During the performance of his new song “Ultralight Beam” on the Feb. 13 episode of “Saturday Night Live,” Kanye West did something he isn’t normally known for doing. Marveling at the genius of his creation as the music pulsated through him, he smiled. West embraced this performance as he was joined on stage by R&B singers The-Dream and Kelly Price, as well as fellow Chicagoan Chance the Rapper and a gospel choir in the background.
The performance was powerful. As the choir moved the audience with their religious vocals, Chance the Rapper shone in front of a live national audience. The biggest takeaway from the performance was Kanye, smiling on the side with Kirk Franklin, running around the stage at the conclusion of the song like a child who just found out they’re going to Disney World, celebrating his own creation. The moment can best be described as West’s passion for the music he crafts shining through the egotistical, maniacal image the public have associated him with over the years.
Passion is the key component on Kanye’s new album, “The Life of Pablo,” which was released in complicated fashion to match Kanye’s personality. Just as West’s 2010 release “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” masterfully embraced the many flaws in his character, “The Life of Pablo” further explores this concept. This contradictive LP showcases his maturity/immaturity, madness/genius and compassion/insensitivity as only West can.
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“The Life of Pablo” proves to be less aggressive than its predecessor, “Yeezus,” which was innovative and ambitious. West places less of an emphasis on his colorful lyricism and more on the musical aspect of his album. At times, “The Life of Pablo” can be perceived as a tour de force of the sounds West crafted over the years. Tracks like “Highlights,” “Wolves” and “FML” call back to the work West achieved with his auto-tune powered 2008 album “808s & Heartbreak.” Other tracks like “Famous” and “Feedback” emulate sounds from his classic 2007 album “Graduation.”
Joining West on his album is an all-star cast of features. The cast included rising stars Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd and Chance the Rapper, frequent collaborators Kid Cudi and Rihanna, R&B heavyweights Chris Brown, Frank Ocean and The-Dream and even the legendary Andre 3000. All these artists join West, as he journeys in the realms of his public and personal personas, being that he is currently a husband and father of two, maintaining a degree of authenticity and brutal honesty about himself.
He highlights his flaws as a friend in “Real Friends” and “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 2.” He gets more sentimental in songs like “30 Hours” where he reflects on a former relationship he had prior to dropping his debut album in 2004 “The College Dropout.” The sentimental nature also occurs in “FML” a song for his current wife, Kim Kardashian, whom he’s vowed to stay faithful to despite the pressures and difficulties he constantly faces.
Regardless of his sentimental nature, West manages to remain feisty and controversial. He takes shots at his now defunct affiliation with Nike on “Facts” and throws salt in an old wound with Taylor Swift, taking credit for her current success on “Famous.” West reminds everyone he’s still a fearsome mic-controller on top of being one of the most innovative producers in music today, or as he put it in 2010’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” “do the rap and the track, triple double no assists.” His ability is on full display nowhere better on his album than with Kendrick Lamar on the anti-LA-lifestyle anthem “No More Parties in L.A.”
All in all, “The Life of Pablo” is an artistic contradiction from the ever expanding mind and ego of West. It’s incredibly mature in displaying West’s immaturity, for West is beyond the point of caring what anyone thinks of him. It’s a rap album with reduced rap, for Kanye is past the days of rapping with fury, begging to be heard. It’s a musical inspiration paired with extremely jaded, egotistical, misogynistic commentary, for West is a loveable jerk at heart. It’s a showcase of all the aspects that makes West the most polarizing figure of his generation, for he is unapologetically who he is.
Whether it be in music or, more recently, in fashion, Kanye West will always be searching for new avenues in an attempt to push the envelope and reach new heights. He may be persecuted, ridiculed and demonized, but as “The Life of Pablo” indicates, West will always have the last and loudest laugh.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
