![]() Overall, “The Life of Pablo” is a continuation of the artistic genius of Kanye West. West himself was quoted as saying the album was a gospel album “with a lot more cussing.” The most sample heavy songs are “No More Parties in L.A.” and “Fade,” two of the album’s bonus tracks. This example helps add to notion that The Life of Pablo was modelled after a gospel album. The most notable sample is from “Father Stretch My Hands,” in which West samples the song of the same name by Pastor T.L. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Kanye West album without an incredible amount of sampling, seamlessly weaved into the structure of the song. Even already established musicians like Rihanna, The Weeknd and Chris Brown have their time to shine in “The Life of Pablo.” West has the incredible ability to give musicians a chance to do what they do best. Borrowing from Notorious BIG, Kanye’s approach to features is that “if you don’t know, now you know.” Fans of Chance the Rapper knew his incredible talent years ago but his feature on “Ultralight Beam” will be the catalyst he needs to break into the larger music scene, just like Nicki Minaj back in 2006. West, understanding the power of Chance the Rapper’s flow, gives his verse a chance to breathe. Chance the Rapper is a Chicago start-up like Kanye himself. These themes that make Kanye West great continue through his new album “The Life of Pablo.” The star of the album’s opener “Ultralight Beam” is new to the scene. Yet West’s transformation of it in “Otis” off of his collaboration with Jay-Z’s “Watch the Throne” led to a hit which managed to keep the integrity of the song while creating a completely different and excellent track. Otis Redding’s “Try a Little Tenderness” has been sampled a million different times, in a million different ways. West dares to mix and sample from songs so beloved in the canon, it is shocking they can even compare to the original. A notable example is Nicki Minaj’s verse on “Monster” from “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” which many critics agree confirmed and enhanced Minaj’s stature in the rap scene. ![]() ![]() He is the master of the collaboration, drawing out the best of his features. He blends an incredible sampling with excellent production and flawless flow. It is no question that Kanye West is an artistic genius. His current medium for dramatics seems to be his Twitter account, where he often posts rants against his haters and his exes and most controversially, “BILL COSBY INNOCENT.” While there is no excuse for defending a known rapist, Kanye West’s controversial behavior brings up a question fans often have to consider Do we separate the artist from their art? West has a long history of controversial actions not limited to “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people” and interrupting Taylor Swift on stage. With the drop of “The Life of Pablo” and the release of the third season of “Yeezy,” Kanye West seems posed to fully dominate the artistic world - if it weren’t for Twitter. ![]()
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