Synopsis
As Kanye West progresses in his career, he has roughly 25 years under his belt of creating genre bending music that has changed the landscape of Hip Hop in a myriad of ways. Ye is revered for his experimental, carefree creative process that has influenced many artists that have blossomed from his musical network, as well as the music industry at large. This influence stems from music all the way to fashion and art. He is a well known risk taker and self proclaimed genius with Ralph Lauren and Walt Disney level impact. This is a sentiment I tend to agree with as it pertains to musical and artistic prowess. His album 808s and Heartbreak is a tangible article that proves this idea and despite its mixed reception at the time of its release it currently is recognized as the catalyst of opening the door for more emotional, vulnerable, and melodic music in the Hip Hop genre. However, at the time it was cited as an album that required “headache pills” because of its use of autotune. For some, it brought Kanye’s stature as a Hip Hop musician into question as it did more to establish him as a once in a generation musician than it did as a Hip Hop act. Some would say he participated in the death of Hip Hop through the mixture of electropop and house music that had a presence on this album. But with his following release, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy he seemed to shut those critics up in an unprecedented way, thus winning back his Hip Hop championship belt for years to come.
To take things back a bit, Ye entered the industry as a producer who was attempting to get his shot as an MC. However, he was up for a challenge at a time where the music industry primarily promoted acts which represented gangsterism and criminology. Ye was not cut from that cloth, despite being from a city with the highest murder rate in recent years. His mother, a college professor and he a college dropout himself was much more educated in the arts than your average rapper at the time. This showed in his music and how he presented himself. He came into the game taking fashion risks and representing Hip Hop from its early essence of poetry and knowledge rather than promoting how many guns were present in his hometown.
Therfore, it took a bit longer for the industry to take him seriously as an MC. Once he got his shot with his debut, The College Dropout Ye showed he had the power to take the industry in a new direction. And he did just that with his third release Graduation, where he bested 50 Cent’s third release Curtis by over 300,000 copies in an album selling competition. He showed that the industry was ready to hear new stories than the armed robbery, drug trafficking tales we were used to. And he still kept it very Hip Hop all the way through. But on 808s and Heartbreak, he took advantage of his new top spot to show that he was beyond traditional Hip Hop. He used his European influences and influence from the likes of T-Pain to master autotune and deliver an emotional synth and spacey body of work that made music lovers appreciate him on another level. However, the traditional Hip Hop fan began to question Ye. And I make this claim from being present at barbershop conversations and family gatherings where folks felt autotune had no place in Hip Hop. Ye himself, addressed this backlash. And although he is not one to concede to public opinion as he is a true artist, his 2010 release My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was successful at showing that it doesn’t get more Hip Hop than him. He showcased that from a production standpoint, showcasing his superior rhyming ability, and by tapping a few Hip Hop legends to stake his claim. Let’s walk through it.
Dark Fantasy
I can recall being a tender 10 years old when my uncle downloaded this song from a mixtape off of his computer. In the car we sat, as he drove me somewhere I find difficult to remember. What I won’t forget, is that he restarted this song at least 5 times which he was prone to do when he heard a rap song that was of superior quality. Recollecting my thoughts it appeared, this was one of the best Kanye West songs I had ever heard. With collaboration from the RZA on the production and a spoken word intro by Nicki Minaj, Ye showed us just how well he can blend his ear for musicality with his lyrical skill set. From his opening line to his proclamation of being a Chi-town Nigga with a Nas flow he kicked off this album with one of the best introductory tracks in Hip Hop history. This track set the tone for the album to show what we were in for. There isn’t much to be said about it, my recommendation is just to go listen and remind yourself.
Genre Blending
One of his most critically acclaimed songs of the album, All of the Lights was a prime example of how Ye has perfected genre blending throughout his career. Rihanna’s contribution via the hook made this song an undeniable radio smash hit and was the ideal complement to Ye’s Slick Rick level story-telling ability.
He tells a story of a domestic affair that is unfortunately too familiar to many in our community. And the bridge presents a format where he details all of the lights our community is accustomed to from different angles.
Lights
Cop lights, flashlights, spotlights
Strobe lights, street lights
(All of the lights, all of the lights)
Fast life, drug life, thug life
Rock life every night (all of the lights)
Metaphorically, taking a brother to that “ghetto university” for replacing him upon return from being incarcerated is a close to home type of situation that many resonated with.
I slapped my girl, she called the feds
I did that time and spent that bread
I'm heading home, I'm almost there
I'm on my way, headed up the stairs
To my surprise, a nigga replacing me
I had to take him to that ghetto university
This record was too real and made a great case for Ye’s stature as a brother most can relate to despite his larger than life way of living and superior artistic talents. We see a similar format of genre bending followed in tracks like Runaway, where he opts for singing the hook and taps new G.O.O.D music signee Pusha T for the bars in his Taylor Swift “apology” track. The same is done with Lost in the World featuring Bon Iver, Devil in a New Dress featuring Rick Ross, and Blame Game which features John Legend.
Wu-Tang Features
As mentioned, the RZA collaborated on the production of Dark Fantasy. He is also present with a verse on the posse cut So Appalled which is a Hip Hop medley featuring Cy Hi the Prynce, Swizz Beats, Jay-Z, and Pusha T. However, the Wu’s contribution doesn’t stop there as he also includes Raekwon on Gorgeous where Kid Cudi harmonizes the hook with an alternative mixture to guide the synth overlay on Raekwon’s powerful verse.
Inter-century anthems based off inner-city tantrums
Based off the way we was branded
Face it, Jerome get more time than Brandon
And at the airport they check all through my bag
And tell me that it's random - Ye on Gorgeous
Monster
Ye was diligent on capturing one of the most recognized iterations of Hip Hop by including two posse cut tracks that will never be forgotten. The most acclaimed song of the two is Monster which features true monstrous verses from Rick Ross, Jay-Z, and Nicki Minaj. This is one of those “I can’t decide who has the best verse” kind of songs, although it wouldn’t be hard to argue that Nicki bested all of her male counterparts as she often does. I can recall being driven to school in the 5th grade trying to rap every line from every verse to the best of my ability. And including Bon Iver on this track was Ye’s way of showing he can do whatever he wants to a song and he will still be Hip Hop.
Closing
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy received rave reviews and was recognized as the best album of the year by Billboard, Time, Pitchfork, and Rolling Stone. It isn’t that Ye intended to create an album to prove himself to the Hip Hop community or show that he can rap. In his true essence as an artist, Ye has made it clear that he can care less about criticism. However, he took music to another level with this maximalist collection of music that was all encompassing. In this all encompassing work of art, he naturally expressed the essence of Hip Hop in a way that certain people in the community didn’t realize he had the capability to do. I make this claim from generally a place of personal opinion, as I recall begging to change the station when Love Lockdown and Heartless hit the airwaves because of my allegiance to gangster rap from the time I was in diapers. And I am aware that many Hip Hop heads shared a similar sentiment at the time. However, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy combined that alternative genre blending nature with a Hip Hop sound that captured its true essence and gave light to several legends and opened the door for newcomers like Nicki Minaj and Kid Cudi to demonstrate their immense talent. Ye was able to make an album that Hip Hop loved while still being himself to the fullest extent and gaining recognition from the music community as a whole. This is something that has never been accomplished before and may never be accomplished again. This gave Ye his true place on the “Throne” at the time following up with his collaborative album with Jay-Z and a slew of legendary posse cut tracks with his G.O.O.D Music collective that stamp Ye as an MC in an impenetrable way.
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