10 Years of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
November 22, 2010, Mr.West (Kanye West), graced the Music Industry with one of the most influential albums of the decade. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (MBDTF), was recorded after the artist went on a self imposed hiatus, following his 2009 VMA award outburst. With the omnipresent lingering public disdain, Mr. West answered his critics, in the best way he knew how and released one of THE greatest albums of the decade.
There is no doubt that Kanye has solidified himself as Hip Hop royalty. With having entered the industry by producing beats, then paving his own way as a Rapper, he has done more than proven himself to the game. Having released College Dropout (2004), and following it with Late Registration (2005) & Graduation (2007), Kanye cemented himself as not only a producer, but an overall artist.
Too soon after he released his last college era album, Graduation, his mother Donda West passed away from surgery related complications. Those familiar with Kanyes’ discography know that Donda and the love he had for her, was frequently mentioned in his rhymes. In Hey Mama, The artist raps “ Mommy I'ma love you till you don't hurt no more”.
The unprecedented passing of his mother had a major implications on Kanye's life, mentality and public perception.
Aware of his rampant behavior and the public's reaction to said behavior, Kanye went on a self imposed isolation trip to Hawaii, and began recording MBDTF at Avex studios. Once released, the album received widespread critical acclaim, and was recognized by multiple publications (Billboard, Time , Rolling Stone ect.) as Album of the Year.
Metacritic ranks the album at a solid 94/100, having summarized it:
“Breaking traditional mainstream hip-hop guidelines, Kanye West's latest release features epic raps and long instrumental variations for his most innovative album to date”
The album includes monumental features, from ; Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Pusha, Kid Cudi, Leona Lewis, Elton John, and many, many more. With production credits to not only himself, but also; Bink, Mike Dean, DJ Frank E, No I.D., RZA & S1.
Kanye broke tremendous boundaries and simultaneously exposed the music industry to a new wave of sound. MBDTF explores a multitude of themes; from coition,drugs, celebrity, escapism and doubt, and is perfectly blended with with maximalist, symphonic, and progressive rock aesthetics. Kanye spent a tremendous amount of time perfecting the beauty of this album. His hard work is shown through his lyricism, consecutiveness and visualizations. Everything came to life.
Power, All of the Lights, Devil in a New Dress and Runaway- which was then crafted into a critically acclaimed 35 minute short film, all came together and solidified Kanye’s disposition in the Music World.
Kanye went on to actually winning an actual Grammy for Best Rap Album and won a BET Award for Best CD of the Year. It is currently a certified 3x Platinum, having sold over 1,000,000 copies. It has not left the charts since it was released, 10 years ago. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, is not just a good Rap, Urban or Hip Hop Album, it is an momental album, PERIOD.
