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My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Kanye West

2010

Buy At Rough Trade
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Album Summary

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is the fifth studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 22, 2010, following a period of public controversy for West. Retreating to a self-imposed exile in Hawaii in 2009, he recorded the album at Honolulu's Avex Studio in a communal environment involving numerous contributing musicians. Additional recording sessions took place at Glenwood Place Studios in Burbank, California, and at Electric Lady Studios and Platinum Sound Studios in New York City. The album was produced primarily by West, alongside a variety of high-profile producers such as Mike Dean, No I.D., Jeff Bhasker, RZA, S1, Bink, and DJ Frank E. Critical commentaries note the resulting music's maximalist aesthetic and opulent production style that utilizes various elements from West's previous work, including soul, pop, baroque, electro, and symphonic sounds, as well as progressive rock influences. Thematically, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy explores West's status as a celebrity, consumer culture, race, and the idealism of the American Dream. Guest vocalists on the album include Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Bon Iver, Jay-Z, Pusha T, Rick Ross, Kid Cudi, John Legend, Elton John, and Raekwon. To help market the album, West released free songs through his weekly GOOD Fridays series and four singles – "Power", "Runaway", "Monster", and "All of the Lights" – all of which were top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. West also released a musical short film, Runaway (2010), set to music from the album. In its first week of release, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and sold 496,000 copies, eventually registering three million units for a triple platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It has also been played at least one billion times through the music streaming service Spotify. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was an immediate and widespread critical success, and was named the best album of 2010 in many publications' year-end lists, including the annual Pazz & Jop poll of American critics nationwide. The album also won Best Rap Album at the 2012 Grammy Awards but was not nominated for Album of the Year, which was viewed as a "snub" by several media outlets. The album's hit single "All of the Lights" won Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. Widely considered West's best album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy has ranked in several professionally curated lists as the best album of the 2010s and among the greatest of all time according to NME and Rolling Stone. George Condo's accompanying artwork – illustrating West being straddled by an armless winged female (resembling a mythological figure) – has been ranked among the greatest album covers.

Wikipedia

Rating

3.49

Votes

12110
Genres
Hip Hop

Reviews

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Tue Jan 31 2023
1

"Cause the same people that tried to blackball me Forgot about two things, my Black balls" - from Gorgeous Yeah well I never tried to blackball Ye, and yet here I am, having totally forgotten about his black balls. And I look forward to forgetting them again.

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Mon Feb 08 2021
5

not sure his ego will handle 4 stars

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Tue Feb 02 2021
5

Classic. Sadly, he’s crazy now

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Thu May 06 2021
5

One of the modern classics. Kanye at his most self-aware, teetering on the edge of hedonism and trying not to fall into the void. Production is beyond incredible, features are fire, songwriting is incredible. If I had one criticism, its that Chris Rock's little skit goes on a tad long.

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Fri Feb 12 2021
5

I really want to kate Kanye, I always have, and yet hes so fucking good at this stuff. I can hate him and love what he makes, right? This is almost perfect hip hop, as are all his albums, annoyingly. Just lovely stuff, beautifully produced, interesting, varied, entertaining, innovative, fun, it has it all. I'll just pretend it's not Kanye.

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Thu Jun 16 2022
5

My God. After so many Gen X and Boomer nostalgia trips on this list there's FINALLY another Millennial one. It's been a while. As someone who personally dislikes Kanye West because I'm NOT a misogynistic psychopath, this is a great fucking album. don't get me started on all the pop culture drama (I was Team Taylor before it was cool, let's leave it at that), but in my opinion this was the last actually good album Kanye West put out there. And man, it made me realize how much I miss Kanye West making good music. Are there flaws in this album? Absolutely. The lyrics at times are inconsistent and clunky, there are like 14 writers on multiple songs, and at certain points West's fragile ego shatters the enjoyment of particular tracks. It's funny until it just becomes grating--the south Park Fish Dicks call-out was hilarious because holy shit you sensitive Trump voting snowflake, don't be so precious. But by the time he's bitching about a beef with SNL it's not funny anymore. But. BUT...the production here is incredible. The guest appearances are incredible. West HIMSELF admitted that Nicki Minaj had the best verse in Monster. Holy shit. Consider the source. And it's truly an album of powerhouse appearances: Jay Z with his signature gift for poetic inflection, Rick Ross with killer timbre and flow, even Kid Cudi with his trademark shredding backing tracks. And I say that as someone who fucking hates Kid Cudi as an artist and person (he's an abuser, Google it). John Legend was also there. Sorry, John, you got a little overshadowed. Besides being an album that I reluctantly love, MBDTF gets a strong five stars from me because POWER/All of the Lights/Monster is one of the best track sequences ever recorded. Pure audio perfection. And no track here is BAD, all are totally worth listening to more than once. I probably will. All of that said, I'm holding my nose to give this five stars. Fuck you, Kanye, for making such a good album before becoming a has-been. Fuck you for relentlessly, intentionally trying to destroy the career of a woman who has more songwriting talent in one finger than you do in your whole body. But look who has the last laugh. The culture hates you now and it's LONG overdue. Anyway, excellent album, garbage person. Would listen again, would rant again.

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Tue Nov 24 2020
3

Here's another artist where I break from the pack. I do not like Kanye on the whole. I think he's an extremely overrated, egotistical, pampered artist that's been told he's a genius so long that he thinks he's a god. And all of that comes across in his work. His rhymes are decent (if self-indulgent) and his delivery has that lazy "I'ma get to it when I get to it" cadence which isn't my favorite. The production is, of course, off the charts good because it's a Kanye record. It's telling that the best moments on this record are the ones where the guest artists bring heat. The production really IS phenominal, though. And, when I stop and listen to THAT instead of trying to evaluate this record on Ye's bars (like I would any other rap artist), I like this album a lot more. I just can't with these lyrics though. So much shit. Giving it three stars because the production is huge.

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Wed Jan 20 2021
5

What else can be said about it?

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Fri Jan 22 2021
5

This is a classic album that becomes more fun to listen to the more times you hear it. From coked-out RZA on one of the strangest posse cuts ever to "Yeezy reupholstered my pussy" to a four-minute vocoder solo, MBDTF is a hip-hop tour de force. The quirks and bumps along the way only serve to further the image of a beautiful and twisted modern fantasy, and it's not likely that we will ever get an album that sounds and feels like this again.

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Tue Jul 05 2022
2

Kanye West is one of the most overhyped artists of the last 20 years. All the media celebrity paparazzi shit aside, he's just another average post-cool era (mid 80s-96 or so) rapper whose albums have that "rap goes stadium rock" feel and run too long, but for some reason we're throwing his name around like he deserves a place in rock history next to Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. "This is the NEW VIRTUOSITY, does that scare you?" hahaha no, but pls your ideology is showing. Anyway, Kanye's flow constantly falls short (like a lazy feel?), and it becomes really grating. The bits where he tried to actually sing were laughably bad. There were too many slower introspective numbers about whatever is keeping him down blah blah blah. The upbeat songs were mostly the same but with an angry bent. There's fuck all substance here - it tries so sell itself as "smart but from the streets" but nahhhh, it just sounds like high school poetry slam crap. On the plus side, the production is really good. If this was half the length and pretty much only All of the Lights, Monster and a couple of other upbeat songs I could give it a 3, but as it is it's going in the bin. 2/5.

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Tue Mar 09 2021
5

In hindsight, probably Kanye's peak despite how good Yeezus and Life of Pablo were in parts.

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Tue Mar 02 2021
5

A Hip Hop album that has imagination, heart, great samples and 13 tracks its impossible not to appreciate. Every drum beat, every chord meticulously crafted by an absolute fucking mentalist. This is how you do it lads. Genre spanning wizardry. Highlights- the whole fucking thing. 5/5

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Mon Jun 07 2021
2

Kanye is a great producer and a terrible MC.

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Fri Jan 14 2022
2

Don’t believe the hype. Disappointed. Heard this was a modern classic, a piece of genius that has influence so many. Pretty average and garbage in places. Won’t be listening again. An embarrassment to hip hop

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Sat Apr 03 2021
5

Kanye and Coldplay I'll defend them both to death - possibly the most caucasian statement ever made but I stand by it. Yeezy is a genius. So many great moments - All of the Lights, Rick Ross' verse on Devil in a New Dress, every Pusha T verse, Chris Rock's skit at the end of Blame Game, Bon Ivor all over Lost in the World. Hell of a Life is my highlight though. YEEZY TAUGHT ME.

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Fri Jun 24 2022
2

The best parts of this album are the artists Kanye invites on or lifts entire melodies from, with his own contributions bordering on cringeworthy (saw the 'black balls' line coming from a mile away, and not in a good way). Even the production can't save this one, the track lengths are way too gratuitous and often wear surprisingly minimal ideas down pretty quick. Hard to believe this is the LP that preceded the similarly tongue-in-cheek but way more hard-hitting and tighter 'Yeezus' that would follow three years later.

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Fri Sep 25 2020
5

No one man should have all that power

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Tue Nov 24 2020
5

-Monster is my absolute favorite so far on this album, although All of the Lights and POWER are of course powerhouse breakouts -All of the Lights Interlude is so tender and beautiful--I've never heard it before and now I want it playing as the background to my life - Lost In The Woods is also fantastic

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Wed Feb 17 2021
5

I really want to kate Kanye, I always have, and yet hes so fucking good at this stuff. I can hate him and love what he makes, right? This is almost perfect hip hop, as are all his albums, annoyingly. Just lovely stuff, beautifully produced, interesting, varied, entertaining, innovative, fun, it has it all. I'll just pretend it's not Kanye.

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Mon Jan 25 2021
5

Peak Kanye. Definitely miss the production and style of early 2010's Kanye.

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Mon May 03 2021
5

Remember when Kanye was good?

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Thu Feb 11 2021
5

Peeved I missed the reveal on this one! (Was stalled pouring over the classic Halo 3 soundtrack.) Re-listening for the generator: MBDTF is an absolute joy to listen to. Kanye and the boys, both on the tracks and in the all-star production team assembled in Hawaii for this masterpiece, are firing on all cylinders for 75 minutes. - The SNL line ages better and better as SNL gets less and less funny. - MJ GONE - All of the Lights bridge is an all-timer - Invariably think of the sarcophagus line whenever the word comes up - So Appalled always has me cruising around NY with the boys in slow motion, looking disdainfully at people and throwing money at shit - The day that you play me, would be the same day MTV play videos (another excellently aging line) - Moral victories is for minor league coaches, indeed Jay - Cyhi's "She found about April so she chose to march" section is in my personal pantheon of bars - Looking at my wrist, it turn your ass to stone - Runaway chorus put an excellent soundtrack to my state of mind dropping out of college back in 2014-15. Listened to it and MBDTF in general a lot back then. A decade of semi-conscious resentful alienation finally bubbled to the surface seeing how infuriatingly, heartbreakingly effortless normality and functionality were to my peers. A toast to the douchebags! - The goofy Chris Rock skit at the end of Blame Game grows on me as the years go by. - Lost In the World is one of the greatest closers ever, bar none, but its uplifting perfectly sets up the second phase of our close... - Endlessly fascinated with the compelling closer Who Will Survive In America. Beautifully ominous, Kanye, using the fiery poetry of Gil Scott-Heron, lobs a slow-fuse black bomb as the concluding statement of the album: a quick'n'dirty recap of the besieging of black America - bombs America has constructed and armed that are beginning to detonate again. What a profound accomplishment of an album. Take away all the great records he's made and Kanye would still be an American hero for the incident that led to the creation of MBDTF: interrupting Taylor Swift on stage accepting best music video award or whatever. Every song is single-worthy, and every song should be blared through the speakers. What's a black Beatle worth? A perfect score. 10/10

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Fri May 14 2021
5

Out of all the people in the entire world, I believe Kanye West is one of the hardest people to take serious (on non-music topics). And not being a rap fan in general, this is the first time I ever consciously heard his music. But damn, this is actually really good, interesting and musically varied. The one big downside being any time West tries to do anything melodious with his voice. That sounds pretty bad and he should definitely stop doing that. Still, this is definitely the best rap album I've ever heard - which would put it at a 4 for me in terms of enjoyment. But I'll give it a 5 instead to show my appreciation for broadening my mind to what rap can sound like and how good it can be.

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Fri Feb 25 2022
2

This album is like a perfect encapsulation of what an unfortunate mess of an artist and person Kanye is. I listened to "College Dropout" and "Late Registration" back in the day, but I don't think I listened to any Kanye after that except for the hits and singles. And now its been so long that I wonder if those early albums are as deeply flawed or if his mental health brought both his personal life and his professional work down dramatically. Because unlike hellyeah, I do think there are flashes of brilliance on "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy." But the brilliance is absent from some songs, and when it is most brilliant it manages to squander said genius on the same track. "POWER" and "All of the Lights" have great foundations and hooks with the makings of all-time greats, but the execution just isn't there all the way through, with Kanye getting in his own way and messing up a good thing. Some of the other songs are just obnoxious from the outset, or overly long, or combination of the two. The album really seems just as bipolar as the man himself. And then I wondered if maybe that was the concept and it was all very intentional? But it turns out Kanye said "Dark Fantasy was my long, backhanded apology. You know how people give a backhanded compliment? It was a backhanded apology. It was like, all these raps, all these sonic acrobatics. I was like: 'Let me show you guys what I can do, and please accept me back. You want to have me on your shelves.'" An apology for being a jerk? An apology for veering away from his earlier sound on "808s?" Doesn't matter. I definitely didn't feel apologized to while listening. And an apology should maybe tone down the ego a bit? I know rap music is almost always going to have ego as an integral element, but the egomania was running wild from Kanye here. And as the "Yeezy taught me" segment with Chris Rock droned on and on, I was done. I wanted to give it 3 stars for a while to honor the brilliance that kept being squandered, but in the end I just can't.

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Tue May 04 2021
5

4.5 some luster is gone from when it was released but still great

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Tue May 25 2021
5

Never listened to a Kanye album all the way through, I get the hype more

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Mon Mar 08 2021
5

The feature video that goes with the album is a must watch if you listen to this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg5wkZ-dJXA

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Wed Jan 13 2021
5

This is one of the greatest albums of all time.

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Mon Feb 08 2021
5

Like an 8 pack of Walls - stuffed full of bangerz

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Thu Mar 17 2022
5

If you accept that an inflated sense of self-importance is a prerequisite for any rap/rock/pop/whatever star, then Kanye ultimately proved himself to be a decent bloke on his first two masterpieces through the generosity of his musical genius and his literary-comedic ability to conceptualise. That makes this—his third masterpiece—the odd one out. Despite the attempts of ‘Power’ or ‘Monster’, there’s nothing here to rival the social commentary of ‘We Don’t Care’, ‘All Falls Down’, ‘Heard ‘Em Say’ or ‘Gold Digger’. What you get instead is monstrously inward looking, an artist on the brink of being overrun by a megalomania previously under his control. To make up for the absence of brilliant storytelling—much harder to do when you’re mostly just bragging—he ups his rap game, throwing his name into the hat with legends (Raekwon) and legends-in-the making (Minaj). His lyrics are frequently brilliant: "And what's a Black Beatle anyway, a fuckin' roach? / I guess that's why they got me sitting in fuckin' coach”, “They say I was the abomination of Obama's nation / Well, that's a pretty bad way to start the conversation”, “Runaway slaves all on a chain gang / Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.” But however hard he works, he’ll never have a top-tier flow. And so, as ever, his saving grace is the music, which is a jaw-dropping and gag-worthy display of opulence—astonishing and appalling in equal measure. That internal tension is precisely the point. Kanye’s main theme has always been self-consciousness. In essence, that means calling out his own bullshit, and boy does he have a lot of it. He can’t resist decadence, but is repulsed by it. ‘Runaway’, for instance, is unutterably gorgeous despite overrunning by about five minutes, with Kanye plonking away at the same two piano keys and mumbling incomprehensibly through autotune. The Roald Dahl intro, Gil-Scott Heron outro, false finish to ‘Dark Fantasy’, Chris Rock diatribe on ‘Blame Game’—all excessive, yet all essential. But however many times he changes direction as he makes a break for paradise, then double-back and heads for damnation, he can’t escape those pounding drums. They’re soul-stirring and shit-scary. Way before the final track, where the African rhythms come to the foreground, they sound like they’re coming from the depths of the jungle. Bloody, visceral, and irrepressible, he can't outrun them. They're the beating of his heart of darkness.

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Sun May 16 2021
2

I dont get the hype. Lotta flash, no substance.

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Thu Feb 04 2021
5

Hace un par de meses me dieron ganas de escuchar este disco de nueva cuenta después de varios años y lo escuche durante una semana completa. Ahora, en 24 horas lo he escuchado 5 veces completo. Kanye West es un genio musical, un genio musical con demasiados problemas mentales y que con el pasar de los años ha bajado tanto en calidad e interés artístico como en cordura; pero la cantidad de genio y talento que tiene no se puede negar y en este disco en particular está en su mayor momento. Todo el disco es musicalmente irrepetible, tiene una producción estúpidamente pulida y creativa. Las letras siento nunca han sido su fuerte pero incluso aquí hay atisbos muy interesantes tanto de su personalidad, lo que siente de la fama y, con retrospectiva de 20/20, una mirada a lo que en un futuro terminaría en cosas tan tristes como episodios psicóticos de paranoia a medio concierto. Un disco que mezcla invitados desde Jay Z hasta Elton John pasando por un skit de Chris Rock, con mezclas que incluyen pop de sonido africano, King Crimson, Black Sabbath y Aphex Twins. Es la mejor muestra de lo que era capaz de lograr cuando lograba canalizar sus obsesiones a algo productivo. Canciones como Power o Monster son básicamente perfectas y espesas en todas sus capas tan cuidadas. El único traspié, a mi gusto, es la letra de Blame Game, porque la verdad... hueva tu canción dirigida a tu ex con referencias que solo tu entiendes; pero incluso en ese caso musicalmente no tengo queja alguna, es especialmente oscura y meticulosa en su sonido. Es triste la persona en la que se ha convertido con el tiempo pero nadie puede negar que dentro de el siempre ha habido un artista con todas sus letras.

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Sun Jan 24 2021
5

A modern-day masterpiece. An ambitious piece of “prog-rap” that is nearly unequaled to this day. STANDOUTS: -Dark Fantasy -POWER -All of the Lights -Monster -So Appalled -Devil in a New Dress -Runaway -Hell of a Life -Lost in the World

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Tue Jun 22 2021
5

This was peak Kanye before he started his downward spiral. Killer hooks, samples, features. Feels like the best of this era of mainstream rap. Loved it when it came out, and it's still amazing the whole way through.

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Wed Jan 20 2021
5

I love this album. Only weak links are Gorgeous and So Appalled. These aren’t bad tracks, but the rest of the album is so good that when these songs come on a bit of energy leaves the room.

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Wed Apr 21 2021
5

amazing album. I got a leak before it came out and really prefer the rougher version to what he ultimately went with. Still a killer album with no duds.

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Mon Jun 07 2021
5

I've listened to this album a few dozen times and love a lot of it. Power and Monster are incredible tracks

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Sat Mar 06 2021
5

Power" Released: July 1, 2010 "Runaway" Released: October 4, 2010 "Monster" Released: October 23, 2010 "All of the Lights" Released: January 18, 2011

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Thu May 06 2021
5

Truly Visionary Work. This score would be deserved if only for Runaway, the rest is icing. And yeah, I know. Kanye is an ass. IDGAF.

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Tue Jul 06 2021
5

5.0 + As close to perfect as any album gets.

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Fri Jan 22 2021
5

Gotta be a 5 from me. This was my first time listening to it with nice headphones and it was crazy

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Tue Jun 22 2021
5

Great album. Like someone else said, it is other other features and influences that make this album so great. Not sure if that just speaks to Kayne's ability as a producer or use his clout to get big names and upcoming stars on his record (or if they use his clout for their gain)

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Mon Feb 08 2021
5

Obviously 5 stars. This is more than an album, this is one of the greatest experiences in life.

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Mon Feb 08 2021
5

Awesome! One of the best rapalbums I ever heared. His reference to seventies prog in the songs shows that he looks further than his own genre. For me already a classic!

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Mon Feb 08 2021
5

Briljante plaat met een geweldige mix aan stijlen; niet naar de teksten luisteren of aan die mafkees die het maakt denken, dan is het echt cool!

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Wed Feb 03 2021
5

potentially up there with the best albums released in any genre, period. MBDTF is a story of "bests" - every song and moment on the album feels like that kind of song/sound/music perfected. Dark Fantasy - arguably the best rap intro track of all time Gorgeous - Kanye's best verses of his career Power/All of the Lights - Two of the best rap songs ever released Devil in a New Dress - Best Rick Ross verse, best guitar solo in a rap song Monster - Best ever Nicki Minaj Verse Runaway - Best Kanye Song of all time 10/10

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Thu Jul 15 2021
5

Back in 2010 one of the rare times I listened to a major album the day it was released, first to last track, no breaks, with friends, and it blew me away. Maximum ego. Maximum production. Huge hits. Exciting features (esp Minaj). Engrossing from start to finish. Self indulgant, funny, angry, exhausted, obsessed, juiced up Kanye. Over the top in the best ways. Perfect album. A+

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Tue Feb 16 2021
5

Va más allá de lo pop. Son canciones de gran duración que no se hacen largas, que dan mil vueltas y homenajean con certeza a la vez que afirma la verdad y visión del señor West. Mi versión favorita de Kanye.

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Thu Feb 18 2021
5

Almost forgot how amazing this album is, despite what Kanye has become. Falls into the concept album category I love so much. Transcends a category.

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Wed Feb 24 2021
5

IMO this is a genuine modern masterpiece. Gets better everytime I listen to it, matures like a fine wine. Oozes with creativity, uniqueness, influence, soul and is chocked full of bangers and the most amazing set of featured artists (eg. All of the Lights). If this isn't a 5* album then nothing that we get from the 2010s should be.

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Wed May 05 2021
5

Da hab ich ja was verpasst. Hab geschwankt zwischen 4 und 5. Ich bin kritisch, was Hip-Hop angeht, nichmehr bei so Ami Kram, der sich sehr ernst nimmt. Aber das hier ist irgendwie ein Gesamtkunstwerk, hier mag ich sogar Autotune (ohne Chair) und Rihanna. Geiles Album!

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Tue Jun 22 2021
5

This album really is incredible start to finish. Kanye is at his best but honestly it's the featured artists and production that take this to the next level.

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Wed Mar 24 2021
5

Good intro, "Runaway", "Devil In A New Dress", "Dark Fantasy", different sounds, great features, well-known bangers("All of the lights", "POWER"), 10/10

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Fri Apr 02 2021
5

Easily my favorite Ye album (unless this list makes me rethink some others). Monster and So Appalled are BANGERS

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Sun Jul 04 2021
5

Peak Kanye. Unfortunately it's all downhill from here (Yeezus is still good though)

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Fri Jul 09 2021
5

I can go on and on about this album. It's great. It really is. I have heard this one before so I was prepared for another listen. Kanye West's somewhat magnum opus, and as I do enjoy stuff like TCD more, you have to admit that this is Kanye's most important album... not his best, but his most important in what its done. This somewhat mix of Graduation & 808s (especially present in songs likr Runaway or Lost In The World) is grand. Kanye takes on issues in songs likr Goregous, talking about how everyone views him as a black man and just as himself. Especially after the taylor swift drama. He brings on Cudi for a great hook and Raekwon for the last, killer verse. This album is also all sorts of bragadocious. In Monster & So Appalled, two very different posse cuts each verse is filled to the brim with less introspectivity and more lines about themselves, in a good light. And god some guest verses are just unforgettable. Pusha's in Runaway, CyHi in So Apalled, and even Rick Ross in Devil In A New Dress. What seems to be this soulful, personal song Kanye builds up is enlightened by this guitar solo followed by a killer Rick Ross verse. And also, Runaway. Runaway is up there in some of my favorite songs of all time. Kanye brings an emotional topic of basically "everyone should runaway from me, i suck" to simplify it. Some of Kanye's vocals are stellar and even the autotune at the end of this behemoth of a track, god. Even songs i highly disliked have grown on me. Hell Of A Life is a song i can appreciate for its lengths it goes to, and hey All Of The Lights is just a banger. One song i really can't see much in the light of is Blame Game. I love John Legend but his hook is just so lame. Kanye's storytelling is great but, i dom't know. The lyricism just kinda falls flat, especially with that long Chris Rock skit at the end kind of destroying that build up at the end. I still love the beat, its one of the best one of the albums, but god i just can't vibe with the lyricism and vocal effects. Overall a good song but not one of my favorites. Finally, Lost In The World. We're all expecting it. A big, final, closer to this record. A finale. But then we're greeted with autotuned Justin Vernon. As it builds up, all we can do is wait. The instrumental kicks in and there it is. The rest of the song definitely kicks off this great album to an end. 9/10 (As of July 8th, 2021) Best Tracks: Dark Fantasy, Goregous, POWER, All Of The Lights Interlude, All Of The Lights, Monster, So Appalled, Devil In A New Dress, Runaway, Hell Of A Life, Lost In The World, Who Will Survive In America Worst Track: Blame Game

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Mon Jan 30 2023
5

Just a few albums ago, we got Kendrick's To Pimp a Butterfly, arguably the greatest hip hop album ever made. Why is it arguable? Because this album also exists. Sure enough, when I was tweeting about how great TPAB is, people ask if it's better than MBDTF. On that day? My answer was TPAB, but it's always a matter of recency bias. There are a handful of albums from the last decade (this one, TPAB, Yeezus, Channel Orange [which we also got recently!] and Blonde) that I hold in my highest regard, and it seems that whenever I listen to one of the five I'm convinced it's better than one or more of the others. Then I listen to another and they shuffle again. Back in the Target days, I would work backroom and could listen to music on my headphones while I worked. I had a tradition where, in the last hour of my work day, I would shift from whatever playlist I was listening to to a victory lap album. This was a frequent choice. It's almost exactly an hour long, and it's an intricate tapestry. Every track is cinematic; the strings throughout get that point across very well. Features are jam-packed, with some of the greatest names in hip hop. And damn, you know an album's good when Jay-Z is featured multiple times and his verses are some of the WORST on the project. Everyone (else) brought their A-game to this one. Unsurprising, given the lore: this album was recorded in Hawaii in a sort of retreat setting. Supposedly, artists were required to wear suits to the studio. Maybe I'm misremembering that, but it wouldn't shock me from Kanye. Kanye has become a real piece of work recently, and not in an artistic sense. He's spiraled into this bizarre realm of right-wing conspiracies and antisemitism that's disappointing at best. One of my favorite artists of all time, and I've been unable to listen to him lately, not because I'm not supposed to but because his voice just reminds me how awful he decided to become. This album's interesting, because it followed what I'm sure some of the world thought would be his biggest controversy we'd have to weather: interrupting notable white woman Taylor Swift during an award speech. The world at large and industry hated him, so he retreated to a (luxurious) island and emerged with this, one of the most impressive and bombastic concept albums of this century, if not ever. Plenty of people debate whether he could (or must) do that again to save himself this time, but I just don't think it can be done. Instead, hearing this today and knowing where he's put himself now, it feels appropriate. This is and was his "comeback" album from controversy, today as it was 13 years ago. His music has already become pervaded by his weirdo politics, so he can't do this again. But hearing MBDTF reminds you why we tolerated the madman in the first place. As for the music itself, it's phenomenal. Endless quotables, stunning and extravagant production, and a strong concept of a man struggling with his fame and the temptations surrounding him. What do you give the man who has it all? As of this year, apparently not a dreidel. This album was made by a mad scientist of a man, who years later became a Nazi sympathizer. Incredibly unfortunate and embarrassing for him, but if that's the road he chooses, we can find comfort in his old stuff and not engage with the man today. "I Miss the Old Kanye" has never been more relevant. Favorite tracks: All of 'em, but "Devil in a New Dress" is always my favorite. Album art: This one's fun because, first of all, the centered image that's blurred is an abstract painting of a naked angel straddling Kanye or his character that this album presents. But the artist made a number of different art pieces, and the vinyl release of this album came with prints that you could slot in and out to change your cover. I have mine set to my favorite, which is the image of Kanye's head impaled by a sword. He used that as his twitter avatar for many years, and it's striking. The bold red border is great too. Such a perfect, opulent cover art. 5/5

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Thu Aug 11 2022
4

Enough words have been spilled about the production on this, but... damn. Would be a 5 if I could handle the lyrics for more than half of the songs. I'd love Hell of a Life with different lyrics. Monster and Runaway are absolute bangers. I'll re-listen to most of this I think.

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Thu Aug 25 2022
4

I've always loved this album through my 20s and marveled at the absolute genius of kanye west. Now that I'm older, I still marvel at the musical genius but did this self-indulgent lyrical bullsh need to be spewed into the world. Maybe not, or maybe. I'll still give him four stars because the music moves me

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Sun Sep 25 2022
4

Classics are classics for a reason. They resonate with generations. And this album definitely will for years to come.

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Mon Oct 03 2022
4

One could always find something wrong with Kanye West, and this album is no exception. The draw here is that Kanye also seems to bury his gems, and once past any criticism, one cannot help but root for the guy. His ear for melody in a beat-centric genre is probably the best in the industry. His production prowess is nothing to make fun of or sleep on, Jay-Z being an example of where Kanye typically comes from in terms of colleagues and frequent collaborators. "Runaway" is a painfully awkward honest song, again buried and bookended by is-it-misogynistic? bravado, further evidenced by the suggestive album title. Kanye West as a persona has been difficult to accept at times, and that has either played well into his music or not, but the talent is on display regardless.

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Sat Dec 16 2023
4

No. 68/1001 Dark Fantasy 5/5 Gorgeous 5/5 POWER 5/5 All of the Lights 5/5 Monster 4/5 Be Appaled 5/5 Devil in a New Dress 4/5 Runaway 4/5 Hell Of A Life 2/5 Blame Game 3/5 Lost In The World 4/5 Who Will Survive In America NR Average: 4,18 The start to this album is incredible. Just banger after banger. Grandious, cinematic songs. Fell off for me a little bit in the second half. Still an amazing record.

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Mon Feb 08 2021
3

Now that I've taken the time to properly listen to this album I feel like I understand why Kanye West is thought of as epic, I definitely thought this album was epic. I found some of the lyrics difficult though which gave me some cognitive dissonance. But yeah glad I had this experience.

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Tue Feb 23 2021
3

Wasn’t really getting super into this until Monster. That song is dope as fuck.

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Mon May 24 2021
3

This is a surprisingly good album! Plenty of good guests and features too, none more so than Monster which is a certified banger. A Chris Rock ‘skit’ let’s it down to the point where it’s 3 stars not 4 just because it’s so unnecessary.

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Mon Feb 28 2022
3

I used to find Kanye as a whole, and this album in particular, highly overrated. Despite his numerous attempts to make me discredit him over the years, though, I have really grown to appreciate his earlier work. I still struggle a little with this one, though, but I’ll admit that it’s mostly overhype. But there are definitely tracks here that I think stand among his best, ie Monster, All of the Lights. I remember being bugged by him sampling King Crimson and Sabbath, but those also work very well. Gonna go with a C. It’s a little all over the place for me.

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Fri Mar 18 2022
3

Better than I though it was going to be

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Mon Mar 21 2022
3

3.5 / maybe change if i listen to more rap

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Mon May 02 2022
3

I am not a Kanye fan but this was mostly good.

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Fri May 06 2022
3

As rap goes, this is very good, but I really don't like rap at all.

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Sat May 14 2022
3

Too much swearing for me, but good beats

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Wed Jun 15 2022
3

Although I am familiar with Kanye as a cultural figure, of course, I've never actually taken the time listen to any of his music. Kind of always meant to. Today 1001 Albums finally got me to do it. Obviously this is not my type of music but I've learned a lot through the first 200 albums so I feel ready to tackle this album. I'm surprised right away. And impressed. I assumed Kanye's music was good, he is an icon after all, but I didn't expect it to be accessible to me. On the contrary I like the first three tracks a lot, and the interlude is fantastic, dark and beautiful, sounds like it would be right at home in the Westworld soundtrack. Monster is more like I guess I was expecting and I don't love it. So Appalled and Runaway also don't speak to me. But Runaway to the end are pretty cool. Even the songs I don't like as well sound great. Overall interesting and varied but cohesive with moments of pathos and beauty and attitude and humor, plus it just sounds great. An impressive work. What a shame...

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Tue Jul 12 2022
3

I'm generally not a Kanye fan, and I had low expectations. This was OK,if a little overlong

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Sat Jul 23 2022
3

Not a Kanye fan in the slightest but this album is by far his best in my eyes - the production is just brilliant - I think where it lacks for me is in the lyrics as I don't really care for them at all, and some songs (like the one with Chris Rock) drag on a bit too long for me, but I would probably happily relisten to this at some point and potentially rate it higher.

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Thu Sep 22 2022
3

Some of these songs are legitimately great, but it's not hard for whatever feelings you have about Kanye to cloud your judgment of his music. That said, production value slaps but I honestly found myself enjoying the featured artists' contributions more than I did Kanye's. Standout tracks are Runaway & All of the Lights.

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Wed Feb 24 2021
2

It’s hard to be objective on this one as I think Kanye is a massive cunt and none of his recent albums come close to College Dropout and Graduation but there’s some absolute bangers hidden in here such as Power, All of the Lights, Gorgeous and Runaway. I remember Monster being a big hit but after listening to it back, it’s just awful commercialised Poprap. Gorgeous is criminally underrated and Kid Kudi deserves more respect than he gets. All in all, 3/4 good tunes doesn’t push the MBDTF ranking much higher. If I was allowed to, I’d give it a 2.5 for reasons above.

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Thu May 20 2021
2

Some really good ideas but just wore me down over the course of a very long album.

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Thu May 13 2021
2

I liked the music, but will probably never listen again.

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Sun Sep 19 2021
2

First Listen. Very good. Like to hear more. Low 2/5 for now. Standout is Runaway. This is an amazing song, start to finish. I think I may have heard it before, because it sounded familiar but when it started I was totally focused on it the whole time.

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Mon Sep 27 2021
2

Not really into hip hop so it takes something special. And a..this wasn't it.

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