Review by Myles Marrero
There’s not a lot to be said about this album that hasn’t already been said before, especially ten years after its release. Oftentimes when I go back and listen to classic albums like this one, a specific element will jump out to me, like the production or a specific element of a song that didn’t jump out to me on my first listen. This time around, the highlight for me was the excellent features on this record. There are definitely a lot of highlights: Nicki Minaj’s iconic verse on Monster and introduction to Dark Fantasy were particular standouts to me, as well as Raekwon’s guest verse on Gorgeous. However, if there’s any track that stands out with its features, it’s easily So Appalled. There’s a reason the track is so iconic of the era it was a part of, every single verse hits even harder than the last and builds into an incredible finale. It’s an incredibly gratifying listening experience, and the themes it explores are even more timely than they were a decade ago. These features are an essential part of the album, and it’s insane how well some of them have aged considering how badly other albums released around that time have aged since then. However, there are definitely some cuts that show their age. Chris Rock’s outro on Blame Game is an incredibly drawn out and tedious ending to what is otherwise not really a stand out track for me. I could say the same for Justin Vernon’s vocals on Lost In The World, which would also be a bit of a sleeper track for me if it weren’t for the EXCELLENT lead-in to the closing track, courtesy of some mind-blowing samples, as well as some excellent production choices. Ye’s ear for production was unrivaled at this point in his career, and the timelessness of this album’s beats and samples and instrumentation are a testament to how well it was crafted. Listening to this album made me realize how much I missed this era of Kanye. It was a time when it felt like he had so much to say, whether it was a verbal statement about his personal life as an allegory for society as a whole, or an artistic statement represented by the music itself. There are few things that he has produced lately that come close to matching it.
Favorite tracks: “Runaway,” “So Appalled,” and “Hell Of A Life.”
Overall Score: 9.3/10
