My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Kanye West is one of the most frustrating artists around at the moment. Whilst a bit of swagger is an essential aspect of a true rap persona, there’s little doubt that West has succeeded in taking this to pretty incredible heights. Debut album _The College Dropout_ showcased a mix of lyricism, intelligence and damned good tunes that showed that the genre didn’t have to be all guns and hoes, but fame really went to the guy’s head. Most notable was the notorious Taylor Swift debacle, and it soon looked like the South Park portrayal of West as a man blinded by the fact of his own ‘geen-yus’ might be more than just a parody. Yet all through that, West continued to listen to and champion a variety of new musical styles, influences and acts, allowing him to produce music that refused to be easily categorised. Behind the persona and publicity, Kanye West has been working hard to revitalise, and indeed redefine, an over-crowded genre.

_My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy_ Kanye West’s latest effort continues his musical experimentation and can be both frustrating and fascinating. Having become something of a radio staple with some of his more commercial tracks, like ‘Goldigger’ and ‘Stronger’, on _Fantasy_, West seems determined to prevent the same media ubiquity: he’s got something to get of his chest, _Fantasy_ is in many ways can be seen as an artist’s catharsis, after the past year of Obama dissesm girlfriend break-up, and public humilation. And Kanye goes the right way about it to rectify it, lyrically, there is some incredible wordplay and rhetoric, and it’s going to be keeping the radio- and TV-friendly bleep machine busy. Even the cover has been at the mercy of the censors. There’s also plenty of feminist-baiting misogyny here, suggesting that West isn’t exactly playing to the X-Factor audience this time round. Indeed, the singles so far (‘Power’ and ‘Runaway’) have certainly not set the charts alight. But this isn’t meant to be a selection of singles for the iTunes generation: it is very much an album. And a well put together one at that.

In many ways, _Fantasy_ continues a similar pattern to his previous albums, combining different musical styles, samples and big-name cameos to create an eclectic mix of songs. However, it is arguably his most coherent effort, being structured around relatively sparse beats, clear vocals and a laidback feel. With samples ranging from Black Sabbath to Smokey Robinson, the effect could be jarring, but there is a forward momentum to the album that holds it together. That’s not to say that at around 70-odd minutes it isn’t sometimes a difficult listen but West always seems able to change it up before frustration kicks in.

Though the singles so far may not have done so well in the charts, but it says little about their quality. ‘Power’ showcases West’s rhyming skills over a rocking background. ‘Runaway’ is even better, managing to be funny, self-referential but surprisingly moving. And that’s part of the brilliance of this album: _My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy_ manages to have heart where you wouldn’t expect it to, even amongst all the bad language and worse sentiments. Album opener, ‘Dark Fantasy’ has the spine-tingling refrain of “Can we get much higher?” and there are other moments of poignancy to be found throughout. The occasional rough moments, such as Jay-Z collaboration ‘Monster’, perhaps stray too close to the hip-hop clichés West has so frequently avoided, but they stand out because of their rarity. In general, the choice of samples and backing vocals is classic West, providing a foundation for his rhymes that smoothes the rougher edges of the lyrics and adds a musicality that stops his monotonous delivery becoming too grating. West may not be as good as he thinks he is but, on this evidence, he’s pretty close. As long as he keeps taking sounds and inspiration from the music around him, and as long as he allows the music to be the focal point instead of him, West will remain right at the top of his game.