My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

2nd kanye album and im only like 10 albums in. i know this album. i haven’t heard every song on it though. he makes great music..

Great beats and orchestrations. Genius with a rather twisted mind for sure.

It's really hard for me to enjoy Kanye's music with his statements and actions in recent years. However, I've always loved some of his early work. He is such a great producer.

love it

Went into it a bit skeptical being my first Kanye album but really enjoyed a lot of the songs. I had already heard Runaway and POWER but the experimental production works so well. This feels like a coherent project while not being too pretentious. The sound goes back and forth throughout and the samples have great variety. Super cool stuff.

King crimson samples and interesting guitar work, song structures well put together, I hate that I liked this so much

hiphop albums are so interesting to me theyre almost always heavy on collaborations. ganda ng songs im pretty sure some of the lyrics are 💯 faves: all of the lights, runaway, monster

I've never heard a Kanye album. In fact, I think I've only ever heard that Gold Digger song, and it was annoying as all hell. But I know that people loved him, before he turned into a twat. I suspect he has always been a twat. But did he make good music? Hip hop can often be difficult for me to assess. Do I like the song because I like the song, or do I like the song because it samples songs I like, and it's those songs in actually enjoying rather than the new thing. Somewhere in the middle I suppose. There's no getting away from some of the bangers here. Kanye's voice is annoying and nasal in places, but at least it isn't loaded up with squeaky effects like the shite you hear today. And the lyrics aren't all about money, women, and guns - though there's plenty of that.

When he’s good he Yeezy when he’s bad he’s a bloody nazi, great album but not as good a collage drop out

jammer dat hij een neo nazi is

Ik luister ni echt naar rap, maar dit was echt goed

Great album

This was not really my genre, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. Lots of awesome grooves, great flow/rhymes, just generally a fun listen. I hate Kanye West as a person, but as a musician he has (or at least had) undeniable talent. Four stars.

4/5 because Kanye is sketchy now

Some songs absolutely slap. Others were just okay. I’d say 4/5

It's a classic Kanye album and there are some songs I really love on it. Hard to love Kanye these days but the album is still good.

Det beste her e alle gjesteartistan eller kanskje æ bare synes det beste her e gjesteartistan fordi det betyr at æ ikke behøve å tenke så mye på selve Kanye, som jo i likhet med sist gang æ hørte et album av han i det her prosjektet e problematisk. Men æ hørte på den her gangen også fordi det e vanskelig å la være.

I never really considered KW, probably because I don’t like his public persona, but I thought this album was very good and enjoyed listening to it. Lots of nice collaborations, too. (SMH for the blurred George Condo cover art)

fuck kanye, fuck nicki, but ya the productions excellent. some big hits. interesting, forward thinking and risky aesthetics. some weird lyrics

A really positive surprise that ended up in me even adding a couple of songs to my general playlist. I guess I was a bit prejudiced by his public persona; music is of high quality and his production and engineering is top notch, as well as all the collaborations on this album, rather wholesome product #facts 👌🔝

Rap opulence at its finest. Everything from the instrumentals to the guest features on this project screams luxury. This was where Kanye’s ego began to show and you couldn’t deny how great he was. Unfortunately that isn’t the case anymore.

So many bangers and yet a couple songs that I immediately skip. Wish Kanye wasn't a Nazi

I can't listen to this album and the lyrics without hearing what Kanye would turn into soon after in it. Fortunately for Kanye and this album, the music here is still great. I was really hovering on a 5 for a long time, but was slighly underwhelmed by the back half of the album

Really gotta separate the art from the artist on this one. This is a really high 4 for me. The songwriting and production is just damn creative compared to a lot of other albums we've listened to. Kanye's lyrics get a little annoying, especially considering, ya know... what he became. But overall I enjoyed almost every song on this album. Runaway and Monster were my favorites.

Rating: 9/10 I didn't listen to this nor will I but since I have at least a couple dozen times in the past and it being one of the first CD's I owned, I'll give my unbiased MBDTF thoughts here. Feels like it's fully the end of the conscious outsider rapper Ye was on The College Dropout and the start of the truly manic and narcissistic version of him that would lead to Nazi Kanye who huffs his own farts and doesn't have any semblance of songwriting ability anymore. It's maximalist and bombastic and was in danger of being his most unwieldy project to date with all of its ideas, progression, and collaborations, but instead it all came together as a cohesive concept, despite its complex and almost surreal nature. Has a few of Kanye's best songs ever easily. I think after the one-two punch of Devil in a New Dress and Runaway though, the album continues on with almost 20 minutes of its weaker material before it's all over.

As cheesy as Kanye is, great album. Not being jazz elevates it slightly as well 8.3/10

Fun album. I guess there's some hindsight with the persona and all, but whatever. 8 sorcerers out of 10 lizard wizards

Solid lyrically and generational standout.

I miss when Kanyes antics were interrupting pop stars at stupid award shows and not nazi edgelord shit. The music was much better.

loved it, until i started actually listening to the lyrics…

Something a little more mainstream, great album, has a few bangers, fav is „Runaway“. It’s basic yet very good

I liked this more than I thought I would, besides the songs I knew already, the album had a great flow to it

I wanted to dislike this album. Kayne West is a terrible person, but this album is good.

I always knew him as pop music guy -> crazy right wing sneaker guy and somehow missed musical genius guy. This is unabashedly really fucking good. Minus one star for the vaginal upholstery business wtf

Adskil kunsten fra kunstneren. Kanye har en speciel hjerne men tror også det hjælper til at lave mærkelig kunst og jeg kan bedst lide det mærkelige kunst. Sange der er anderledes fra det sædvanlige er det der fanger min opmærksomhed og det gør dette album. Jeg lytter ikke meget til rap men jeg kan lide det.

Album was a great listen, I already knew songs like Power & Runaway but overall it was a solid album. It had great features, some greats songs, overall I liked it. Pretty straightforward

This man is insane- but his work is so good! 16 years old and still fresh!

Feels very grand, production is incredible. Features carry the album and sound way better than Kanye's verses which sound half-assed. Nicki Minaj is in her best form here. Overall really great album, wish Kanye would've just shut his mouth and kept making music like this. Favorite song: Monster, or Blame Game, if it didn't have the Chris Rock skit at the end.

This is a true "throw everything at the wall and see if it sticks" album. And most of it does. This is a really well produced and recorded album with some great songs on it that lodge in your subconscious. The guests' contributions add a lot. The problem is that it's too long, too much, too maximalist. It could really use an editor. But "Power," "All of the Lights," "Runaway," "Lost in the Woods"...some great songs on the best album of his career. Unfortunately, this seems like a very long time ago.

Throwback to the 10s yet never got old

real shame what happened to Kanye huh This album has it all - incredible production, great verses and an immaculate vibe Shoutout to 20yo me playing runaway on the piano in my dorm, watching videos on how they produced Power

Kanye West is a terrible person but goddamn he knows how to produce an album

Separating art and artist for many reasons but still one star deduction

Ok I'm gonna say this now so I don't have to repeat myself when I receive the other two Kanye albums on this list. Kanye West is a massive piece of shit, but he also made some really damn good music. I'm gonna chose to separate the art from the artist here because I think its silly to deny the talent of 2000s/2010s Kanye. While this isn't my favorite Ye album, I do consider it to be the peak of his career. It's like the victory lap after his legendary College trilogy. This album is loaded with hit songs and some notable featured artists. The Bon Iver feature is the most shocking to me but it actually works. I think that "Runaway" is a really fantastic song, one of his best in fact. It's a shame that the man who made that song no longer exists. Favorite track: Runaway

I really enjoyed a lot of the songs with Rick Ross. Too bad Kanye went crazy

I feel bad about giving this a favorable rating, because the artist is so obviously an asshole with serious mental problems. But the same could be said (to some extent) of other people whose art I admire. It does get a little tedious after a certain point, but that happens when you hang around crazy people long enough.

no nie jest to politically correct ale album jest całkiem bangerowy

Я совсем ничего не знаю о музыке Канье, знаю только о каких-то одиозных выходках, рекорде по скорости бана на "Твич", чрезмерно правых высказываниях, шутках в Южном Парке и забавной коллабе с Гошей Рубчинским "Чёрные псы". Последнее, впрочем, было давно предсказано в треке "Сталинфанк": "Охуело ору, вприсядку пустилась Крупская,\ Негры прутся в футболках "Я русский"". Что-то меня унесло. Я люблю хип-хоп, но на примитивном потребительском уровне. Мне нравится приятный бит, мне нравится удачное использование сэмплов, но мне не хочется вникать в проблемы отдельных групп населения, я слушаю всё как сочетание звуков, включая человеческую речь. Может, поэтому в числе любимых исполнителей "Кровосток" и MF DOOM. Меня всё ещё уносит. Как я не мог взяться за рецензию на этот альбом, так и не мог его послушать, всё ускользало от моего восприятия. Ещё одна причина -- я не мог продвинуться дальше первых треков. Потому что гимноподобная Dark Fantasy хороша. Потому что в Gorgeous есть сэмпл из You Showed Me (песня группы Enoch Light and the Glittering Guitars, спасибо гуглу), превращающий мой мозг в машинку, которая хочет слушать десятисекундный отрывок на повторе. Да и до сих пор я едва смог дойти до шестого трека. Мне он не понравился, кроме отрывка Ники Минаж, но даже этот отрывок в моменте был хорош. Конечно, потом стало чуть легче, пока я не дошёл до знаменитого Runaway (это та самая песня, в начале которой всем, смотревшим телевизор в конце 90х - начале 00х, кажется что Жириновский безостановочно кричит "хуячим"), который отметился странным сочетанием истории про одиночество и явно "тёмного" тона пианино. Блять, ещё четыре песни. И тут я понимаю, что ни слова ни сказал о POWER, третьей песне альбома, в которой используют сэмпл из 21st Century Schizoid Man от King Crimson, как раз его я вспоминал в прошлой рецензии на Wings, но здесь оно всё как-то органичнее. Как я и говорил, я люблю разные сэмплы, потому что мне очень сложно оценить, какое количество музыки люди просеивают, чтобы найти тот единственный звук, который они уволокут, обработают, и дадут ему вторую жизнь. В такие моменты мне хочется стать героем фильм "Рок-волна" по имени Предрассветный Боб, который очень редко появлялся в общих помещениях корабля, проводя всё время в фонотеке и уходивший всегда со словами "ещё столько музыки надо послушать". И вот я дослушал альбом до конца. Мучительно пережил последние безликие треки. Выдохнул. Вдохнул. И нажал на Play. Итого 4 из 5. Послушайте хотя бы Gorgeous.

Was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did, excellent hip hop

Kanye as a person is the worst. This album was great.

masterpiece

First spin cold take: impressive production with some bloated, self-indulgent tracks, or so it seems. There is also quite the impressive list of guest artists and producers. Away from all the Kanye noise, this is a well done album. A lot to unpack, a lot to enjoy.

Honestly a very well done album, coming from someone who doesn’t really like rap music. If this wasn’t Kanye, I may just give it a 5, but it’s just not quite there. If a half point could be awarded, I think this would be 4.5, but not worth the round up. Loved more songs on this album than I thought I would going into it.

I praised “Into the Court of the Crimson King” in my review for sampling Kanye and this showed up as I confirmed my review

In 2026 I struggle to separate Kanye the person with Kanye the artist. This album is pretty brilliant. But I just... I can't give Kanye 5 stars.

I'll preface this by saying I'm obviously separating the awfulness of Kanye from this record and reviewing it as if I were listening to it in 2010. It feels disingenuous and anti-art to just say "it's 1 star because he's a shitty person" and move on. All praise that I give is aimed at this piece of art and none towards Kanye himself. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy captures a very unique emotion that I have never found in another album, period. The only way I can describe it is mystical. It draws a line that puts it in "uncanny valley" territory, but where that feeling is mostly negative, it makes this project one of the most intriguing listening experiences. A lot of Hip Hop gets very real, depicting the reality of the world and the dark sides that a lot of people don't want to experience in reality and explore it through music instead. MBDTF has enough connections to reality to keep it grounded, but emits a fantastical aura, like peering into an alternate dimension. Production-wise, the album makes incredibly unique choices that feel like if they were on any other album they would be mocked relentlessly. The dirty distortion techniques, the erratic imaging, the deviant sample selection all contribute to a surreal atmosphere. Lyrically the album is so unearthly that it makes it hard to get as intimate and emotional as more introspective albums, but that's not what the point of the album is. The album never tries to be a heart-to-heart with Kanye about what's troubling him, but instead indirectly gives insight into the tortured world of a twisted caricature of Kanye. I hate how catchy and well-written the album is. It feels wrong to have this character coming off as the most self-centered and braggadocious person on the planet constructing lyrics so cleverly. I almost never listen to this album, and still I have lyrics from it get caught in my head from time to time out of nowhere. The writing feels like a paradox, with the line between genius and moron being blurred beyond recognition. I didn't really like this album for a long time, not only because of the person behind it but because I viewed it through a strict, predefined notion I had of what Hip Hop should be. I was looking for some standout song that made me feel emotionally attached to the rapper's experiences, and equated this style of boastful, arrogant Hip Hop with shallow and meaningless music. But once I started picking it apart and realizing the choices that were made to intentionally paint a surreal picture, it made the album so much more immersive. I'm not gonna say "Power is such an iconic use of a prog sample!![/i] or "Runaway is such an emotional climax to this album!!" because I don't really think of any particular track from this album at all. On a track-by-track basis I actually find it pretty underwhelming. But immersing myself in this world through the lens of who Kanye is portraying himself to be and the cracks in the facade is one of the most fascinating experiences I've had with modern music.

I didn't want to like this because of all the recent issues but I thought it was quite good.

Iconic

4/5

Feelings about Kanye aside, this album is full of bangers, mixed with the occasional weird, creepy lyric

It's impossible to listen to this without thinking about how far Kanye has fallen since. His egotistical but self-deprecating lyrics are less charming now. They make me feel pity and disgust. He is still such a talented composer and producer. How should we interact with art, when the artists are gross, despicable people, struggling with mental illness, yet still talented and putting themselves on display for people's entertainment? Top Song: All of the Lights

8 / 10

Album banger Ça me fait rire car j’ai l’impression que beaucoup de ses sons se trouvent dans la soundtrack de very bad trip… Abruti qui crédite pas Riri dans « all of the lights » Abruti tout court pour ses valeurs en perdition et tous les scandales qui l’entourent Du coup comme pour MJ, je ne mettrai pas le 5/5

For a project like this I've accepted that you need to largely separate the art from the artist, because there are going to be plenty of people on this list that have done heinous things. But to be truthful, I was dreading this being a 5/5 because the idea of having this on my "highest rated" albums on my profile almost as some kind of endorsement was frankly a bit sickening. It's not a 5/5 (thankfully?) - a lot of the songs are very long, which when they're excellent songs (Dark Fantasy, Power, Monster, Runaway, All of the Lights) is a good thing but when they're not (So Appalled, Blame Game) it just kinda drags. It's also a bit difficult to stomach the lyrics at time knowing that this was not an album made by a man who actually would ever demonstrate the capacity to self-reflect and grow. That being said, it is undeniably a great album, made by a bad person. What a shame he's fucked in the head, indeed.

All of the lights Runaway Who will survive in america

Wide variety of different genre influenced the album.

Do I like Kanye? I guess? “Power” is the best by far but the rest is pretty interesting.

West best, rap opera Gorgeous Power All the lights

great beats and a flow to the sound that keeps it engaging and poppy the whole way through. favorite song: POWER

The age old question returns: Do we separate the art from the artist? Favorite Track: "Dark Fantasy".

I mean a few really good ones and before he went nutso... Solid features from JayZ and others as well.

Well I have to say this is hard to admit but this album was quite good... Much better than the crap from K Lamar.

Power: *chef's kiss* All of the Lights: *chef's kiss* Everything else: meh. That's the simplest way I can describe this.

Still an amazing album, but a step down from college dropout. He's a lunatic and tragic waste of talent.

Dammit Kayne, why’d you have to turn into a Nazi. This album is itttttt

Yea Kanye is terrible. But this album is still fairly interesting

Ugh, ful se ne veselim tega, zarad očitnih trenutnih razlogov, ampak bom mela odprto glavo in probala bit objektivna. Ker najbl mi grejo pa na kurac uni - k grem gledat reviews od ostalih uporabnikov - k več kot očitno sploh ne grejo poslušat albuma in samo dajo 1 zvezdico pa neko žaljivko napišejo in to je to. Sj loh poslušaš/pogledaš neki, brez da deliš poglede te osebe/podpiraš njihova dejanja. A veš? Ok, naj bi bil njegov najboljši album oz. en boljših? Na prvi pogled se vsaj en komad spomnim from the time & se tud spomnim, da mi je bil takrat všeč. Začne se k pravljica? (Jap, Roald Dahl by Nicki Minaj, lol.) Ok, makes sense - "Dark Fantasy". Dejansko zelo fajn komad. Ha, v " POWER" je "21st Century Schizoid Man" sample. In spet, dobr komad. "Monster" je kul. "Runaway" je ta, ki se ga spomnim. Neke balerine so ble v videospotu? Še kr je dobr. Lol, Chris Rock v "Blame Game", se mi je zdel znan glas. Uf, autotune. Je pa na splošni insane komad "Lost In The World". U, pa en teh je k se seamlessly prelije v naslednji komad in konec albuma. Škoda, da je naslovnica cenzurirana.

5/5 deserves to be on this list Really, really good! I think it works less well as an album than other Kanye stuff, but the individual songs are each really good. Except the songs in the middle with like a million features. Those suck. The samples are really good and used in pretty interesting ways (Gorgeous, Hell Of A Life). The 21st Century Schizoid Man sample on power is insane. I feel like some of the songs are a little long and probably have some stuff that could be trimmed off. Ultimately a very good album only brought down by some too busy songs. Probably would give it a 4.5 if I could. Also Kanye’s lyrics are very witty. Standout Tracks: Dark Fantasy, Gorgeous, All Of The Lights, Runaway, Hell Of A Life

ok this album is good

Enjoyed this way more than I thought I would. Favourited Runaway Hell of a Life is dark and has a really cool back best and deep base! Kind of like Rap-Muse! And Lost in the World... I mean... A bit of everything

Well fuck... I really didn't want to like this, but it is undeniably good. Great production and lyrical work, I loved the range of musical influences, samples and guest artists. Monster, Runaway, Hell of a Life and Blame Game were particular highlights for me. Still only 4 stars because it's Kanye and he's a trash human

It’s really good despite what people (rightfully) think about Kanye, my problem is that this is on the list and NOT graduation which is the one that really deserves it 4/5

Loved a couple of songs. Kanye is a genius... Shhhhhh...don't tell anyone

Oh boy. This is the first Kanye album I'm getting, though I think there are multiple. I never really listened to Kanye before (apart from the obvious ones like POWER that used to be on the radio all the time). It's extremely hard to dissociate the artist from the art when it comes to someone like Kanye. The problem is, the album has some quite good songs. It's got very good beats on most tracks. Some of the lyrics are actually quite good too. I cannot, in full objectivity, give this album anything below a 3, but the connection to the artist also prevents me from giving it a 5.

8/10 Favourite: Runaway Least Favourite: Blame Game

First 9 songs are the greatest stretch of 10/10s tracks Kanye has ever made only just to stumble across the finish line. Practically a near-perfect album otherwise. Plus this album has Runaway on it!

He’s a piece of a shit. It’s also really good. It’s complicated.

This review was unearthed from 2010-11 when the album first came out. West had recently lost his mother in 2007. She died of complications after a series of cosmetic surgeries. That seems to be one of a series of traumatic events, many self-inflicted, that West experienced on his quixotic quest for fame and wealth. It's not a great album and he is definitely not a great person. His antihero journey is symbolic of the dark, twisted American Dream that has become all of our existence. So four stars for the failure we are all trying to live through at the moment. Kanye, you achieved your dream of creating your nightmare. What a blueprint.

yes, kanye is a narcissistic alt right asshole. but yes, this album is one of the greatest of all time. Runaway is still a classic despite some other song let the quality down for a bit. 4/5

Kanye's a great rapper, it's well produced, and it touches on some deeply personal issues that I can see being relatable. Totally get why the album and Kanye are so influential. I can't 100% connect to it because I'm clearly not the target demo. These songs are clearly geared towards guys with the way that sex/women/pussy is talked about. Wish that Kanye didn't lose his mind.

Maybe Kanye's greatest accomplishment, raw, unapologetic, bold, emotional, packs creativity. The lyrics are personal, honest that tells the story of fame, love and self destruction.

Musically amazing. Confessional and innovative. I'd pick and choose what of the album I'd listen to, but there is just so much enjoy.

Now that reasonable people can agree that Kanye is a certifiable dirtbag, it's always been sort of funny to me that it took so many so long to realize this. This is literally his album about that entire topic, with the main difference being that this is about how he treats women rather than a certain ethnic group. The problem of the extent to which we as listeners should entertain the art from "problematic" personalities is one with a long history, but the case of this album is a bit different because Kanye addresses at least part of the issue head-on. The lyrical thread weaving through at least some of this album is the concept of Kanye's "fantasy" of abundant, submissive women waiting to be submitted to various acts of defilement. The opening track suggests that this is truly a fantasy, but given how things have turned out in the intervening years, I can sadly only conclude that it literally is all Kanye's aspirations amount to, and I need to take it more or less at face value. The best songs on the album, read generously, suggest that Kanye has gone through some examination of his personality with some amount of self-loathing, wondering what it is that makes him and his dreams so profoundly messed up. Runaway is the centerpiece of this, painting a sympathetic picture of someone who realizes that their personality is radioactive, and is probably my favorite song that Kanye has released throughout his career. POWER is another effective glimpse into the manic mind underlying his personality, with the "21st Century Schizoid Man" sample changing the way I hear that song. Meanwhile, Gorgeous serves as a searing indictment of racism in America, and Who Will Survive In America served as my introduction to Gil Scott-Heron, which I am grateful for. With lines like, "And what's a black Beatle anyway, a fucking roach? / I guess that's why they got me sitting in fucking coach", what more could you want? Turns out, maybe we need some signs that Kanye actually means what he says in these songs. While we get the sense that Kanye knows that he is a monster in need of reform, we also see that he revels in the twisted character he has devolved into. Hell Of A Life's pathetic glorification of a one night stand with a porn star serves to undermine any credibility built up in the preceding songs. It's a bit tough to imagine that Kanye is doing too much serious introspection when the lyrics are packed with lines about a beef with South Park, bruised esophaguses, and nuns climaxing. And it feels difficult to square Gorgeous with Kanye's actions in recent years without seeing his interpretation of discrimination as self-interested complaining rather than righteous indignation. With that in mind, did he include the Gil Scott-Heron poem because of the message or just because he liked the idea of America as a prostitute? I feel fine giving the benefit of the doubt to most artists, but with Kanye I'm not so sure. All in all that's what is so frustrating about this album to me. Its concept has loads of potential and we see this in glimpses throughout the track list. The production is excellent, and Kanye gathered a superstar lineup to feature on the album. But in the end he doesn't have the self-awareness to properly commit to the act, and that's what keeps the album as a whole from greatness.

Honestly, a great album despite the person behind it.

Pretty excited for this artist and album. Well familiar with but never given a dedicated listen through. The hits and features alone make this album great - cannot deny.

kanye was forgiven back then

Inte samma wow-känsla som när den kom, men flera bra låtar fortfarande!

Tyvärr väldigt bra.

Really good album, really shit person

I hate to give this a high rating because Kanye is a Nazi bitch but this album is catchy.

Against my better judgement I enjoyed this, although not as much as the other one I heard recently

I know and like this record but not as much as Yeezus.

Had listened to it when I was younger, but man I could not appreciate everything that was going on in this album. The musical journey this album goes on is so vast. Implementing ochestral elements, awesome guitar riffs, horns and pianos. This is a producing masterclass. I think the only thing that holds this album back are relatively weak vocals/lyrics from Kanye. I’ve personally never found Kanye’s flow and writing super complex and compelling. He can write songs with emotional weight, but I always found them to be surface level. All that said still a really good album and probably Kanye’s greatest production front to back.

I already know this album but because I don't love all the tracks it's not a 5. I've re-visited the album over the years and it still holds up but I find myself liking it a little bit less over the years. 4.2/5

Kanye is a nut bar but beside 1 or 2 tracks this is a banger. His last consistently good album.

Fuck nazi kanye but this has always been an amazing album

This was my first time listening to the entire album. It’s not my favorite Kanye record, but I love the creative sampling and enjoy the incredible wordplay, even if he makes himself sound like an asshole (which may be the point). I also enjoyed the metal influences. This was a long album, but engaging.

Absolute classic, but heavy nostalgia factor influencing again. An almost perfect album, barely let down by some more camp songs and their features (Rick Ross???). Strong contender for best Kanye, against Graduation. Four and a half stars would be the fairest rating, but here we are.

Kanye inainte sa o ia rara de tot.

Another example of needing to separate the art from the artist. It’s a great, provoking album, and a reminder that sometimes the best art comes from complicated and troubled people.

God, I hate Kanye as a person, but this album is alright. It takes a lot of effort to separate the art from the artist, especially with this PoS. However, after listening to this album, I can see its appeal and understand why it is so popular. Overall rating 7/10

One of the frustrating things about Kanye’s path to Nazism, though not the worst, is that he was so talented. Breathtaking, grandiose songs which often still feel intimate and confessional. What’s waste

Ever so controversial, Kanye West decided in 2010 to just say fuck it and go all out on one of the most over the top and maximalist statements in all of hip-hop. With My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy rap music entered its prog rock era, but it is no wonder there aren't many more examples of albums that sound like this. An album of such grand scale and ambition isn't something easy to replicate, so for the most part, other rappers didn't even try. I remember very clearly the hype cycle around this album. West had already defied everyone's expectations with his 2008 record 808s & Heartbreaks and now he was make another left turn by... releasing a whole short film? Yes, there was a short film titled "Runaway" which is filled with all sort of striking imagery, terrible acting and script, but also showcasing a handfull of tracks from the album, notably the 9 minute centerpiece the film is named after. There's so much going on here: the King Crimson sample on "POWER", a Chris Rock skit, an Aphex Twin sample (both on "Blame Game"), a Black Sabbath musical reference on "Hell of a Life", Bon Iver doing his whole "lost in the woods" thing for the third(!) time on "Lost in the World", Nicki Minaj's career-best and star-turning verse on "Monster", a small army of guests on "All of the Lights", you name it and it's probably here. For a moment there, I almost got into hip-hop and R&B and this album was one of the big reasons why. That didn't quite last, though, but I still really like those few releases that got me there. Key tracks: Dark Fantasy POWER All of the Lights Monster Runaway Lost in the World

A lot of these songs are on my workout mix, ha. Old Kanye was really good!

Alright - everything about Kanye as a person aside, this is objectively a great album. The samples, the beats, not to mention the great supporting cast he has with him make this an incredibly fun album. Highlights: "Power", "All of the Lights", "Runaway"

Fantastic album. One of Kanye’s moments.

Це об'єктивно хороший альбом. Дуже класні фіти: чи не кращі куплети в кар'єрі від Рік Росса та Мінаж, класний вихід в Рейквана, топові приспів від різних запрошених вокалстів. Так само по продакшену вдалось зібрати класну команду, яка суттєво розширила палітру з чого Каньє семплував. Проте у альбому є свої проблеми. Не може претендувати на статус одного з кращого в історії альбом, який має пісні типу So Appalled чи Hell of a Life. Та й тексти іноді провисають. Загалом класний був період у Йе з MBDTF-WTT-Yeezus, шкода що він остаточно поїхав і перетворився в якогось еталонного довобойба.

Всегда хотел послушать канье, рад что тут подкинули его аольбом. Звучит стильно и даже современно, послушаю снова внимательнее обязательно

Runaway and All of the Lights are truly extraordinary songs. 70 minute run time is a tad too much.

This isn't my first time listening to this, and when i listened to it now, the listening experience got better as a whole. In my opinion, it's one of the most, if not, the most beautifully produced album I have ever listened to. Sometimes it has so much crisp. The concept itself is good imo, ye talks about celebrity culture like fame and greed, and how it can destroy ourselves. The features are FIRE, we got kid cudi, jay z, hell even BON IVER, before I even listened to bon iver's music, i only knew him because of this god damn album. Before Kanye went on a downward spiral (musically and politically) i glaze this album, heck, even all of the albums of him can't you guys see I love this album? 🥺🥺🥺 lost in the world is top 10 kanye btw final rating: 8.7/10 favs: power, all of the lights, lost in the world, devil in a new dress, runaway, monster, so appalled least fav: who will survive in America, blame game

2010 was a pivotal year for Millenials. We were in our early 20s, moving out, getting money, discovering how far a tank of gas could get us. Original recipe 4lokos were 3/$6. Beer pong was a national sport. Music and culture festivals we starting to blow up. The geopolitical context? Nobody knows, we weren't paying attention. But MBDTF was the soundtrack. It was on the radio. It was in the club. It was on the homie's ipod in the garage. You'd hype up for Dark Fantasy and Who Will Survive. You'd peak through Power, All of the Lights and Monster. You'd crash out on the couch during those long ones, drifting through the strings and piano parts while the mayhem continues in the other room. You'd wake up half way into Lost in the World, spinning, questioning your life choices, lost in some citaay, lost in the wooorld, and either run to throw up or go down for the night. These were our songs.

Putting all the obvious problems about the person he turned out to be to the side; Kanye is a songwriting and production prodigy. "Gorgeous" is full of lines that made me instinctively go "mm" and shake my head: "inter-century anthems based off inner-city tantrums" WOW. HOWEVER - the line about the South Park writer made me fucking belly laugh knowing the context of the fish stick reference LMAOOOOO. There are a lot of lines in this song that make me giggle, but were immediately followed by a punch to the gut and I hope that is what the intention is supposed to be like "and what is a black Beatle anyway, a fuckin' roach?" followed by "I guess that's why they got me sitting in fuckin' coach". "POWER" is such a cool song sonically. The production is thick and, well, sounds like power. "All Of The Lights" - HORNS, RIHANNA, DRUMS - my three favorite things. "Monster" is so infamous, I don't think I have anything helpful to add. I love this track. I feel like I can run like 15 miles when I hear it. "Have you ever had sex with a Pharoah?" lmaooo. Nicki's verse is so good and so iconic she literally wiped the floor and it's not even close. Bon Iver follows like "wait, I am here too!" "Runaway" hit me with a wave of nostalgia I wasn't prepared to experience. Just hearing that song brought me back to 2010 - but it also just made me really sad to listen to in 2025 probably for a lot of reasons. I can't help but feel sad when I hear this song.

I’m not going to proselytise to any of you about why you should care about this album, nor defend it as a landmark release in Hip Hop. My introduction to this like many was hearing POWER on the Saints Row 3 trailer, followed by All of the Lights being an Ohrwurm of year 6. The real beauty of this album is how many styles Kanye successfully threw into it… for the first half. Man, everything after Runaway makes it hard to keep the sentiment of “this shit rocks” as you listen. This is why l’m giving it a 7.5. The features on here were a statement from Kanye that he could get any other artist he wanted so long as it enriched the track, and just about all of them did (though I’ve never cared too much for Jay’s verse on Monster contrary to popular opinion). I don’t come back to this album beyond tracks listed prior and below, but I guess if you love it, power to you. I just think this was a mid-career victory lap embellished with some very, very good productions. Favourite: Gorgeous, DIAND Least Favourite: Hell of a Life 7.5

I loved this album in uni, its the perfect tempo to listen and study too without distracting from the content. But with age it certainly has become a lot more corny. Maybe its cause of all the Tory's who froth this, maybe its cause the first cracks of Kanyes deep insecurities begin to show on this album and make it a little cringe in retrospect. Maybe its cause every track that came on after this was better. Idk Still a good endlessly re-listenable album. 7/10

Great Songs: Dark Fantasy, Power, Monster, Runaway, Hell of a Life, Lost In the World Good Songs: Gorgeous, All of the Lights, So Appalled, Devil In a New Dress, Blame Game, Who Will Survive in America Mid Songs: All of the Lights (Interlude) Bad Songs:

Bangers

Album incrivel!! Todos os prêmios que o Kenye West ganhou em cima deste album foi merecido. Eu ouvi 2x, mas confesso já ter ouvido algumas faixas antes, porem nunca completo. E fiquei chocado com a qualidade musica e criatividade desse album, realmente incrivel. Dito isso 4 estrela! 4,5 por respeito, mas eu acho que um 5 é demais.

Good job, Kanye. I will never forget your black balls

Kanye er en stor produsent, ikke albumet jeg har hørt mest men det er absolutt mye bra og gøy. Nå man trenger løsning for å se lyrics mens man lytter POWER har jeg hørt litt mange ganger, det er boost. Bra buildup og beats generelt Må kjenne etter om jeg synes tekstene er like gode her som i senere Life of Pablo Lander på 3-4. Runder opp

Probablemente el album de Kanye más influyente, con tracks tan icónicos como su nombre, demostrando una vez mas como es de los mejores productores aot con sonidos que hasta ese momento no se habían escuchado. Por más que no es de los mejores de Kanye, tiene fillers un poco molestos y las letras de este hombre nunca me gustaron, me gusta escucharlo cantar para variar un poco del hip hop, y les diria que este y Donda son los únicos momentos donde lo vemos un poquito mas emotional. Llevo años escuchando este album y se disfruta mucho, que pena el downfall que hace que me sea intolerable apoyar a Kanye a día de hoy. Mis favoritas desde siempre: Hell of a Life, Monster, Runaway

I miss the old Kanye. La obra maestra del hip hop de nuestro siglo. Como mujer europea con gusto de incel norteamericano, esto es bastante peak. Ya se ha dicho todo de este album así que solo voy a decir que Lost in the world es la mejor canción. "No one man should have all that power" No porque luego mira lo que pasa, que te vuelves cucú, ye. Favs: Lost in the world, Devil in a new dress

Empieza súper súper fuerte, pero flaquea muchísimo en su último cuarto. Todo lo demás es increíble: banger after banger after banger con instrumentales increíbles y versos legendarios (destacando el de Nicki Minaj en Monster wtf se comió a TODOS en esa canción). Disco muy influyente y definitivamente un esencial, no solamente dentro del rap sino de la música en general. A la playlist: Dark Fantasy, Gorgeous, Power, All of the Lights, Monster, So Appalled, Runaway, Hell of a Life Hot take: el disco se tenía que haber terminado en Runaway (metiendo Hell of a Life después de So Appalled, por ejemplo), Lost in the World y Who Will Survive in America como canciones finales no le hacen justicia al disco.

It’s a shame to have to do the “art vs. artist” mental gymnastics when thinking about an album like this. It’s an awesome record from front to back with great production and features. Probably my favorite of his and certainly one of his best.

68/1089 trying to listen as objectively as possible despite Ye’s actions and reputation… All Of The Lights and it’s interlude are great, Power of course too. Lost In The World is pretty inspired work, especially the Bon Iver feature The album is undeniably strong, the production and musical choices are very good and the album feels varied, intense and purposeful in it’s craft. hearing early Nicki and Rihanna in there is fun. it just feels tainted by the fact that Ye is no longer this person… faves: Lost in the world, All of the lights + interlude, POWER 4 stars or /100

I've never listened to a whole Kanye Album start to finish. Fuck me. This one's so fucking good.

Wow this was really well done.

Really good. Went in blind, but recognized a couple songs. Surprised how much I liked this, not at all what I expected.

Have to separate the art from the artist for this one. The definition of a big album. Very ambitious and tons of features. The sampling is amazing too. My only issue is some songs overstay a bit.

This one grew on me a lot actually

Yeah, Kanye's basically canceled, but I enjoyed listening to this album...not gonna lie. Highlight for me was 'Monster' - shout out to Bon Iver!

Liked it. Sad to listen to it now because Kanye is barely a person now.

Splitting the person and their art is always hard. I loved this album when it was released but I guess now I listen to it less. It’s still a great album though.

Great album but just not his best album

It’s a great album and there’s some classics on there. I’m a Kanye fan even now when everyone seems to hate him, he’s been one of the best producers of all time and continues to do so! This album starts so strong, songs like Power and all of the lights are iconic! Monster is a great collaboration with some great verses. Runaway is amazing with its simple piano melody creating an emotional and full beat with the lyrics to match. Blame game is another amazing sample (although I heard its use was a bit controversial!) but to take that Avril 14th and turn it into blame game is special. Only reason it’s not 5 stars is that I feel the last 2 tracks are a bit filler for me personally, but still a great album

I've never listened to one of his albums and was surprised by the range. While I'm not a fan of the person, the album was great.

Considering the Generator gave me The College Dropout less than a week ago and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (an album by Raekwon that was produced by RZA) just yesterday, getting Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy today has me beginning to wonder if it truly is randomized. I'm catching on, Generator – you better watch your back! In all seriousness... MBDTF is one of the few albums on this list that I actually have heard, but it's been quite some time (probably around six years since I last spun it). Since then, he's released five new albums (haven't bothered to check out the most recent three, as I've heard nothing but bad things about them) and I've been properly educated on all his pre-2010 albums. That said, I feel pretty much exactly the same way about this LP as I did back in 2019 – these are some of Kanye's most iconic tracks, bundled together in a pretty odd way, with some baffling mixing decisions. If you don't think about it too hard, it FEELS like near-perfect album... However, for someone like me, who actually cares about an album telling a story through its direction and sequencing, it does fall flat. Don't get me wrong, MBDTF is a pretty strong album – it just plays more like a greatest hits reel than a bona fide concept album (which it's clearly trying to be). My biggest takeaway from revisiting the LP after finally hearing Kanye's first four albums is that there's a little bit of each project here – you'll find the chopped-up soul of The College Dropout, the infectious beats of Graduation, the emotional auto-tune of 808s & Heartbreak and even a little bit of Late Registration's conscious lyrics here. If someone were looking to get into Kanye West (no idea why they would in 2025) and knew basically nothing about his music, MBDTF would be a great place to start because there are so many potential avenues to explore depending on which style they're feeling. Kanye may not be a very good person, but My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is a pretty notable and enjoyable piece of his storied career! Highlights: Dark Fantasy, POWER, All of the Lights, Devil in a New Dress, Runaway, Hell of a Life, Lost in the World

Fuck Kanye Favorite Track: Runaway

Hell of a life is one that i havent' heard and really like. the classics are classic for a reason runaway is genius monster is monster all of the lights is hype.

Lotta good stuff here. Also, a lotta marginal stuff. For all the overflowing and overweening creativity, one finds one's patience tested by some of the lamer joke, by the sheer volume of ideas, hooks, samples, etc., and the faux intensity (not to mention the misogyny). Ye does suck all the air out of the room, doesn't he, and by design, too. Best standalone tracks are "Devil in a New Dress" and "Runaway." Rounding up because of boldness of including King Crimson samples and Michael Jackson references. Great to hear Gil-Scott Heron, but Ye is no G-SH, let's be clear. Kids this record – and Ye himself – don't matter nearly as much as he – or you – might think and no one should take oneself this seriously. One wonders if he woulda been better records had he not indulged himself – would the music be improved if he improved himself as a, you know, human being? And will this age well? One thinks not.

Tenho tanta pena que o Kanye seja um psycho nos dias de hoje! Não sou nem ninguém cá fui fã de Hip Hop, mas este álbum é um “clássico” para os millenials. Runway é a minha favorita (basic, mas não quero saber).

Moro moro :D Kanye West on kyl yks suosikeista ja tällä albumilla oli kyl paljon hyviä kappaleita joita oon ennenki kuunnellu. Kanye on lyrical genius jonka neroutta ei monet ymmärrä. Mahtava levy mut ei täydellinen omaan korvaan.

Tää onkin helppo lätty arvostella, kun tullut kuunneltua jo ennestään suhteellisen paljon. Ja jumalauta että on laatu Kanyeta + legenda nimiä tuottajina, minkä kuulee kyllä soundista. Ei oo yhtään biisiä, minkä aikana tulisi mieleenkään skipata. Omat top pickit levyltä ehdottomasti Monster ja Gorgeous. Ja pakko nostaa Monsterista Minajin verse aina esille. Ihan helvetin kova vaikka en muuten kyseistä artistia kuuntele. Levy täynnä rentoilua, nostalgista tunnelmaa, poppia ja asennetta.

Good up there with other great rap albums probably outstanding for its time. Good mix between rap and melody.

Tää taitaa olla ajalta, kun kaniksen trollausvaihe oli viel maltillisemmalla tasolla. Hyviä biisejä, vaikkei tässä kyl mitään syväluotausta johonkin läbändeeruspuoleen ehtinyt tekemään ja en tiiä jaksaako kiinnostaakaan. Ehkä liian pitkä kokonaisuus, että jaksais kertaistumalta kuunnella.

He was a lot better when he was openly dissing the Orange Monster.

Kanye's last great album before his descent into insanity. Some outstanding tracks. Very raw in places.

Too bad some people will instantly disregard cause the artist or the genre. Long before he was whack job he was a seriously talented artist. First half of this album is a 5 then is trails off near the end. Will revisit for shre

8/10 - terrible human but great album

Got caught with 30 rocks, the cop look like Alec Baldwin They rewrite history, I don't believe in yesterday And what's a Black Beatle anyway, a fuckin' roach? I don't really give a fuck about it at all 'Cause the same people that tried to blackball me Forgot about two things, my Black balls

muy bueno el negro

Some bangers, some not (monsters). Pretty damn good as far as rap

One of my all time favourites! Monster sounds dated now, though it was one of my favourites when it first came out. So Appalled and Devil in a new Dress are also weaker than the rest. Runaway 10/10 Hell of a Life 10/10 Gorgeous 10/10 All of the lights 10/10

Kanye West is a genius. But geniuses have been know the flirt with insanity. There is no song on this album that won’t get your foot tapping or your head nodding. And the list of collaborators is a who’s who in music.

- Verassend goed, veel herkenbare dingen - 0 nummers toegevoegd aan MMMM

Can't stand the person, can't deny the talent.

God help me, I think I need to turn in my progressive card because I legitimately enjoyed the hell out of this. Really loved the composition but found some of the lyrics a bit cringe. I understand now why they called him the GOAT, too bad he had to throw it all away

He’s insane but the album is good 7/10 points docked for his personality

I have to separate the art from the artist. Kanye’s a horrible and mentally ill person but this album is fantastic.

I really liked this one. It reminded me of albums like Igor and Because the Internet that are full of lush production that pull from different inspirations. Some of the songs were a bit too self aggrandizing for my taste but overall well made album

Okay what I like most about this album is all the nasty lyrics about pussy and fucking and stuff. :P 4 stars

so extra, so maximalist, so grand, so all over the place. 4.5/5

Not the masterpiece everyone makes it, but enjoyable. It's too over-produced and too long. Also, fuck Ye.

I think the beginning of this album is fantastic; I really dig pretty much everything up to and including "Monster". After that, it's a bit shakier for me, and I certainly start to feel the length. I suppose my only hot take is that, while I love the outro of "Runaway", I'm not a huge fan otherwise. I respect some of the sincerity of the verses, but the chorus totally takes me out of it. I certainly don't see myself rushing to listen to it again any time soon, but in time, I think it could potentially rise in my estimations. 3.5/5

I've never knowingly listened to Kanye before, so I was going into this completely blind. It was much better than I had expected, but it still is not my thing. Monster was a lot of fun, especially the Nicki Minaj section.

I really didn't want to like this album. As a rule i want very little to do with Nazi sympathisers. I liked the album but i won't be listening to it again

To cite my prologue from Eric Clapton, Kid Rock, and many more - bad people can make good music. Kanye West is an amazing producer, a good rapper and an okay writer. That's fine, he brings in a ton of features and cowriters to fill the gaps and puts together a good album that even though personally, I'm not a fan of his style I did enjoy. 4/5

There are some underrated bangers on this one, like POWER and Lost In The World. His production and samples are on point - I especially liked the King Crimson one. It doesn't get a 5 because the quality isn't really consistent through out. Couple of duds in there

Not my kinda music but I can recognize peak

kannski ekki elst vel. en mjög metnaðarfull. synfónískar útsetningar. fíflið er frekar slakur rappari og auðvitað ömurleg persóna. fílaði mjög á sínum. kann ekki við að lækka mikið vegna fyrri áhrifa.

yeah it was good

You can't deny the production quality, the smooth seamless vocals, the excellent beats that support the message and the cutting edge lyrics. What I didn't realise is how "Trumpian" this album was. If you want to understand Trump listen to this. It isn't pro trump, it's if he was channeling trump. "I'm a monster, you knew it you wanted me anyway so stop crying". It's excellent but disturbing and while it doesn't align with my political views you can't deny it. Monster hits it on the head. A must have.

The guy's a fucking idiot, but he still could make a decent record back then.

Good but not my fav album

Kanye West might not be a crazy lyricist or necessarily that good of a rapper, but he's a fantastic producer and absolutely knows how to make a catchy song (well, at least used to know). This album is full of extremely memorable bangers. The fact that the rapping here is not that special is compensated by this lush, maximalist production, which I absolutely love. Since hip hop is mostly focused on vocals, a lot of rap albums have very simple, rudimentary production (or at least used; I don’t really follow hip hop that closely, so I’m not entirely sure; most recent albums from the genre I’ve heard put a lot more effort into production), which is kind of boring to me. This album focuses more on the instrumentals, which I prefer. The only problem with this album is that it falls of a bit in the second half and becomes too slow and dark for my taste. It really is a shame what happened to Kanye. He used to be such an amazing artist…

3.9/5

Corny at times but still good. Kanye is a really, really good producer. But the lyrics are corny porn addict shit and it's kind of embarassing. There's a reason 14 year old boys love him so much. But it still sounds pretty modern 15 years later and that's impressive.

This was a good album listen and the early inception of Kanye's thought processes. I miss these early album years Kanye.

Tried to separate the music from the artist. Great in it’s time, no different now if I’m being honest

What can I say

Flöt lite förbi tbh, men det var bra

Das müssen eigentlich 4 Sterne sein. 4 Sterne definitiv!

Horrible person, but even though I don't usually listen to this type of music regularly I liked the majority of the album.

Never listened to Kanye before, all I know of him is it sounds like he’s gone crazy in the last couple of years. For the most part I was surprised how much I enjoyed this. There were a couple of duds but the songs that I did enjoy were brilliant. Top Track - Lost In The World

Yeah, it's my favorite genre. Music for ads

This is my first time listening to Kanye, and gotta admit, this is some fantastic stuff. It sounds great, the lyrics are fun, compositions are complex, I guess other than the crazy he's become, I'd have to say I'm a fan

psa for mental health awareness

0 points for Kanye and 0 points for the misogyny…but listening to this just for the music it was almost a 5 for me

Psa for mental health awareness

nasty person, great musician

Good tracks

Really really good. A lot of bangers on here and has a lot of relistening value. I was not the biggest fan of the latter half of the album, so I give it a 4 instead of a 5.

He may be evil but damnit this album is amazing. 9/10 (leaning down)

Great album. Not what I listen to day to day, but every song on here is incredible.

One of my favorite Kanye West albums.

Fantastic record. Lots of great collaborations on this record, and also a lot of well-produced and hype tracks. It's sad that someone so awful could produce something so amazing. Favourite Track(s): POWER, All Of The Lights, Blame Game Least Favourite Track(s): Runaway

3.5

I was actually pleasantly surprised by this album . In fact I was actually expecting a far more mid reaction to it which is my usual Kanye ratings. I do like some of the stuff but as a whole I'm not a fan, even when he wasn't controversial. First thing I think this album starts off and ends absolutely spectacularly "Dark Fantasy" and "Lost in the World"/"Who Will Survive in America", are above and beyond what I expected. I also really enjoyed the first four tracks on the album up to "All the Lights". This album to me works really well when it's pretty much crossing over the hip hop and pop landscapes. Starting with "Monster" through "Devil In A New Dress", along with "Hell of A Life" however it kind of gets into the typical rap that I'm not really drawn to, though I did like the guitar work on "Devil". "Runaway" I also enjoyed quite a bit, especially the last four minutes goes into musical textures I honestly think is brilliant. If it wasn't for the stretch of songs, which if I were more into rap in general I'd probably dig it, I could see myself going much higher. (8.4) ★★★★

Wonderful production, good variety. 4.5 stars

Nice rare blockbuster album effort for the 2010s. Kanye is at the top of his tormented braggadocio game here and there are loads of great features and samples throughout. King Crimsony-assisted Power and Runaway are the runaway standout productions but All Of The Lights and Aphex Twin derivative Blame Game are also brilliant tracks.

Great album, have to knock a star off because he’s a bit of a cunt

Putting aside the person Kanye has become, this is a great rap album. Not exactly sure how much I'll go back to it, but there's a couple of tracks (Power, for example) that I can't help but put on sometimes.

If I were to separate the art from the artist for a sec, this album is very good. Shame he’s so problematic and controversial, as he is actually a talented rapper.

I know a lot of King Crimson fans were NOT happy with "POWER", but I thought it was a good way to let people know of the band's influence. For the most part, I think this album was probably Kanye's pinnacle. He has a lot of great guest stars, uses some good riffs and samples, and the production is masterful. I could have done without "Blame Game" and the Chris Rock bit (don't get me wrong, I think Chris Rock is hilarious. It just seemed to not fit in the song for me.). Am I going to listen to this album again? Probably not, just because... you know, Kanye. But I will not deny that it is a good album, and probably his best work. Top tracks: "POWER," "All of the Lights," "Monster," "So Appalled," "Lost in the World," "Who Will Survive In America"

So was this when Kanye fully came out as an ahole? He sure doesn't shy away from the fact that he can be a real ahole - embracing his bad boy role (with some help from Jay-Z and the Dark Knight to make the point). The sexual violence and depravity is a bit much at times though. The start of the album is really well orchestrated, some beautiful melodies and sampling along with some sublime rapping and lyrics. For those reasons, Dark Fantasy might be favorite of all the songs, with Power a close second. Gorgeous and All of the Lights are also really good (great vocals from Rhianna on the latter). I didn't totally love Monster - all the beats and featured vocals didn't come together quite right. From there I was less into the album, it's like he took his foot of the orchestration gas and just through more straight ahead stuff at us, but the layers and complexity in the first few songs was what made this album so good. Runaway and Blame Game were two exceptions - simple piano notes and a subtle drum track in each, with soft vocal styles from Pusha T or John Legend that perfectly complement Kanye's rapping. Lost in the World had potential but was auto-tuned to hell (sorry Bon Iver). Who Will Survive in America was a cool ending. Apt title for this album - Kanye arranges some beautiful songs but the lyrics (despite being very clever) are real dark and twisted. If he hadn't lost his way in the middle of the album I'd probably rate this even higher.

It's time again for everyone's favorite game: Separate the art from the piece of shit artist! This an outstanding album from a horrible person. It even helps get under the veneer of his horrible personality, but unfortunately it wasn't redemption - he only doubles down (and then some) over the ensuing years. Still, let's review only the music. Mostly excellent. I'd basically call Dark Fantasy through Monster a nearly perfect stretch (Gorgeous goes a little long, but the lyrics are powerful). First of all, Ye is a prog fan? Mike Oldfield and Jon Anderson on Dark Fantasy? Power based on 21st Century Schizoid Man? I enjoyed watching a video of Greg Lake starting a concert with Power and segueing to him singing and playing 21st CSM. Power was the first song to really hit me - very powerful (pun not quite intended?). All of the Lights was a super-catchy track and Rihanna sounds great. Monster was a fun, cool track and Nicki Minaj's section made me laugh. The rest of the album has a lot of good moments, but the lyrics got to be a little too much (Devil in a New Dress, settle down Kanye, plus the end of Hell of a Life. Ugh). Blame Game was crude as hell (although Chris Rock is never not funny). Lost in the World was catchy, but I HATE AUTOTUNE. Who Will Survive in America was a powerful closer with some disturbing imagery (all from Gil Scott-Heron's spoken word poem Comment #1 from 1970). I recognize that in the world of rap albums, this should be a clear 5. However, I was less of a fan of the second half (except perhaps Runaway, but it went a little too long), hate autotune, and feel I can't give Kanye a 5 since he's such a piece of shit. Guess I can't fully separate the art from the artist. Favorite tracks: Power, All of the Lights, Monster.

I enjoyed this album. I hate Kanye West as a person, but I enjoyed this album. I already owned two songs from it (Power and Runaway).

He can be hit or miss, but when he hits, he HITS.

Excellent collaborations. Varied themes and styles. Kanye’s best album

Solid album. Personally, I prefer College Drop Out, Late Registration, and Graduation, but this one is a banger too. Shame the twat went crazy. That CTE is a mother fucker. 4.5⭐️

There’s some good and some meh on this album, but there’s no denying that a few of these tracks are going to stick around for a long time. Even with how off-the-rails Kanye has become, this album is just a good piece of work. Like with many artists, sometimes you have to separate the person from the music, and I say that as someone who FUCKING HATES Kanye. That said, it’s hard not to wonder if he’s been telling us something all along, “POWER” feels like a mirror into his ego, and jumping out the window at the end? Maybe a little foreshadowing. We as a society can only hope it comes sooner than later.

I wasn't expecting to like this. I also wasn't expecting all the songs to be so long.

A lot of pleasant songs

1. Dark Fantasy - 8 Great opening track. This is classic Kayne. Solid flow, all sorts of cultural references sprinkled throughout. Intro is a little too long for my liking but this just a great rap track. The choir coming in and out of the track is really really good. Bridge is a little weak but the beat overall is amazing. 2. Gorgeous (feat. Kid Cudi & Raekwon) - 7 Another good track. The guests on the track work so well in between Kayne's deep raps and they generally compliment him so well. The interesting thing about the track is the guitar and bass, which lead the beat over traditional snares or drums like in most traditional rap. Track feels filled with Kayne's hateful rage, which compliments the dirty sounds of the guitar he has on the track. 3. Power - 10 Best track on the album and probably one of the best tracks Kayne ever made. Drumline is immense on this track. Background vocals lift the track. Lyrically this track is unbelievably strong, drifting between societal problems and Kayne's own struggle to create this very track. It's just an absolutely epic song. 4. All the Lights (Interlude) - N/A Bridge track. Not meant to be rated. 5. All the Lights - 8 Solid track. Instrumentals aren't balanced and a bit overpowering on the track which drowns out of the vocals at times but it's still a good song. Opening verse is the biggest part of the song. 6. Monster (feat. JAY-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj & Bon Iver) - 4 The beat on this track is great but it's lyrically very bad. The opening 2 minutes is lyrically some of the worst on the album. Chorus is absolutely dreadful as well. JayZ's verse starts out poorly but ends well. Nicki Minaj's verse is absolutely awful. 7. So Appalled (feat. Kanye West, JAY-Z, Pusha T & Prynce Cy Hi) - 7 Much better track. Lyrically the flow is so much better and the lyrics themselves are so much stronger. Beat is great and this is more a return to what this album has built itself as than the previous track. Last minute is the weakest part of the track. 8. Devil in a New Dress (feat. Rick Ross) - 9 Awesome track. Lyrically it's absolutely amazing. When Kayne is describing the devil in the new dress he fades between rap, signing a line like a gospel song, and then another like it's casual conversation. The imagery the song paints is crystal clear. Instrumentally it's great and the guest verse this time is just as strong as Kayne's at the start of the song. All around excellent. 9. Runaway (feat. Pusha T) - 7 The opening verse is the worst part about this song but the whole second half of the track lyrically is very enjoyable. Instrumentally it lasts too long at the end. Pusha T's vocal are a great compliment to the track. 10. Hell of a Life - 6 The use of auto-tune here is awful. Absolutely kills the choruses but the verse still contains that same flow we've come to love from a Kayne track. Beat and instrumentals are very good. 11. Blame Game (feat. John Legend) - 6 John Legend's vocals really carry the song. Kanye's verses are pretty solid as well. Instrumentally it's pretty sound. The song gets overly repetitive at times after the choruses but overall it's a pleasant listen. The monologue goes on for way way too long at the end. 12. Lost in the World (feat. Bon Iver) - 7 Decent song. Instrumentally and lyrically it's good but it comes to a crescendo around 3 minutes in that's just too many sounds. Track tends to drown itself out because of it. Overall though, a better song than Blame Game with a seamless transition into the final track. 13. Who Will Survive In America - 6 Decent song with a preacher painting metamorphic images with his monologue. The song is short and it's a solid conclusion to an otherwise decent album. Not terribly too much to dissect as the track is only 99 seconds long but overall it's a good way to end the album. Average Rating: 7.2 Adjusted to a 5-Point Scale: 3.6 Rounded Up: 4 stars

Before Kanye went crazy-Ye, he really was a gifted artist. I guess that's still in there somewhere. Monster will always be a complete jam.

A polarizing figure, but you must admit this album is a masterpiece.

Overall: 8/10 Honestly, I don't really feel like listening to Kanye lately. I used to adore this man's music and now he just leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I still listened to it, and I still added songs to my playlist, but man. I just don't like nazis. It's sad too because he was so talented and this album is soooooo great. It probably would have gotten a perfect rating but, again, I don't like nazis. Fav Song: Runaway Least Fav Song: Devil in a New Dress

Favorites: Gorgeous, Devil in a New Dress, Runaway This album would be perfect if it cut So Appalled, Hell Of A Life, and Blame Game. They make the entire record feel more bloated and mediocre than it actually should be. Otherwise, this is some damn good production and a record that houses some of my favorite rap songs of all time.

OK, so no one should listen to Kanye because he's a garbage human being. Having said that, this one's pretty great. Some of his best songs are on here, though as a whole I've never loved it as much as most people do. Plus, I hate that stupid Chris Rock bit. Shout out to Nikki Minaj for her career-making turn on Monster.

Pretty good. Some boring songs. 4/5

This album has been the love of my life, I love how Kanye changed each way he rapped and sounded on each and every song. My top song are monster, hell of a life and gorgeous

A strong 4, first half was super strong but faltered towards the end

Great album that changed the genre sadly also has multiple skips. Not top 3 Kanye for me

Kanye's magnum opus, for better or worse

High level rap. Really great production

what to do with this one in the year 2025, huh. in my past, i was a mild kanye fan and i think he can be brilliant. lately i want absolutely nothing to do with him, and if you're paying anywhere close to attention, you'll understand why. but when this album came out, i liked it. not as much as everyone else seemed to, as this is always in contention for "greatest album of all time." i've never been quite there. there is some good stuff on here but i am more of a fan of his earlier production and songs. there are definitely some high points here for me ('power,' 'all of the lights,' and 'runaway') but a lot of the album cuts don't do a whole lot for me. his rapping is generally pretty great on here. the jay-z verse on 'monster' is genuinely terrible. did we really have to listen to several minutes of chris rock talking about reupholstering pussies? i haven't listened to this album in well over a decade because i liked his earlier stuff better in general, so upon relistening, i'm still sort of in the same place. musically, this was never a 5/5 for me, and for the express purposes of this project, i try to remove the art from the artist, even though who he is currently is pretty deplorable.

PRE-LISTEN: Ooh, problematic! I have never "gotten" the whole Kanye thing. Granted, I have not really tried to "get" it, but the music of his that I have heard has not made me even slightly curious to check out any more. And everyone just accepts it as FACT that he is a "genius." I was intending for a while to try to give his alleged classics a serious listen to see if I could figure it out and then he went full Nazi and I basically forgot about it. I guess this project is as good an excuse as there will be, so let's see... LISTENING: Hey, I recognize "POWER"! Never paid attention to the lyrics before. Holy shit at all the guests on "All of the Lights." And then "Monster" too. OK, I see why this album was such a big deal. I kind of like "Runaway." OK, I think I get it. This album is really good. But what a weirdo.

I enjoyed that rap album. Rap? Hip hop? Still not quite sure what the difference is

I remember really liking this album at the time, so I’ll rate it 4/5, but I do not listen to this artist anymore.

Almost 5 stars for the album. 0 stars for Kanye.

- I am sorry to say it...but this album is just fuckin' fantastic. So much going on in every track. So many inspired sounds. So much passion bleeding through it all. - About ten different high points. "Dark Fantasy" starts it strong. "POWER" gets you jumping. "All Of The Lights" cranks up your heart rate. You get slapped with the emotion of "Runaway." Bon Iver (of all people) hits you with a brilliantly shining steel chair known as "Lost In The World" and then you shatter on the final track ("Who Will Survive in America"). - Giving it 4 because Kanye is a huge problem. And he is admittedly so stupidly sensitive to the smallest beefs...that does take me out of it at moments.

Fav: Devil In A New Dress Least Fav: Blame Game Loved this album, but things like that terrible Chris Rock bit at the end of Blame Game can really ruin the flow. However, most of the other songs are pretty much perfect, just needs cutting down a lil. Also shout out to JAY-Z’s verse in Monster, man really took the time to name as many monsters as he can remember

A game-changer when it came out but I feel like so much of it is overlong and self-indulgent to a degree I don't have patience for anymore (end of Runaway, Blame Game). Trying to separate the art from the artist, there are still some parts of this album I just don't want to listen to on a second listen and that keeps it from a 5 - which is good because I didn't want to give that Nazi a 5 anyway.

its a nice mix of cockiness and vulnerability

As much as I'd like to hate this, I enjoy the music of it. The lyrics are quite silly at times but I'm less bothered by that side of things, which is why hip hop is such a struggle for me in the first place.

I wish Kanye West wasn’t the biggest piece of trash to walk this planet

I tend to talk out out sides of my mouth when i comes to kanye. Overrated narcissistic psychopath. But also visionary, once in a generation talent. My beautiful dark twisted fantasy is an iconic piece of music. A bookend to the 2000's and unshering in a new era of Ye for the decade, again before the psychopath became manifest. Its a wonderful look into the mind of a successful rap star, rags to riches. Lovely album if you seperate art from the artist. Dark Fantasy, Power, All of the Lights, Monster, Runaway. All BANGERS.

Fantastic, but not quite there for me. Getting into major asshole territory.

Enjoyed listening to this while sitting in the sun. Obviously, Kanye has gone completely nuts of late but this is a good reminder that he was once a credible performer.

Als je niet naar de tekst luistert is het best een leuk album.

Despite my dislike of the man, this is an impressive album.

Wanted to knock this down to 3 for a few reasons but it’s undeniably excellent, so here we are

😬😬😬😬

what happened kanye...

Hard to rate, as I really despise Kanye West but I truly think he is musically talented and I admit I really like some of these songs, perhaps because I grew up with them. However, I realized how much his character showed in the lyrics and I found myself frowning multiple times.

some nice bits

One of the last albums before the descent into lunacy.

un bel 4.. ci sono chicche interessanti

While I am not a huge fan of hip hop, this album had some pretty nice moments. Low 4/5.

I don’t like that I like this so much?

I desperately want to give this a 5...but there are one or two throw away tracks and Kanye is also just one that I can say is a primo individual.

an incredible album.* *well, first, you have to understand it as a work of fiction. the Kanye on MBDTF is a Kanye who looked at himself and saw someone who needs to change. really though, we know for a fact Kanye looked at himself and saw someone who was Fine, Actually, and who eventually managed to suppress any actual sense of awareness but with all the ugliness of still seizing the headlines and doubling down on his worst tendencies, both creatively and personality wise. the introspection was an act, something for the cameras that breaks like a character. the bowie comparison always seems spooky to me, partially cause of the K. West sign, but because it's so easy to put the image of a "different character" on every era of West. one of my favorite pieces of Kanye-related art shows him in his various "eras" represented by the bear, modified with a discoball mask for Donda or playing a piano and Jheri curled for 808s. for MBDTF, he's sitting on a throne, bored and languishing. as we know now, looking inward, the self-awareness and post-VMAs "change" was as much of an era as, like, doing autotune R'n'B. so yeah, it's a great album. it's a bit slow near the end, but the concept's strong and the tracks are radio slam dunks that i still get chunks of stuck in my head ever since i learned of "POWER" or "All of the Lights". but it's as much of a performance as Ziggy Stardust. after all these years, i feel like we're finally beginning to meet the real Kanye, one too far gone to care about performing past provocateur antics and stupidity, and guys? it's been miserable. fuckin' ridiculous, even.

great album, sucks he's a nazi runaway clears

I feel guilty for liking this, Kanye West has been a pretty terrible person, but there are some excellent tracks here.

I'm really into Kanye's way of sounding, despite the public's attitude towards him

Not a good person at all but he made some music

For hip hop this has a lot going on in the mid range. Great. Makes it more musical. Kanye is crazy, but he knows how to make music. Favorite song: power

Unfortunately incredible minus one star Kanye tax

Boy it’s hard to listen to him

Ja Classic halt. Anfang ist fast perfekt, dann nach den ersten beiden drittel wirds bisschen schwächer und Jay Z Part auf Monster ist Arsch. Früher Dark Fantasy, jetzt Devil in a new Dress Lieblinglied.

"I've never even seen this part of Pussy Town before"

Kanye is really fucked now, but back in the day he was only kind of fucked. And he (and a seemingly a semi-communal group of many talented people) made this album, which is very good and was a very big deal. It’s super well made - the instrumentals are diverse, maximalist, clever, and hooky collages - drawing from wide sources leading to an original and memorable sound, while also fitting in the songs perfectly. Solid rapping from Kanye and his many guests, with themes of celebrity: the excess & decadence, maybe a bit of introspection and questioning yourself behind that hedonistic narcissist front. It surprisingly tight around the theme and feels like it could be considered a concept album. I’m certainly no Ye defender or fan boy, but this album is good. For as good as it is, it is also tough to listen to a guy who praises Hitler and wears a trash bag.

I wish he wasn’t an absolutely terrible person, because his lyricism is insane. I haven’t listened to a lot of Kanye outside of the occasional song or ear worm i hear on social media, so sitting to listen to this album really unfortunately opened my eyes as to why he still has so many followers despite his.. problems. His mind, at at least some point in time, was genius. The lyrics alone are crazy, but he pairs them with a sample that is pleasing to the ear, and a flow that’s great. Dare I say he was a little ahead of his time. I can see why he’s an artist that you often hear “separate art from artist”, because some of these songs are just crazy good. All that being said, it still has its issues. Some of the songs ran a little long, and I think that’s due in part to there being too many features on a song. This problem also made some of the song repetitive. All together it’s a pretty good album, but I don’t think i’d actually listen to any of these songs individually, because again, they tend to run a little long for casual listening.

This is a great fucking album, this is actually one of my favorite Kanye albums, before he went crazy and became an actual nutcase monster, it sucks because I don't want to support him but it is good music and had he not gone off the deep end I feel he could have kept going with great music, sad state if affairs, I stopped listening to his albums after this one so, and I think this is prob him at his best!

Unfortunately a really good album

Some very good tracks but a few duds hold it back from a 5 star review. Also hard to give a 5 and separate the toxic personality from the talent.

Peak Kanye. His ego had already blown up and you can feel it on this record but it doesn't take away from it. I have never been a huge Ye stan but this album got a lot of play in my house when it came out.

Je n’aurais jamais écouté d’album de Kanye West sans ce défi. Je le trouve méprisable. Mais je dois admettre que j’ai aimé l’album. La production est impeccable, la narration accrocheuse, les artistes invités en pleine possession de leurs moyens – au point d’éclipser Kanye parfois. Je le respecte comme parolier et MC, même si je doute de réécouter sa musique à l’avenir

First of all, dude's an unhinged nazi and aside from re-listening to him for the purposes of this project, I make a point of not listening to his stuff because I don't even want to give him $0.0001 for listening to his stuff on Spotify. Don't feel good even spending fractions of cents to bankroll his platform. But for the purposes of this project, since his awful views aren't present in the lyrics/materials of his albums included on this list, I will rate them based on the art present (whereas previously I got a Serge Gainsbourg album that has lyrics talking about grooming and raping an underage girl. Regardless of the quality of the music, that gets a 1 from me). All that said, this is an all-time classic of an album. So many great hits. POWER, All of the Lights, Monster, Runaway. This was Kanye at his absolute peak. Sure there are still the cringe bars that Kanye always had, but damn if this album isn't catchy and amazingly produced. The vibe/instrumental of So Appaled is insane. Shoutout to Nicki Minaj's verse on Monster, easily the best verse in her career, absolutely blowing both Kanye and Jay Z's verses on that track out of the water. Bon Iver closing out the track is just icing on the cake. There are a few songs that aren't as solid as I remember, Hell of A Life and Lost in the World/Who Will Survive in America, although still good. Blame Game did not need that outro. But still a fantastic album.

I’ve been meaning to listen to this album for a long time. I’ve repeatedly heard from my brother how critically acclaimed it is. I knew a few tracks as I listened already. I definitely enjoyed the songs I knew more. The highlight for me was Monster. I enjoyed the bass and drums on that track. I wouldn’t listen again because it’s not my genre but glad I listened!

I understand the hype behind Kanye, this is what rap should be about

Separate art from the artist challenge, level: hard

Few albums are accompanied with more baggage than this one. This is not the best Kanye record, though it makes its case for one right out of the gate, “Dark Fantasy” has such a sweet refrain from Alicia Keys. A few songs later, “Power” insists that Kanye is a corrupted, greedy, highly flawed narrator for this whole project. This songs little vocal chant lead was so pervasive that it dominated everything from radio stations to edm festivals. Just as much can be said about the following “All Of The Lights” with its simple horn lead. “Monster” and “So Appalled” have the most 2010 instrumentals of all time, they’re beats that could’ve belonged to Lana Del Rey as much as anyone. “Devil In A New Dress” is the old Kanye in a new album, backed by a slow, string-laden soul sample. Then comes “Runaway”, when Kanye pulls back the curtain to let a rare sense of true self guide him to making this opus. It’s the type of rambling honesty that makes you want to take your 2025 Time Machine and go back to have an intervention with THIS Kanye. “Hell of a Life” follows as a lowlight, with a clunky interpolation of the Iton Man melody. “Blame Game” goes on to sample one of my favorite songs of all time, with mixed results. The bit with John Legend singing right along with the melody is catchy, but I think everything else going on here kinda muddies the serenity of the piano melody. It also sort of weaponizes the same honesty on “Runaway” for evil instead of good. “Lost In The World” is such a peculiar collaboration that managed to happen well before rappers openly admitted they listened to alternative artists like Tame Impala or Mac Demarco. This is the best slice of production work in my eyes, even if it’s just a bit different with those more upbeat drum break samples and colorful bits of chorus vocal processing. It ends off with a vocal sample that leads to the last track which is all a bit hard to take seriously as a message Kanye really meant from the heart, all things considered now. It now comes across as shallow and tokenistic, ruining an otherwise powerful speech and important message. But I suppose morally ‘shallow’ is apart of the Kanye experience from this record onward. I always felt a sizable tonal shift after “Graduation, when his mom passed. Not attempting to humanize someone who’s gone off the inhumane end, just tracking the events that presented this albums sense of grand tragedy. Soft 4 stars.

Pretty dope so far. Too bad this dude went completely fuckin nuts and is a literal Nazi now. Almost feel bad giving him streams but the royalties from one listen on Apple Music aren’t even doing jack for him. Plus I never listened to this when it came out. I can’t believe I’m 5 years too late.

I hate to say this, because he's not my favorite person, but this album is great.

Hate to admit it but this is a great album

I never would have listened to Kanye on my own. Gotta admit, this is really good.

Devil in a new dress used to be my favorite damn song.

8/10

As crazy as Kanye is, he’s a musical genius and he knows it. Every album just hits. Can’t even put my finger on it-whether it’s the beats, the lyrics, the message of those lyrics, or the shock factor of some of the songs. Something just WORKS! This is an album I played on repeat to try to find a favourite song, but couldn’t narrow any down because they’re all great. Listen again: yes Purchase for my collection: yes Favourite Song: I went with All Of The Lights Interlude, because having an orchestra instrumental on a hip hop album is gold.

Too bad he's a psychopath

Kayne is super fucked up. But this album is one of the best ever.

I think we are at the time where everyone has more or less forgotten about Kanye's X crash out (since nobody is talking about it) so i don't think it will be too controversial if i say that i think that My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is a great album. I have had a somewhat mixed opinion on a lot of Kanye's lyrics but i will say that they in this album are not nearly as bad as the ones on Yeezus, but not as good as the ones in The College Dropout. However, what i think is better than both albums is the production. It took a massive step up and delivered some major bangers in basically all of the songs. Kanye might not be the greatest person but this album sure is his greatest. Best Song: All Of The Lights Worst Song: Dark Fantasy Side Note: And since this is the last of the Kanye West albums i will be looking at, here are my rankings 1. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy 2. The College Dropout 3. Yeezus

Wow. This album is crazy across the board. The production is so varied and unique. The features are all used so well. What an inspired album front to back. It sucks that this guy is so good at what he does, cause he really kind of sucks. Standouts: POWER, Monster, Runaway

Overall, this is one of the better albums I’ve heard from Kanye. He’s made tracks that I’ve really enjoyed, but he’s one of those artists I have a hard time taking seriously. He’s always out there rocking the boat, stirring up controversy just to keep the spotlight on himself, to the point where I find it hard to even want to listen to him.

Pre-listen, 3 of these tracks are already on my liked songs list. Solid album. I'm not a Kanye-as-a-person fan, and I wouldn't really consider myself a fan of Kanye-the-artist, but this album is good. Can't deny it. 4/5.

Ok, I'm no Kanye fan, but the front half of this album slaps. The back half gets real weird, and you can love it I think if you're thinking it's conceptual but with the time thats passed....not shocking that it's turned out this way. However, beside the weirdness, still good. Putting as a 4. Would probably be a 3 in rock, but for not liking a genre or a person...still wild and that counts.

I have listened to this album plenty of times. This album probably one of his best. I am not listening to Kanye these days.

Proof a broken clock is correct twice a day, and the poster child for an argument for the separation of art and the artist

I actually really liked it as much as I hate to admit because Kanye’s an asshole nazi piece of shit

(i liked it sorry sorry sorry sorry)