Released: 2016

Genres: Experimental Hip-Hop, Pop Rap, R&B, Christian Hip-Hop

The Musiquarium’s The Life of Pablo Review Score: 10 out of 10

Where Yeezus was a lean album, with every piece of fat obsessively cut off as if it was dysmorphic, The Life of Pablo embraces its excesses, imperfections and its general unfinished nature, but this only adds a charm to the album and it distinguishes itself from simply being a Yeezus II.

Originally starting life as Thank God For Drugs (which had the single All Day, which released in 2015) and evolving into Swish, Waves and eventually settling on The Life of Pablo, Kanye West has yet again outdone himself with a masterpiece that feels like the unravelling of his psyche, and a battle between his superego, ego and id. As evident by the cover artwork, T.LO.P. is an album about the duality that Kanye has faced in his career, between being a virtuous family man and man of God and being a hedonist, basking in fame, riches, sex and sin. Kanye has always been a walking contradiction, but here it is more evident than ever. The other concept here is between the different Pablos that Kanye sees himself in: Pablo Picasso (the eccentric artist), Pablo Escobar (the ruthless drug kingpin and self-made billionaire), and Paul the Apostle (the preacher of Christ).

The opening track Ultralight Beam is a gospel master work and one of Kanye’s most transcendent songs, even making Chance the Rapper tolerable for a bit. Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1 deals with love and lust, and has an infamous lyric about bleach and t-shirts. Famous, with it’s Bam Bam sample and Rihanna feature, proved to be quite controversial due to its references to Taylor Swift and its music video, which featured several wax-versions of celebrities in bed together, but beyond said controversy, it’s quite a stellar track that did not need to piggyback off its controversial video.

Feedback revolves around an experimental sample that sounds like some sort of guitar or microphone feedback. Highlights is a perfect song for the gym (or at least for an ego workout). FML is an emotional gut-punch, with a superb hook from The Weeknd. Real Friends is similarly stirring, kicking you in the dick of the feels. Wolves follows these two tracks with some heavenly wordless backing vocals, and references to Mother Mary.

30 Hours sees an appearance by OutKast’s André 3000 on backing vocals, and ends with an experimental ad-lib from Ye. No More Parties in L.A. has Kendrick Lamar on a killer guest verse, with the song incorporating a sample of Kanye’s earlier GOOD Music collab track, New God Flow. On Facts (Charlie Heat Version), Kanye brazenly compares Nike’s treatment of its employees to slaves and although it feels a bit like a Yeezy plug, the song itself is still a first-class banger and is vastly superior to the original 2015 single. Fade is a perfect song to request at the club.

Kanye ends the album with Saint Pablo, an introspective work of art, which features vocals from Sampha and an emphasis on emotion and faith; it also contains some of Kanye’s best bars, such as, “I’m not out of control, I’m just not in their control” and “This generation’s closest thing to Einstein, so don’t worry about me, I’m fine”. Saint Pablo is perhaps the quintessential track from The Life of Pablo, which is ironic, considering it was a last minute, post-release addition.

Some people saw T.L.O.P. as the beginning of Kanye’s downfall, due to the album’s unfinished, work-in-progress nature, but I suppose that’s just the new reality of music in the digital age. However, this is Kanye West we’re talking about here, so it really shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering a second version of The College Dropout was released shortly after the original, back at the very beginning of his solo career. Kanye is confident and full of bravado, but he is also a self-conscious perfectionist. Making real-time updates to an already released album on streaming was novel in 2016 and for better or worse, it’s another reason why Kanye is a pioneer and innovator in music.

The Life of Pablo is a masterpiece of an album with a fascinating history, conceptual-complexity and is the type of album that could only come from the mind of Ye.

For credit breakdowns and historic release details, view Kanye West on Discogs.

Back to the 2016 Album Guide or the Kanye West Reviews page.

Written by Brett Nippard