Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

 Click the Image to Buy Kanye's New Album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy .

Kanye West has been an entertainer both in the booth and out of it. His personality and arrogant swagger is part of his "package" and image. Everything he does is a very thought out action that he plans to either exploit by marketing himself or by enhancing his bravado image he has perfected. This rubs some the wrong way, but still, those same people who can't stand the man can't help themselves but be entranced by his music. He is a great entertainer in that way.

His albums of the past have been different in their creation to the point that each do not seem to be produced by the same person. Kanye has changed his musical direction between each album. Yet, with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, he seems to take influences from each of his last albums and create a hybrid of what and who is Kanye West. He succeeds in most of it, but falls flat on a few tracks.

Track by Track

1.) Dark Fantasy - 4/5 - This is the track that introduces the tone of the album to the listener. Nicki Manaj comes on with her eccentric voice to proclaim what is to follow. Kanye comes in hard with his flow. He sounds energetic and passionate as ever. Even though the subject matter seems to lack, he still brings his best in bringing his everything to his output. Musically, one of my favorite tracks on the album. The beat is infectious. The chorus is great as well, it helps complete the track to be more than an introduction interlude to a complete song. Great track

2.) Gorgeous f/Kid Cudi and Raekwon - 4/5 - This track is a great hip-hop track in the traditional way. A great chorus which Cudi performs, the beat is very well produced and Kanye bring his bars tightly. He plays with his voice a bit to make it sound like he might "broadcasting" instead of rapping, but it goes off well. Raekwon adds some credit to the song by his verse towards the end. Overall a great track. Kanye even throws a South Park "Fish Sticks" line in there...

3.) Power - 5/5 - The lead single off the album, which seems to have been out for a while now, as it was leaked to the net many months ago. However, even by having listened to it multiple times before, it hasn't lost any of its impact yet. This song is Kanye's most aggressive message to the fans and listeners and even critics. He has all the "Power" in the music industry, even when he isn't releasing any songs at the time (Taylor Swift). This is probably is most revealing track when it comes to his own mind. Excellent track.

4.) INTERLUDE

5.) All of the Lights - 4/5 - Rihanna and Fergie do not get a credit on this song, but they are both in it,which seems to take away more than it does to make the song better. Rihanna takes care of the chorus, which works, but Fergie's verse toward the end of the track is not needed (or wanted) by many of Kanye's fans. However, the song is still very single worthy. Kanye doesn't speak on much, but the production of the song drips with star power and radio play.

6.) Monster f/Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj and Bon Iver - 3/5 - This track is another that seems to have been pushed for a single. Kanye brings his best flow of the album to the song as he has to keep up with proven MCs like Jay-Z. I've never been a fan of Ross or Minaj, but they seem to not really take away anything from the track. The beat is infectious and "big." When it is all said and done, I feel that Kanye has the best verse on the track. Jay comes in second with his but he didn't seem to bring his best effort or at least as much as he could have. The listener will either hate or love Nicky Minaj's verse, which is more animated than other artist on the entire album.

7.) So Appalled f/Jay-Z, Swizz Beatz, Pusha T and Prynce Ci Hi - 5/5 - Another track that is filled with features, directly after "Monster." It seems odd to have the tracks back to back because it feels to take away that it is indeed a Kanye album. So Appalled however, is arguably the best track on the album. When it comes to pure hip-hop in its most traditional sense (no bridges, over done choruses or beats), this track is the best. Each verse from the MCs come off as if they brought their best effort to their words and flows. Jay-Z and Pusha T especially, make the song more than what it would have been with any other artists. If nobody knows who Pusha T is, they should do research. The most underrated and under appreciated MC in music. Period.

8.) Devil in a New Dress f/Rick Ross 3/5 - If the first 7 tracks were filled with energy and highly produced songs, the second part of the album is more slow. R&B tones and choruses take over, first introducing themselves on this track. It's a great track, but seems to lose it's power over time. Kanye raps about a woman who might "love Jesus, but learned a lot from Satan." Ross doesn't add anything to the track, as it could have been any MC featured on it. In fact, it didn't really need a feature at all. Kanye handles it.

9.) Runaway f/Pusha T 5/5 - Probably the most brash song on the album. It could have been a "808s & Heartbreaks" track, but instead calls out Kanye's own "douchebagery." It's a classic case of "you can't call me that because I just called myself that." Kanye plays with his critics at the same time he entertains them. Autotune is on full effect on the track, yet it fits. Pusha T adds some much needed flow. Kanye's flow is not the greatest and his lyrics and lines seem to be very amateur, however I think it done with the intent on getting his message across clearly. An excellent song that will be remembered as one of his most brash.

10.) Hell of a Life 5/5 - My favorite track on the album. The beat is hard. The lyrics are aggressive. The chorus is great. However, the music is what comes across to me the most. It makes the song. The long bridges and pauses in lyrics, introduce instrumentals that have been Kanye's best out of all of his albums. It's dripping with what Kanye wants to come across as. Come with him and live a hellofa life. It's a fantasy, but could very well be lived out by any star

11.) Blame Game f/John Legend 5/5 - I've been waiting for Kanye to use Legend more in his songs. He has been an asset to Kanye's label who is sadly under used. This is the most R&B inspired track, as Legend doesn't simply take over for the chorus, he adds a lot more. The beat is very emotional and the entire song is a personal story from Ye himself. It could have been inspired by his newer relationships, because there have been public outings with models and such that have been surrounded by controversy. Lyrically, it is probably the best when it comes to how Kanye tells his story. One of the greatest tracks on the album.

12.) Lost in the World f/Bon Iver 4/5 - The most autotuned track on the album. It is a direct link to 808s & Heartbraks if that album was to be a dance inspired album. This track comes in very slow, almost acapella with it's autotune, but several seconds in it irrupts into a dance track. It's meant to influence the listener to "get lost in it." Kanye goes a little dark in his efforts, even though the tone seems to make you move. It's agreat track.

13.) INTERLUDE/OUTRO

All in all, Kanye West brings a very feature rich "pop" album. But he does it his way. He is an entertainer before he is a beatsmith or MC. That is proven with this album. It's not a typical hip-hop album. It's very, very dark at times. Other times its as eccentric as an Outkast album. What needs to be known about the album though, is that musically, it is unmatched in today's hip-hop. If one were to take away some of the effortless lyrics and some features that were not needed, this album would be a masterpiece. Musically.