Before Kanye West frantically announced to the "Saturday Night Live" audience on Feb. 13 that his seventh studio album, “The Life of Pablo,” was streaming on Tidal, the highly anticipated and repeatedly delayed album had undergone three name changes, accompanied several trademark Kanye Twitter rants and expanded and contracted to meet Ye’s whim.
The “final” product — West claimed he’s still fixing “Wolves” — is an expansive, conflicted exploration of Kanye West’s scattered soul.
It seems apropos that West landed on “The Life of Pablo” as the album’s title — throughout the album, West compares himself to and idolizes an unspecified Pablo; a tantrum recorded backstage at SNL suggests West had Picasso, Escobar and the apostle Paul in mind. He never said he was humble.
It’s a relatively reasonable metaphor. West has conquered public attention for over a decade and built an empire as a designer and G.O.O.D. Music executive with more than 20 Grammys to his name. West likens his influence and power to that of cartel leader Pablo Escobar, who also drew both criticism and praise from the public, though the Colombian drug lord’s Robin Hood image was significantly more grisly.
Beyond his wealth, success and provocative nature, West’s been a trendsetter in rap since his career started (for all intents and purposes) with “The College Dropout” in 2004. He may not be the greatest artist of all time, as he has repeatedly claimed, but his meticulous production and ability to interplay obscure samples with grace and harmony cements West as one of hip-hop’s greats — even if he isn’t rap’s Picasso.
West briefly contemplates fame and his addiction to the spotlight, but he recognizes that it’s a conversation that he’s had before (he sums it up simply on "Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1:" “Everybody’s gonna say something / I'd be worried if they said nothing”). But his central struggle is now domestic — the once wild West must now adjust to life with a wife and kids, shirking the womanizing tendencies he celebrated for years before Kim and company.
West makes a confident declaration to this point on chilling standout “FML” with help from The Weeknd. West asserts that he’s aware of his past transgressions and opposition to monogamy, but he’s the only one at liberty to comment on the issue. He goes on to pledge his life to his family.
Kanye as a father represents a new chapter in his story, and TLOP serves as a recounting of stages prior and an account of Kanye in the present tense. In trademark self-indulgent fashion, West raps about the Kanye’s of past and present on “I Love Kanye” — as an interlude on the album, it seems a cute, narcissistic joke, but it’s one that complements the lyrics and musical stylings of the album. The lifestyle of the old Kanye is clashing with the new; simultaneously, West draws on flashes of his signature style from across his discography.
Opener “Ultralight Beam” delivers on West’s promise that TLOP would be a gospel album, featuring striking choir vocals and a standout feature from fellow Chicago native Chance the Rapper. The following 17 tracks (including a handful of interludes) are all over the place. The unsettling, haunting “Freestyle 4” would feel out of place on any of West’s albums other than “Yeezus,” while Ye reverts to his storytelling roots over soulful beats on “30 Hours” and “Real Friends.” And yet, all three tracks — and the other 15, which could fit in across Kanye’s discography — feel right at home on TLOP.
Say what one will about his mouth, Kanye has never been afraid to experiment and innovate. “The Life of Pablo” is the culmination of over a decade of musical risk-taking.
Only Kanye West has the ego, unbridled confidence and talent to make a Kanye album, and only 2016 Kanye could make this Kanye album. Whether one seeks West’s proclivity for controversy (see: the opening line of “Famous”) or the talent that makes many put up with his antics (see: Rihanna’s feature and the bridge on “Famous”), TLOP has it all.
It is undeniably one of West’s greatest albums largely because it feels like a highlight reel from past efforts.
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