Opening the decade, a cultivated rap album, each beat on every track meticulously placed to take the listener on a journey at the hands of West’s genius. Not his first album to receive mainstream success but arguably the one that marks Kanye’s transition from a rapper, to an artist who displayed immense talent in areas surrounding production.
The level of production displayed throughout the album is thought out to an extent that cannot be rivalled by other big players in the genre, who can usually match his lyricism. In this way, standing out by marking a shift in the rap genre. This album paved the way for the last decade of rap music; more intrinsic concepts with a shift on focus to the production; pushing the boundaries of what rap music is. The album blends techniques that are unexpected on a record like this, especially for the time.
This lifts the themes by exuding their meaning not only through words but through emotions evoked by often simple melodies and techniques found in genres usually far from this one. An album to be enjoyed by listeners who appreciate music with deep themes and heavy beats that take you from feeling unstoppable with tracks ‘Power’ and ‘Monster’, to contemplating your own downfalls in ‘Runaway’ and the downfall of society ‘Who will survive in America?’. Kanye tackles a variety of subjects, while still being introspective and personal, no track here is wasted.
Kanye has never shied away from vulnerability in his works, but this album contains a rawness, displaying a deep understanding and dissatisfaction with oneself, but also the acknowledgment that to be human is to be flawed, you can’t change everything about yourself when those flaws are also your biggest attributes. Kanye transcends the decade, with an album that’s relevance is still felt today.
Although based at the start of the decade, this album cannot be argued with a revolutionary in its genre, the impacts of which are still being felt today not only in the rap industry but within any conceptual music, where an artist focuses on a journey rather than a collection of songs without real connection. Kanye walked so others in the industry could run.
Jessica McCarrick 