By Muhammad Muzammal
assistant arts and entertainment editor
Kanye West returns with “The Life of Pablo,” an album that embraces its looseness, more so than any other Kanye West album.
The structure drives deep into West’s psyche and insecurities as a self-proclaimed genius. “The Life of Pablo” is the most introspective album West has created. It doesn’t have the fun freshness of “The College Dropout,” or the epic, jazz sensibility of “Late Registration.” It isn’t purely emotional like “808s and Heartbreak,” or maniacally masterful like “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” or apocalyptic like “Yeezus.” Instead, “The Life of Pablo” is a semi-gospel album that is a fractured collage of Kanye West as artist, troll, fashion designer and family man.
Whoever is the titular Pablo (St. Paul, Pablo Picasso, Pablo Escobar), it is worth noting that West sees himself caught between the fast, celebrity life and the traditional family life.
The album begins with “Ultralight Beam,” accompanied by a background choir and Chance the Rapper’s stunning verse.
On “Father Stretch my Hands Parts 1-2,” West recounts the financial struggles of his father, the death of his mother and his near-death experience with a jaw-shattering car accident back in 2002. Despite the pathos, “Father Stretch My Hands Parts 1-2” oddly come off as bangers.
“Famous” is West’s reflection on the repercussions of fame. Similar to one of West’s greatest songs, “Blood on the Leaves,” “Famous” samples Nina Simone’s “Do What You Gotta Do,” sung by Rihanna.
The track “Feedback,” has the electronic, minimalistic sensibility of “Yeezus.” West raps about how great he is despite his inability to stay stable (“Name one genius that ain’t crazy!”).
“I Love Kanye” is the perfect cap off to what is essentially the first half of the album. Only 44 seconds long, “I Love Kanye” is Kanye West’s reflection of what the world sees him as – a self loving ego-maniac, who is part genius, part madman. The self-aware “I Love Kanye” is also the perfect segue to the next part of the album, where West leaves behind the loud, loose tracks for a much darker flavor.
On “Waves” (one of Kanye’s more radio-friendly songs), he raps as though he is at a concert. Chris Brown mixes in vocals with West creating the rhythmic noise of a concert audience. The song feels like an entrance into the mind of Kanye West.
Kanye goes into family mode in “Wolves,” as he vows to protect his children and wife from all the ruthlessness out in the world. Frank Ocean gives it a rattling flair on the song.
He completes the three-peat with “Real Friends,” where West recalls his weakness as a family member, going to family gatherings and acting as if his family truly matters to him. These three songs are the great core of the album. They show West as both the man of his family (“Wolves”) and a man of his family (“Real Friends”). As unlikable as West may be in the public, his artistry has always been appreciated. In “The Life of Pablo,” West pits his new family life, with its emotional heft, against his old, fun rap life, from which he has to retire (this is sort of like the focal point of the final song of “Yeezus, Bound 2”).
The question then becomes, can West, the great synthesizer of music, synthesize his party boy, rap persona with his new, mature family self?
“The Life of Pablo,” is a semi-gospel album. West dances between the sacred and the profane. He raps about models; he strokes his ego and brags about the money he’s made. The album then becomes a rocking sailboat that strides between the lavish rapper lifestyle, and the settled life of a family man.
West has channeled his internal emotions before, albeit in more structured ways (see “808s and Heartbreak”). In “The Life of Pablo,” the messiness of the structure is perhaps the point. This is a crazy genius and he’s letting us into his head.
I’m skeptical of this formula because it’s too personal without being innovative. It’s missing a sense of social commentary. West has never been shy on issues such as race or corruption. Whether or not you agree with him, his music on social commentary has always been masterful; it has left listeners and fans moved, but not once has it felt didactic.
As an album “The Life of Pablo,” is too free-flowing, even if it does have a loose structure. However, a weak Kanye West album is still greater than most artists’ best albums.