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By Graham Sturdy<\/p>\n
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After months of hype, excitement, rumours, delays, title changes and general confusion, Kanye West\u2019s seventh studio album was finally released last month. The follow up to his polarizing 2013 album, comes \u2018The Life of Pablo\u2019.<\/p>\n
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While his fans may have been exasperated at the gruelling amount of time they had to wait for the album, they have now been rewarded with one of Kanye\u2019s best albums to date. The title of the album references three iconic men by the name of Pablo; Pablo Picasso, representing creativity, Paul (Pablo) the Apostle, representing religion, and Pablo Escobar, representing opulence. But more than anything, The Life of Pablo is a Kanye West album.<\/p>\n
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There\u2019s no reinvention taking place here, like the introspective, apologetic Kanye we saw on his 2010 album, \u2018My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy\u2019. Or the aggressive, egotistic Kanye we saw on 2013\u2019s \u2018Yeezus\u2019. Instead, we get an album that portrays the Kanye some have come to know and love \u2013 the cocky, humorous and driven Chicago South-Sider who has no problem rapping about a range of topics. Kanye drops between topics such as God, Artistry, Drugs, Family, Friendship, Fame and of course, Taylor Swift.<\/p>\n
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However, the transitions aren\u2019t always very smooth and the album plays differently to any record he has made before. While many of his albums before have had consistent motifs, The Life of Pablo plays like a Greatest Hits record, songs with entirely different moods and styles following each other on the album. Kanye gets away with this as every song on the album truly holds its own. Yes, the album has no real cohesion in terms of a mood or meaning.<\/p>\n
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However, Kanye\u2019s production roots have put him in position to cultivate different sounds and talents and implement the best sounds into an album. Without letting up the album jumps between Rap, Pop, House, Trap, Soul, Gospel and even Reggae. From the ethereal \u2018Ultra Light Beams\u2019, the Violent Screech of \u2018Feedback\u2019, the Classic house beat of \u2018Fade\u2019, or the sparse Piano arrangement that is \u2018FML\u2019, The Life of Pablo is a musical journey, albeit sometimes a bumpy one. Famous, a song known for it\u2019s controversial lyrics regarding Taylor Swift opens with Rihanna singing the hook and Kanye doing a bit of rapping before sliding into Sister Nancy\u2019s 1982 Reggae Classic \u2018Bam Bam\u2019.<\/p>\n
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Of course Kanye doesn\u2019t entirely forget that Hip-Hop is Hip-Hop and truly delivers some word class rap songs. The Andre 3000 assisted \u201830 Hours\u2019 and the lyrically profound \u2018Real Friends\u2019 are both excellent offerings, and the Kendrick Lamar assisted \u2018No More Parties in LA\u2019 is a rap master class from arguably two of the best rappers alive today. To understand \u2018The Life of Pablo\u2019, hell, to understand Kanye West is no easy task this time around.<\/p>\n
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Shrouded in imagery, reflections and double meanings \u2018The Life of Pablo\u2019 asks a lot of the listener, and does require a certain appreciation for Kanye\u2019s brand of egotism. If you\u2019re ready for a challenging listen give \u2018The Life of Pablo\u2019 a try. Just hurry, because apparently the new album drops this summer.<\/p>\n