Kanye West’s fifth studio album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” might be my favorite album of all time. He recorded this album in Hawaii while hiding from the public eye following his famous interruption of Taylor Swift at the MTV Music Video Awards. With the rise of “trap” music, hip hop as a genre has seen a lot of newer rappers focus on themes like sex, violence, drugs, and money. Kanye definitely does address these things, but he also often discusses things like sex, love, fame, and family in this album. Specifically, to me, this album feels like an exploration into his last couple of years in the spotlight. Besides just talking about these themes, the sounds of the songs make sure the listener knows how West is feeling. The highs and lows of his life of fame are shown by the contrasting energies of some tracks, like the upbeat “All of the Lights” vs. melancholy “Runaway”.
To me, “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” feels like a bit of a transition point for West as an artist. Compared to his first four studio albums, this album feels a lot more experimental to me. Songs like “Monster” and “Lost in the World” feel like they deviate from the typical style of his previous albums. This feels like a turning point because this more edgy style continues into the following albums. His next solo album, “Kanye West Presents Good Music Cruel Summer” continues to sound more
experimental than his four albums previous to “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”. This album feels a lot more over-the-top than earlier works, and in my opinion this was the era where Kanye’s personality became more out-there. So, this album reflects Kanye’s change as both a person and an artist. I like this a lot because it feels like it is truly a piece of self expression. Sometimes popular artists can produce music that feels like they are trying to continue a certain style or appeal to what is trending at the time, so I appreciate the authenticity of this album.
Another thing I love about this album is the features. Nicki Minaj, Kid Cudi, Elton John and Bon Iver are among the numerous artists with spots on this album. These features add a lot of depth to the album because of their diverse sounds, so I think that they contribute largely to making the album so interesting.
Overall, this album is one of my favorites because of how creative and genuine it is. Despite how controversial Kanye West’s character is, he consistently appears as my top Spotify artist of the year because of the quality of his work.