.
The album immediately hooks listeners with an intro from Nicki Minaj and consistently impresses. MBDTF shouldn’t be regarded only for “POWER” and “All Of The Lights” when the rest of the album offers just as much. The musical interlude early on in the record offers a softer spot to the high energy brought immediately afterwards.But what strikes me as the most interesting aspect of the album is Kanye’s emotion.
Now, of course, emotion is a defining factor of many rap albums. West was ahead of the game here. Rap was (and sometimes still is) about being tough, stoic, logical. MBDTF features Kanye’s emotions on a variety of topics, but most notably his love-hate relationship with money, fame, and power. Kanye is constantly joked about for always looking miserable or even void of all emotion, which makes the emotional release in this album even more noteworthy.
While Graduation holds a really special place in my heart, MBDTF proves to be even more notable not only in terms of Kanye’s career, but also on the influence of the rap genre over the past decade. I firmly believe that this album is the reason we have more emotionally turbulent rap albums today.
MBDTF is proof that Kanye is at his best when he projects his thoughts and grievances into his music rather than punishing us with Twitter meltdowns and public soliloquies. The man has his fair share of takes and I’m hoping he returns to inserting them in an album as beautifully produced as My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
