Finally, though it is still exclusively for Tidal streaming, Kanye West’s highly anticipated album The Life Of Pablo is available for all of our ears. The album marks almost three years since Kanye released his last and possibly most angry project Yeezus, But, those three years have become a critical transitional period for the superstar from Chicago, including West’s prolific sneaker deal with Adidas and continuous journey to become a better artist and individual. For over a month, the world patiently waited for Ye to release his anticipated project, while also managing to continuously make national news for many reasons from Twitter beefs and outrageous Yeezy-like comments to a very inconsistent release of TLOP. However, Kanye’s new LP is a recollection of Kanye’s personal growth, featuring many musical icons to creatively (and sometimes directly) illustrate the rapper’s journey so far. By bringing in so many artists, producers, composures, and engineers to all contribute to his album, Kanye’s The Life Of Pablo is a project filled with the energy and hard work and creativity of many parties included.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BBKCpMCkUK7/
The production for The Life of Pablo is top notch. West has managed to bring the best in the industry to produce and compose his creative “masterpiece.” The list includes a broad range of producers from seasoned veterans like Swizz Beatz, Madlib, Rick Rubin, and Mike Dean, to modern stars like Metro Boomin and Hudson Mohawke. The enormous crowd of producers on The Life Of Pablo establishes a diverse array of sounds that might seem a bit intimidating at first, but it seems to fit Kanye. It is very evident that the rapper has taken his sound to south with songs like “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 2” and “Facts,” but the rapper also creates a spectrum between from where he is going to his beginnings. It’s like all of his albums played a spiritual role behind The Life Of Pablo. Tracks like “Feedback” and “Freestyle 4” is for those who were feeling Yeezus and My Dark Twisted Fantasy while “No More Parties in LA” and “Highlights” is spiritual successors to sounds established by Late Registration and College Dropout.
Kanye’s lyrical composition in The Life Of Pablo, it’s sometimes sporadic but very balanced. Like his production, West didn’t hesitate to provide solid lyrics and impressive flows to balance out with the bangers present on the album. However, this is Kanye, so when you’re listening, you’re getting his perspective of life through his lyrics (ego included). This includes Ye’s intense sexual relationship with Kim Kardashian, his last chick Amber Rose, and Ye’s Adidas deal and how its way better than Nike. This actually got him in trouble earlier this weekend, with the song “Famous” containing misogynistic lyrics about Taylor Swift. Kanye is not afraid to make fun of himself sometimes, making the song “I Love Kanye” to illustrate the constant criticism that he receives for his statements and actions.
Aside from Kanye’s own lyrical content, the rapper has a ton of iconic artists to provide support. Chris Brown, Travi$ Scott, Ty Dolla $ign, Kid Cudi, Post Malone, The Dream, Chance The Rapper, Rihanna, you name the person, he probably has them featured. The Life Of Pablo is West’s spirit bomb of music. He brought in several artists to, at the very least, provide vocals. As stated before, each artist’s addition to TLOP adds a different characteristic to the track. This includes the album’s first song “Ultralight Beam” which features a full on choir to add an inspirational sound before the madness comes.
In conclusion, with the amount of diversity on the project, The Life Of Pablo is a project that has something for every Kanye fan. Although Ye’s sound is sometimes erratic and his actual lyrics on some songs might be egotistical (sometimes at top Kanye levels), TLOP succeeds in being an album that can attract any ear with at least one song.