The Life Of Pablo: An Album Review
mitchellshottakes
6 min read
Jun 10
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Radical, distinctive, life changing. Im all out glazing this album because its honestly one of my favourite Kanye albums. This album is the most Kanye Kanye can ever be and its honestly almost perfect. Straight off the bad, The Life of Pablo or TLOP because im lazy is a perfect ten. Now before you fuckers go “If To Pimp A Butterfly was renamed To Pimp a Pablo you’d give it a ten” and guess what I fucking would. The meaning behind this album’s title is amazing as it dives into another era of the life of Kanye West. He sees himself as the 3 pablos. A mover of art, a mover of music, and a mover of the soul. He creates art, he tells a story, he moves product.
Now throwing the emotional attachment aside (I listened the fuck out of this album when I broke up with my girlfriend), TLOP seems to be a mixture of everything Kanye’s done over the years and some more. Nearly every song is filled to the brim with familiar faces of Kanye’s discography but also new fresh faces. I’ll cut the introduction here because I actually want to get into some of the music.
Ultralight Beam
The features on this is exceptional. It’s filled with emotion, captivating your soul and your ears as you navigate through the pain, the sorrow, and the hopefulness each artist brings to this track. With its large 5:20 runtime, Kanye maximizes this through the structure of the song. The track itself has no chorus’ and honestly it doesn’t need it. It’s a tone setter, a game changer. Kelly Price. GOOD LORD. Her vocals, immaculate, the choir backing her up, perfect.
Chance The Rapper’s verse is solid as well. His soulful, light rapping style is refreshing and makes the song sound so hopeful. One bar aged exceptionally poorly though “I met Kanye West, I'm never going to fail” is just funny looking back at it but its amazing. The ending is also perfect, the choir chant OH MY LORD. Theres just something about choirs that just show the beauty of music. Ultralight Beam is a 9.
Father Stretch My Hands Part 1
I just wanna say that this song is almost perfect but its plagued with so many problems. Kid Cudi and Metro Boomin hard carry this song so much from the choir, to the chorus, to the opening, to the beats, the producing is top notch. Its loud, energetic, and inspiring. It fills and captivates sound so well I just wish it never ends. But unfortunately, it does, like 2:10 in. Like what the fuck. Also the bar I opened up this track review with is so bad. Its such a notorious and Kanye-esque line it makes no sense. For a song using a choir sample and for a song leading from Ultralight Beam, this bleached asshole line is so out of pocket and out of nowhere. But the chorus is so good I really cant get mad with this song. Theres so much energy in this song and Kid Cudi is beautiful so I have to give this song a strong 8.
Pt.2
NO KENDRICK VERSE. It’s a 6. Its just a panda remix, the start is cool ig but ehh mid AF.
Famous
“I made that bitch famous”.
With its sometimes-questionable lyrics, Famous is overall a really solid song. Its structure causes some verses to feel out of place, but overall, very solid. The ending is peak. Who knew someone saying one word could be so entertaining and fun. Famous. An 8.
I think ill take a pause here and just change the setup of this review. I normally review every single song but in this case, I just want to write about songs that I truly care about or blow me away.
I Love Kanye
This is probably the most Kanye-esque song ever. I think this is a perfect song as it highlights Kanye’s mental state as well as how the media portrays him. He seems to be in love with what Kanye represents, essentially losing himself in the idea of Kanye. Kanye’s life itself has so many radical changes, it makes sense for him to reevaluate who Kanye is and who Kanye must become. This ongoing question on who he wants to be is the main theme of this album and its honestly just so beautiful. He knows which Kanye he needs to become but the real question is does he want to? A perfect 10.
Waves
TURN THIS SHIT UP. Oh my lord. Its perfect. Chris Brown is such a piece of shit but goddamn does he make this song good. Cudi’s humming elevates this song to a higher level however, it makes this song perfect in terms of producing, singing, and just overall tone. I can listen to Cudi humming any day. A perfect 10.
FML
This song makes you fucking think. It makes Kanye think. This album is so genius and intuitive because it really allows Kanye to dive deep into himself to create songs that move as well as songs that help us understand him. Music is Kanye’s passion, his life, and its honestly beautiful seeing him continuously discover and change himself through music. Now the lyrics. The entire intro is peak. Its short, sharp, and goes straight to the point. It opens with Kanye re-evaluating his choices but also slowing down in terms of what’s he doing. He knows that he’s moving too fast, trying to do too many things, and if he doesn’t slow down, he’s going to lose himself and his family. He also highlights his terrible impulses with women and how destructive this behaviour is. This entire song is just him looking at himself and acknowledging the flaws Kanye possesses. All this
meaningful lyricism is elevated by the rhyming pattern and simplistic instrumentals.
“They wish I would go ahead and fuck my life up Can't let them get to me And even though I always fuck my life up Only I can mention me”
While Kanye is aware that so many people want him to make mistakes, he knows that he is the only one that can make those mistakes. In the end he knows that he is the only one that can fuck up, that can lose himself, and destroy himself. It shows a deep reflection on his past mistakes as well as his past pain from the Taylor Swift incident, to the splitting of his ex-fiancee, to even the death of his mother. All of these factor in to the psych of Kanye West as these moments bring him down and destroy him. He knows that he is the only one that can make him lose his mind.
Finally, in the outro, Kanye learns that he bases everything on feeling rather than logic. He knows his emotional attachment to things is unhealthy, and sometimes blinds him to what reality is. Overall, FML is perfect. And a perfect 10.
Wolves
Fear, hope and love.
A perfect 10.
No More Parties In LA
A song that dives into the problems with the rich life is essentially no more parties in LA. The sample is immaculate. The rapping is immaculate. No More Parties in LA accentuates the clever lyricism between Kanye and Kendrick as they continuously try to top each other on who wrote the cleverest bar. The rapping on this is also insane as the flow, speed, and precision is so fun. Overall, this song is so playful as Kanye and Kendrick both share stories on the fake celebrity lifestyle. Kanye seems to also put his all in this song, out-rapping Kendrick and even joking about the old clever Kanye is back. No More Parties In LA is a 10.
Fade
Its house music roots, combined with modern production techniques and memorable visuals, have cemented it as a significant entry in Kanye's catalog and a noteworthy moment in the evolution of contemporary music. Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign hard carry this song as they sing about love and desire. They seem to almost be on an ego trap as they rap about the entire world being on their dick. A perfect 9.
Saint Pablo
The perfect ending track to The Life Of Pablo. Saint Pablo unravels all of Kanye’s darkest thoughts. The emotional tone of Saint Pablo is complex, blending vulnerability with defiance. Kanye's delivery is earnest and raw, conveying a sense of urgency and desperation. The song captures a moment of profound self-reflection, where Kanye confronts his demons and seeks understanding. Kanye's openness about his mental health and financial struggles invites listeners into his inner world, exposing his vulnerabilities. But despite his struggles, there is a tone of defiance and resilience. Kanye asserts his worth and artistic vision, refusing to be defined by his challenges. Finally, the song is deeply introspective, with Kanye examining his life, choices, and identity. This introspection is marked by both clarity and confusion, as he navigates his complex emotions. Overall, its an emotionally rich track, where Kanye tries to fight his vulnerability.
The Life Of Pablo is probably the deepest Kanye album as it represents Kanye’s highest point in his life and the fears that it would all be taken away if he makes a mistake. And that pressure, is something he must acknowledge and work towards embracing. He has a lot of things to lose, and ultimately, his decisions now will either destroy or secure his dreams of a perfect future.
A Perfect 10.
