Groovy Tunes Review: Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy -> 4.5/5 Stars

This cover was banned in the US.

Kanye West took some time out of the spotlight after his infamous Taylor Swift "incident" to gather himself and avoid the scrutiny that surely would follow.  After taking the advice of friend Mos Def, he left the country and had his first real chance to really deal with his mother's passing.  While he was gone, he did some soul searching, got some dental work done, and decided to come back with vengeance.  Upon his return, Kanye quickly won back the confidence of the common fan with his G.O.O.D. Fridays, a song-a-week offering that featured album cuts and star-studded collabos.  After one of the songs leaked early, Kanye decided to cancel his gift to the music community and left us waiting on bated breath for his album.  What we got is MBDTF, an album some critics consider this year's best.  After giving it a good listening, I have a hard time disagreeing.

If you have been following G.O.O.D. Fridays, you will notice that half the tracks are not new.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing either, because barring "Gorgeous", I feel those tracks were the stronger part of the album.  Of course that is my opinion, but the non-G.O.O.D. Friday cuts are more R&B and feature more storytelling (circa Late Registration) than the braggadocio we've come to expect from Kanye.  Nevertheless, Kanye's production acumen and soul is what sets this album apart.  You can feel the emotion he wants us to when listening.  After a couple listens, it grows on me more and more.

I can't really call any tracks standout tracks because they are really all so well done, but some of my favorites are "Gorgeous (feat. KiD CuDi & Raekwon)", "Dark Fantasy" and "Runaway (feat. Pusha T)".  Of course "Monster (feat. Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross & Bon Iver)" and "So Appalled (feat. Jay-Z, Pusha T, CyHi tha Prince, Swizz Beatz & RZA)" go hard in their own respects.  "All Of The Lights" certainly serves as the albums marquee anthem, and you will be hard-pressed to find someone who can't get caught up in it.

A sleeper track that some people will surely enjoy is "Lost in the World (feat. Bon Iver)", an uptempo Rap/Pop/R&B hybrid.  Another song I enjoyed is the introspective R&B/Soul joint "Blame Game (feat. John Legend)" where Kanye spills a little inner angst.  Another thing I noticed is that the album version of "Devil In A New Dress" features Rick Ross, who doesn't really add anything to the track and I think the track was stronger without him.

Best lines in the album:

"Hard to be humble when you stuntin' on a Jumbotron" (Devil In A New Dress)

"All up in the bank with a funny face/ and if I’m fake/
I ain’t notice cuz my money ain’t" (Monster)

"All of them fallin’ for the love of ballin’/
got caught with 30 rocks, the cop look like Alec Baldwin" (Gorgeous)

"Is hip hop, just a euphemism for a new religion/
the soul music for the slaves that the youth is missing" (Gorgeous)

Definitely support the artist and cop this album when it drops 11/22.
But, if you can't wait, you didn't get it from me -> Download KW-MBDTF Here

A little something I think the music heads will enjoy,
keep a lookout for the other GOOD artists... especially Big Sean.