Man That Would Be So Kanye
By Cameron Hertzog
“The Life of Pablo,” dropped exclusively on the music streaming site Tidal and Kanye West’s Website on Feb. 14.
It is Kanye’s sort of Valentine’s Day gift to the world. “The Life of Pablo” is Kanye West’s seventh album, and it has been called perhaps his best album. Maybe that is true. But that depends on which Kanye you think is the best: the old Kanye or the New Kanye.
“The Life of Pablo” is more the “new” Kanye. It is Kanye the producer, Kanye the fashion designer and as he puts it himself in his track “I love Kanye,” “the bad mood Kanye.”
As you go through the album track by track, however you are taken one step closer to Kanye the person. Each track has a sort of rawness to it, a sort of self-actualization.
The album has very obvious gospel influences, especially with the first track “Ultralight Beam,” featuring the up and coming artist, Chance the Rapper. The track has so many layers and curves and waves to it, it is the perfect introduction to the album.
It is a track with soul “and the bars so hard, there is no gosh-darn part you can’t tweet,” as put in the song, and rapped by Chance.
The album features other great artists like Rihanna and Kendrick Lamar, Kendrick being perhaps the most talent rapper in hip-hop/rap artist at the moment. Surprisingly however, there is no Jay-Z featured. Perhaps the new Kanye is more in line with the styles of Rihanna, Kendrick and Chance. They are the self-aware rappers who rap about social issues.
However, none of the tracks on this album really are about social issues, rather Kanye’s issues. With this album he has switched to a different vein of hip-hop culture. Perhaps it is the vein where we find the “new” Kanye.
There are certainly parts of the “old” Kanye in many of the tracks, but Kayne has put art in his music.
Whether or not you are a fan of Kanye as a person doesn’t really matter in this album. This album isn’t about liking Kanye, it’s about the evolution of hip-hop and rap, and where this vein of pop-culture is at the moment.
I have to give Kanye some credit, it can’t be easy always being scrutinized and being millions in debt and still coming out with a landmark album.
At the end of the day, he is still Kanye.