Any discussion of the work of Kanye West has to prefaced by the fact that it is almost impossible to remain objective on the subject. People hate West because he’s cocky, arrogant, misogynistic, and a number of other unflattering adjectives. People love Kanye West because he’s different, he’s authentic, he’s confident, and a host of other flattering adjectives. This is important because how you feel about Kanye West the person will have an effect on how you perceive Kanye West the artist.
The track record of West’s music is rivaled by few in rap music. Several critically acclaimed albums, numerous singles, and depending on who you talk to, a horrendous or great outside the box album in “Yeezus.” His musical credibility cannot be denied, even if how he portrays himself in the media undercuts his ability. His latest album, “The Life of Pablo,” was released with great fanfare.
The album opens with “Ultralight Beam,” and it feels as though West is getting ready to take us to church. Originally, with West likening himself to a god, I thought this may be the theme of the album, but it was not. However, this song was the absolute standout track of the entire album. One theme that could be established though, is that this opening track was at its peak when West was not the one providing the vocals. Kelly Price and Chance the Rapper carried the song.
Tracks 2 and 3, “Father Stretch My Hands,” parts one and two are more notable for the production rather than the lyrics. With the theme in part one, being again, the song is at its best when you are not hearing West. Kid Cudi should be given the most credit for this song. Part 2 is more forgettable, notable only because of the featuring artist, Desiigner, who has been made fun of on social media for being described as a “fake version of Future.”
“Famous” featuring Rihanna is probably the most famous song on “The Life of Pablo,” because of the first line of West’s first verse. “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex, why? I made that bitch famous,” in reference to music superstar, Taylor Swift. In reality, Taylor Swift needed no help from West in achieving anything. West telling the public that he could have a sexual relationship with Swift is misogynistic, and to some sexist. But within the realm of rap music, hyperbole is king. And that was all this line was, hyperbole. These type of lyrics are why your previous opinion of Kanye West matter. Depending on your view of him, you might stop listening to the whole album after that line.
After the fourth track, there are 14 left, the standouts being, “Waves,” “Wolves,” and “No More Parties in LA.” All of these songs have one thing in common, which is having a featured artist. This album is a great collection of songs, but not necessarily a great collection of Kanye West songs. Kanye West would call himself a musical genius, and “The Life of Pablo” is more proof that he is what he says he is. West put together a great album. The production on this album is outstanding from top to bottom. Especially on “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1,” with Metro Boomin doing his part to contribute to new social media meme. Metro Boomin’s producer tag which has a sample of the artist Future saying, “If Young Metro don’t trust you, I’m gonna shoot you.” This meme may have been just as big of a talking point as the Taylor Swift lyric was.
Kanye West surrounded himself with rappers, singers, and producers just as talented as he is. He promoted this album passionately, with many people expecting it to be some of the best work of his career. The music was some of the best, but West was a sidebar at best to most of the good songs. West was outshined on 7 out of 16 musical tracks on his own album by featured artists. West can sleep well, knowing that the album he was the mastermind of is great.
If I was told that Kanye West would be over shadowed on his own album, I would’ve thought to myself that there was no way West would accept that. But, there are two pieces of evidence that have made me feel the opposite way now.
On the second track, there is the lyric that says, “Everybody gonna say something, I’d be worried if they ain’t say nothing.” Meaning, it would be a bad thing if people didn’t say anything about Kanye. I took this to mean the only thing Kanye West is worried about is staying relevant. After “Yeezus” was released, many people thought West was washed up. People thought his days of making great music were over. This lyric showed me that being relevant and talked about is the important thing to West. People stopped talking about West after “Yeezus.” People didn’t care about him. “The Life of Pablo” got people talking.
The second piece of evidence is track number 9, “I love Kanye.” This tracked showed that Kanye West is self-aware. He knows how he is portrayed by the media. He knew people loved his old music. He knows people think he is a terrible human being. He knows to a lot of people, he’s “the guy that hates Taylor Swift.” On this track, he shows that he knows all of this, and the public’s image of him may not be who he actually is. I think that as long as he is relevant to the public, whether it be for good or bad reasons, is a good thing to Kanye West.
“The Life of Pablo” is great work musically. It was as good as Kanye advertised it to be. Even though Kanye wasn’t the main reason for that, it’s okay. Kanye doesn’t mind if you love Kanye, or if you hate Kanye. As long as you care about Kanye.
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