My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy: An Album Review

I'm leaving the final score at the bottom because I want you guys to see why I gave it this number.

Supposed to be Kanye’s “magnus opus”, I just don’t see the hype around My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy or MBDTF is THE Kanye album of all time. Boasting nearly all of Kanye’s hits, this album is supposed to forever cement him in rap history. I want to begin by saying that MBDTF is a rollercoaster ride. Each song tells a different story and the sudden tonal shift of the album is incredibly well done, however the latter half of the album is littered with so many little issues, MBDTF is in a limbo from being a 10 or an 8.

Dark Fantasy

In my opinion, the greatest album opener, Dark Fantasy sets the tone for a lyrically rich, storytelling experience that is woven deep into the album. The opening is a reimagining of an excerpt written by Roal Dahl and exerts itself over the listener as a small lore dump for the creation of this album. The excerpt in my opinion is perfect, theres just one problem. Nicki Minaj has a shit British accent. Her corny, phony ass voice causes a deep irritation and only gets worse as her mouth does not shut up. Her delivery isn’t necessarily bad, just get a fucking British person. And when the beats come in. its gorgeous. The shimmers in the background continues to build up the song as a tale, something magical, and yet it fights Kanye’s rapping. And here is where Kanye brings on his A game, his lyrics are top-notch, pushing the boundaries of good music, and the emotion he slathers onto these lyrics is just amazing. Now the chorus. Can we get much higher? Is the one piece real? Dark Fantasy proves there is. And therefore, a strong 9.

Gorgeous

From Kid Cudi’s melodic hooks to the stylish loop of the electric guitar, Gorgeous is simply gorgeous. Kanye openly talks about racism and the experiences he faces as a black person. He also critiques the way the media portrays him and fucking love it. The guitar solo towards the end of the track provided by Mike Dean elevates Kid Cudi’s singing and humming. This track has the most solid singing from Kid Cudi and its so funny watching him cook as a feature and yet be so flat in his own projects. Gorgeous is a deeply rich track diving deep into harder themes and displaying Kanye’s creativity as a lyricist. Gorgeous is a strong 8.

Power

Powerful, loud, delusional. Kanye’s vocals are strong, hard, blurry, as he tries to drive home what it feels like on a power trip. You watch him spiral, lose himself, and yet he continues to move forward, writing powerful lyrics backed by a masterful sample. Its rhythmic switches and drum switchups keep the energy Kanye creates and its so good. Power may be overrated and overdone, but who gives a shit. If it’s a good song it’s a good song. Power is a strong 9.

All Of The Lights (Interlude)

Piano and violin. That’s all I need to say. Interlude is a solid 8.

All Of The Lights

Tacky, overrated, poopy. Is what I would have said if I was Fantano. All Of the Lights has a lot of good ideas, its just unfortunate that it does too much too quickly. Its structure is a little out of wack and it feels too messy. The beats and instrumentals go hard. Rihanna is good, and the bridge is honestly beautiful. But despite being so well made, I have to give it a weak 8. I love the song so much but giving it a strong 8 or even a 9 feels wrong. (I might edit this opinion in the future if people are pissed)

Monster

Its violent, dark, and horrific instrumentals reflect perfectly on the song’s name. Its beats are heavy, like a monster stopping and Rick Ross’ introduction is a perfect way to introduce the song as it boasts a strong roster of features. Kanye’s rapping is top notch however the lyrics are a bit of a head scratcher. The lyrics itself envoke the idea of a praying of innocence or the monsters you become due to the rapper life. Kanye’s lyrics are at times diabolical and down right horrendous.

“Have you ever had sex with a pharaoh, put that pussy in a sarcophagus.”

What in the actual fuck. Are you putting the pussy in the sarcophagus because you want to fuck it? Or do you want to fuck it to the point its dead? I’m so confused. This line pisses me off so much and its not even funny. Also

“Mix that Goose and Malibu, I call it Malibooyauh”

Ok this one is pretty funny. Its just so stupid its like what the fuck. “Goose and Malibu? Malibooyauh?” Kill me. Kill me. KILL ME PLEASE. Anyways, besides these small fuckdumpster lines, Kanye’s rap is solid. But Jay-Z on the other hand… Someone needs to give him a list of monsters. He opens up with like specific monsters and then just starts listing basic ass monsters. And then he adds some stupid thing in the end to make it rhyme. Jay-Z its so bad im so sorry, fucking loch ness zombie with no conscious. Kill me. And then another bar is

“Rape and pillage, a village, women and children”

What the actual fuck is Jay-Z on. Rape pillage a village? No way you went for that specific rhyming scheme and then proceeded to use those specific words. Also rape a child? This some Drake shit and its just so bad. Jay-Z’s rap is so mid except for a few good bars so like eurghghh. But I think the most contentious rap is Nicki Minaj’s. BASIC ASS BARS OH MY LORD. In that tonka the colour of willy Wonka. Youre joking. If her line delivery were as shit as her lines id give this song an honest 4. The beats are fire but its such a fun bad song I can’t look at the lyrics and go fuck ye this shit is good. Like, theres no way youre that impotent in writing lyrics. Anyways, Minaj’s deliveries and fluctuating tone is very enjoyable and a nice addition to Monster. Monster is a light 7. Ye, I can see people are gonna get fucking pissed about this.

So Appalled

Is honestly appalling. With a 6:37 runtime holy shit does this song drag out. Its instrumentals and sampling is good as usual because its motherfucking Kanye West but the raps are so forgettable, I’m so sorry. Now this song isn’t bad by any means, its just so lackluster compared to the rest of the track. It’s a song that exists and adds to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’s tracklist. So Appalled is a mild 7.

Devil In a New Dress

10. (I’ll probably do a dedicated review for it)

Runaway.

Runaway in my opinion, a good song. I don’t think its an overrated song because it is genuinely a good fucking song and tells a good fucking story. Its unique opening explains so much about Kanye’s mind and actions that led him to this creation. I also watched the short movie that accompanies this song and its fucking beautiful. The way the ballerinas shrink and grow as they bend to the powerful notes played on the piano. The shuffle beats are amazing and really shows Kanye’s mastery over the filtration of the 808’s. Its chorus is beautiful, its verse’s are beautiful although the introduction is a little rough with the way he sings about sending nudes but all in all its solid. Pusha T’s rap verse is incredibly solid as well and opens up to arguably the best verse in all of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. And the final 3 minutes is beautiful. At the start I didn’t really get it, I thought it was intrusive and disruptive to the already beautiful ending. But I get it now. The vocoder is genius, it displays the way Kanye functions and operates, and highlights Kanye’s identity from then on. No one can understand Kanye but only Kanye can understand Kanye. So in a way I can never truly understand this song. Runaway is a strong 9.

I know, I know I didn’t give it a 10. Cry about it. Ten’s are something I hold dear to me

and even though Runaway gets all up in my feely feels I still have to give it a 9.

Hell Of A Life

Lets be fucking honest for a second. The only reason why Hell Of A life is good or even listenable is the drums and the sample. So for that I have to give this song a light 7.

Blame Game

Oh my  god. John Legend you talented motherfucker. The sample is gorgeous, the drumming is gorgeous, the vocals are gorgeous. Its so rough, so dry, John Legend did such a good job in conveying the idea of a failing relationship and it honestly gets me in my feels. The lyrics are great even the bitch for short part because it fits the song and it fits the vibe. Now, Chris Rock. This song’s repeatability is a fat zero. Chris Rock’s bit at the end goes for way too long and it just gets so gross and stinky. Chris Rock’s skit isn’t necessarily bad, its just they should have released two versions of this song like in Runaway. Blame Game is one of my favourite songs on MBDTF and in return receives a strong 8.

Lost in the world

I just don’t fuck with the song to be honest. Like I don’t get the appeal and its always a skip when I listen to the album. Even as I’m writing this review I’ve only listened to half of the song. If people are upset by this review I’ll update it and listen to the full thing. For now Lost In the World is a light 6.

I’m not going to review the last song because its just a thing that ends the story of MBDTF. This was the first time I listened to the album from front to back and I honestly can see songs in the tracklist that should be taken out if I’m going to call this Kanye’s Magnum Opus. MBDTF is a very solid album and a nice introduction to the GOOD music era. During the first half and parts of the latter half of the album I can see kanye push the boundaries on what rap music can be as well as experiment on what makes this story a twisted fantasy. Its album cover is a perfect representation of MBDTF and will always be an album I will recommend to whoever wants to get into Kanye’s music. Theres so much emotion in this album and its such a rollercoaster ride seeing someone talk about their ego, their relationships, and their effort to stay in the rap game. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is living proof on what Kanye can do when he applies himself and produces art. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy just breaks through to a 9.