“Yeezus” has risen.
For the last three years, Kanye West fans have anxiously awaited the release of more music from the hip-hop/rap artist, and now, the highly-anticipated “The Life of Pablo” has finally dropped as of Feb. 14, 2016. “The Life of Pablo” marks West’s seventh album since his first hit album “The College Dropout” back in 2004. For one of the biggest albums of the year, the orchestration of its release was less than optimal for West’s eagerly awaiting fans. The album streams exclusively on the app Tidal, owned by fellow rapper Jay-Z, and can be downloaded on Kanyewest.com, but the album will never hit iTunes, according to a Twitter blast sent out by West himself. The distribution and release of the album has created much confusion among fans and surprised many with the fact that it appears as if West is not looking to make profit off his album. Fans who wish to listen to this album will have to go through trial and tribulation to hear the music, but maybe that is West’s way of making his fans work for his music.
As messy and unconventional as the release was, the tracks laid down by West reassure his loyal fans that he is still on top in the music scene. “The Life of Pablo” features many tracks that reiterate the profane, unapologetic words of the rapper that embody his music, but the album also incorporates a more mellow and renunciation of sins through the track “Ultralight Beam.” The collection of tracks also features multiple collaborations between West and the industry’s finest, such as Andre 3000, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Kid Cudi, Chance the Rapper and the Kanye West/Kendrick Lamar mash-up the world has been waiting for in “No More Parties in LA.”
As expected, West’s famously procured egotistical image was not lost in his latest album as demonstrated by tracks such as “Famous” and “I Love Kanye.” The song “Famous” clearly calls out Taylor Swift by attributing her fame to him, reinforcing West’s God-like vision of himself, as seen through his self-proclaimed nickname “Yeezus.” However, “Famous” almost puts a damper on West’s album as the music and lyrics are the product of petty back and forth jabs between West and Swift, which turns the track into a childish song. In a sense, the song is a digression for West as it takes away from the mantra of musicians that the creation of music is just about the music.
Despite this one blip, the overall album confirms West’s position as one of the top rappers of all time and will leave listeners satisfied and hitting the repeat button.
thescene@theeagleonline.com
