Ah Kanye. You're a character. There have been entire philosophy essays dedicated to your image and fame. Now you made another album about it.
From what I can gather from Kanye fans, there are 2 different types of fans. The "traditionalist" fans. These people appreciate the classic Kanye. College Dropout, Late Registration, not to mention his days as a producer for Jay-Z. This age was a simpler Kanye, a man with an ear for soul samples.
Then you have fans of the newer "avant-garde" Kanye (if you could even really call it that), fans of Yeezus, and The Life of Pablo here. Way weirder direction, way more experimental, a LOT more controversial. Kanye is in a different place than he was 7-8 years ago. And it definitely shows here.
The album was surrounded by immense hype. We heard about some features, we even heard some songs, (WOLVES) and the album title was announced "So Help Me God"... oh wait, now it's "SWISH"... then it's "Waves"... oh nevermind, now it's "The Life of Pablo". And if you don't know how this record was released, it seems Kanye was as excited as us to have the record released... even if it wasn't "finished". Cause if you ask me, the first "version" of the album, straight up sounded unfinished. The mixing was very rough still, and Kanye wasn't even done with some of the songs all the way, in which the newer versions feel more fleshed out, like actual, produced songs.
When that first version hit, I hated it. It was the most disappointing album of 2016. I only found 4 tracks I really liked, and coincidently, they sounded the most finished. It was WAY too rough for me to even take seriously, Waves sounded like garbage, so did Famous, Highlights, and Fade sounded like it was an early version. See, it felt this way, because it was. After a couple weeks, Kanye released a new version of the album, virtually unheard of in the mainstream music business. And you know what, everything sounded a little better. Then, he released another version. Which is what we have here, along with a new track "Saint Pablo".
And, I love it. Third listen, everything clicked. Finally, I knew I didn't really hate a Kanye album right? So, I went back, found the old version and gave it another lesson. Completely different feels. I ended up feeling frustrated it didn't sound as nice as the newest version. I actually loved Waves, and Famous sounded PHENOMENAL, even Fade got an upgrade.
Now, let's get to the meat of any rap album, the lyrics. Boy, we have the best AND worst Kanye lines on here. It's as scattered and jumbled as the production, which was the point. It's this character of Pablo told in bits and pieces. That's what I'm interpreting anyway, cause damn, I can't get much else from it. I mean, he channels his past self on "No More Parties In LA", and "Real Friends", arguably the best tracks on the album. And the lyrics are fuckin' solid, man. He even outdoes king Kendrick, a feat not many have done. Otherwise, he does not get very much lyrical past that, but he does spit on a few other tracks here. However, compared to other albums, does not come close.
I feel like this album used a rushed release as a "artistic strategy", and it didn't really work well at all. Maybe on Kanye stans, but not me. A good album, but shitty release.
But hey, that Chance verse was pretty rad though, right?
Favorite tracks: Famous, Ultralight Beam, Real Friends, Waves, No More Parties In LA, FML, Facts
Least favorites: Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1, 30 Hours is 2 minutes too long.
8/10
From what I can gather from Kanye fans, there are 2 different types of fans. The "traditionalist" fans. These people appreciate the classic Kanye. College Dropout, Late Registration, not to mention his days as a producer for Jay-Z. This age was a simpler Kanye, a man with an ear for soul samples.
Then you have fans of the newer "avant-garde" Kanye (if you could even really call it that), fans of Yeezus, and The Life of Pablo here. Way weirder direction, way more experimental, a LOT more controversial. Kanye is in a different place than he was 7-8 years ago. And it definitely shows here.
The album was surrounded by immense hype. We heard about some features, we even heard some songs, (WOLVES) and the album title was announced "So Help Me God"... oh wait, now it's "SWISH"... then it's "Waves"... oh nevermind, now it's "The Life of Pablo". And if you don't know how this record was released, it seems Kanye was as excited as us to have the record released... even if it wasn't "finished". Cause if you ask me, the first "version" of the album, straight up sounded unfinished. The mixing was very rough still, and Kanye wasn't even done with some of the songs all the way, in which the newer versions feel more fleshed out, like actual, produced songs.
When that first version hit, I hated it. It was the most disappointing album of 2016. I only found 4 tracks I really liked, and coincidently, they sounded the most finished. It was WAY too rough for me to even take seriously, Waves sounded like garbage, so did Famous, Highlights, and Fade sounded like it was an early version. See, it felt this way, because it was. After a couple weeks, Kanye released a new version of the album, virtually unheard of in the mainstream music business. And you know what, everything sounded a little better. Then, he released another version. Which is what we have here, along with a new track "Saint Pablo".
And, I love it. Third listen, everything clicked. Finally, I knew I didn't really hate a Kanye album right? So, I went back, found the old version and gave it another lesson. Completely different feels. I ended up feeling frustrated it didn't sound as nice as the newest version. I actually loved Waves, and Famous sounded PHENOMENAL, even Fade got an upgrade.
Now, let's get to the meat of any rap album, the lyrics. Boy, we have the best AND worst Kanye lines on here. It's as scattered and jumbled as the production, which was the point. It's this character of Pablo told in bits and pieces. That's what I'm interpreting anyway, cause damn, I can't get much else from it. I mean, he channels his past self on "No More Parties In LA", and "Real Friends", arguably the best tracks on the album. And the lyrics are fuckin' solid, man. He even outdoes king Kendrick, a feat not many have done. Otherwise, he does not get very much lyrical past that, but he does spit on a few other tracks here. However, compared to other albums, does not come close.
I feel like this album used a rushed release as a "artistic strategy", and it didn't really work well at all. Maybe on Kanye stans, but not me. A good album, but shitty release.
But hey, that Chance verse was pretty rad though, right?
Favorite tracks: Famous, Ultralight Beam, Real Friends, Waves, No More Parties In LA, FML, Facts
Least favorites: Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1, 30 Hours is 2 minutes too long.
8/10
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