- Kanye West had just released Yeezus, a challenging view on his destructive lifestyle and his attempts to better himself. While the critics deem it a masterpiece, the public does not seem ready, yet, to accept the beauty that is the album, for they are overwhelmed by the raw and minimalistic production. Taking no time off, Kanye jumps back into the studio with Rick Rubin and Q-Tip to start working on his seventh studio solo album, initially named So Help me God. Already the possible gospel and religious influence seems apparent. The album goes through many transformations and is ever changing, until 14 February 2016 when the album, titled The Life of Pablo, becomes available for streaming, albeit solely on Tidal for a brief while.
Which one? The protruding question on the cover art, coupled with the rear view of a model and what would appear to be a wedding photograph, possibly Kanye’s parents at their wedding, causes controversy in typical Kanye fashion. Fans were upset that the artwork seemed so lackluster, almost lazily put together and their opinions were justified, that is, until the meaning of the cover art became clear. Following up on his latest concept album Yeezus, Kanye continues the journey on The Life of Pablo from where he left off, in love with Kim Kardashian. The main part of his journey that was missing on Yeezus, sticks out on his newest piece of art: God, who Ye uses to continue telling the narrative of his changing life, who begins with arguably one of the greatest intros of all time, Ultralight Beam, featuring The-Dream, Kelly Price and immediately a standout feature with Chance the Rapper delivering an intriguing verse.
The track starts off with a sample Ye took from Instagram, in which a little girl chants about Jesus and resisting the devil. Ye then proceeds to sing a simplistic chorus and verse, focusing on the term ‘Ultralight Beam’, hinting at Saint Paul the Apostle, who was blinded by a light beam and when he regained his sight, dedicated his life to God, a beautiful symbolism for the life of Ye himself. Kelly Price singing is also aimed at God, asking him why he tortures humanity, even the faithful, instead of redeeming them, yet she still does not lose hope in God and we arrive at Chance’s verse, who takes a defensive stance and swears to protect God’s name, no matter what. With a almost comical undertone he challenges enemies and fills his verse with religious references, like the pillars of salt from Sodom and Gomorrah. The outro by Kirk Franklin, one of the most acclaimed gospel artists, touches the acceptance of religion and how it embraces every soul.
‘If Young Metro don't trust you, i’m gon shoot you .’ The infamous tag of producer Metro Boomin, spoken by Future, followed up by a sacred beat drop and all the while the sample chants ‘You’re the only power’. Kid Cudi hummingly sings about the sun in his morning, be it God or a loved one. Ye’s verse is a humorous attempt at describing the early phases of his relationship with Kim Kardashian, followed by outcrys to God to liberate him, not from Kim but from this society, while the first part is completed and Ye takes us to Pt2, a more personal account of his life, first off describing his father and his absence and then the passing of his mother and how it shattered him, almost like his car crash in ‘02. Near the end of the track, he samples Caroline Shaw with a beautiful, robotic outro, finishing off with the original Father Stretch My Hands Pt1 sample of T.L. Barret.
Famous. The track that, again in typical Ye Fashion, caused so much controversy, with one simple line. Rihanna’s hook, borrowed from Nina Simone, conveys Ye’s wish to be free, this time from a girl, hooking up with him because he is famous. Ye’s powerful verse, with the omniscient beat and hard hitting drums in the background, makes up for a top tier verse on the album, with it’s simplistic yet accurate writing about gold diggers and people trying to copy Ye’s style, but failing. In Rihanna’s second hook, a sneaky ‘Wake up Mr. West’ is implemented, as a callback to the old Kanye. In the second verse, Ye leaves the gold diggers behind and first addresses his 50 million dollar debt, mocking it as he flies over in a private jet, claiming to never die due to his massive legacy. And then we come across one of the best uses of a sample, ever. The way ‘Bam Bam’ by Sister Nancy is used, recreating a epic dance track and transforming it into something superior is mindblowing, while in the background someone tells us to fuck it all and just dance, as Ye has left his troubles behind.
The computer sounding loop in Feedback feels weird at first, but when Ye starts flowing over it about his comeback, you’re drawn in like a fish, the drums in perfect harmony. The first two verses he raps about his fame and financial status, while also mentioning his mental state, slowly deteriorating alongside his growing fame. He raps about his fashion shows and addresses violence by the police against black people, ending on a skit in which he impersonates Oprah Winfrey, but instead of cars, he hands out furs and ‘big booty bitches’.
Low Lights speaks directly to single mothers driving their kids to school, is how Ye imagined it, but the reality is so much more. The simplistic piano carrying the spoken words of an unknown voice, with a extremely powerful message about God. God is there for people who are alone, for people that cry. God accepts us all, no matter what, and when you die, he takes us all in.
We then hear a transition similar to All of the Lights Interlude into the full track, from Lowlights to Highlights, on which Ye falls back to simple bragging about his accomplishments and all his highlights, like his wife Kim and how he has 21 grammys, but he still makes relatable music. Probably not intended as a highlight are the lines about his overweight, with which he tells us all to shut up about it. The ‘Equinox’ lines are nothing more than Ye asking ladies if they are freaks in the bedroom. The track feels as a ‘Fuck You’ to all of the haters, amongst other things.
Freestyle 4 is exactly what it claims to be. A definitely not sober Kanye takes to the booth, rapping about him and a lady, with Ye ready to get sexual in many ways, some very creative. Personally, I would love to go the Vogue party and see what Kanye what was aiming at. Desiigner’s verse to close it off quickly calls out clowns to finish off a chaotic track, filled with random sounds, but somehow, Ye manages to pass it off. Shamefully, one of the most skippable tracks, but not to worry, we are rewarded with one of the most iconic Ye tracks.
I love Kanye. A masterpiece, if you accept it. Acapella, of course, this is just about Kanye and no beat can intrude right now. In less than a minute, he deals with hate, change and influence. In less than 16 bars, he dismisses fans asking for the old Kanye back, follows up with how Kanye changed everything, starting with the pink polo. In the final few bars he addresses his narcissism and laughs it off, while the ‘TURN ME UP’ from Waves already hits our ears.
Somehow, Kanye manages to encapsulate the perfect vibe with Waves. Every little thing is on point; lyrics, features, the beat, the mixing. He brags about what God gave him and how all the woman like him, claiming it to be a wave. Chris Brown’s hook hits home every time, saying that feelings never really die, like a wave, which Ye continues with the second verse, while also nailing home his struggle with two beautiful comparisons, the bird in the cage and the shining sun. Brown delivers an important line with ‘I’m still gon be here in the morning’, and Kid Cudi’s humming needs no commentary; it feels like he is lifting us up to heaven to be with God. This track is the last part of Chaotic Kanye, the next part of the story dives into Ye settling down and accepting the past for what it was, beginning with FML.
Kanye has left the ‘hoes’ behind him here; Kim is the only one. He opens up on the first verse about his family and his will to always protect them. The dark repetitive beat serves only a distraction from the insights Ye gives us. This is the first verse where Kanye really tells us he has left it all behind and is moving onto better things in life, focusing on his family. The Weekend has a truly mesmerising hook with stunning vocals, while also really nailing the point of the track home, who in four bars mentions Kanye’s past destructive personality that refuses to let others decide for him. On the second verse, he dives back into his relationship with Kim and his antidepresivas, letting one go and holding onto the other, because he loves her. The outro is chilling and almost frightening as Ye defends his love for Kim, no matter what, and goes on to say that he will drop friends that don’t agree with his love for her, because Ye feels that all is right with her.
Real Friends continues the story of FML in smooth flow and it fits perfectly on the album as Kanye looks back at the people in his life, real or fake. Accompanied with fame are fake friends, only there for their self-benefit, and Ye knows this and claims to honestly not care, as he simply leaves them behind. He also apologises for things he does wrong, like forgetting to call or ruining a family reunion, because of course, Ye isn’t perfect himself. Ty’s bridge is short but blunt, getting the point of the track across as they do the hook together where they trade lines with Ty acting as a ‘fake friend’ of Ye, claiming Ye is never around anymore. The second verse addresses how Ye tries to handle all his fake friends, including a callback to Welcome to Heartbreak, now saying he already has a child. The third verse is Ye’s cry to his real friends to prove themself, ask Ye how he is doing or call him without any self-interest. He also sets up the whole Laptop-Affair with his cousin, which plays into his declining mental health at the time, as we strap in for the magnum opus with already a slight hinting at the wolf howls on the outro of Real Friends, Wolves.
This is it. This track perfectly describes the album and all of Kanye’s feelings. The hook starts off with a depressed Kanye, lost and waiting to be found, which is where Kim enters the stage and meanwhile, the haunting vocals in the background give you the feeling nothing really matters. The first verse is looking back and ahead at the same time, as he apologises to his deceased mother, but accepts his father. He sings that he needs to love someone, either Kim or his parents and ends with a cry for help. Vic Mensa’s bridge deals with Kanye’s past, drinking too much as a coping mechanism, using the story of Daedalus and Icarus to warn Kanye not to melt his own wings of fame. Sia also acts as a representative of Kanye, as she sings about an abusive past from which a lover saved her and then we hit the third verse, an important one, perhaps the most important on the whole album. Kanye has moved on from his destructive lifestyle and is ready to commit, in this case to loving Kim and their children. He realises their pasts are messed up and asks to leave them in the past and forget about them, their future is what matters to him as he seems genuinely happy and secure with Kim. He knows about all the past wrongdoings Kim has commited, but Ye was no angel himself either. He wonders what would have happened if Mary and Joseph had lived like Kim and Ye and comes to the conclusion that the past doesn’t matter, so long as the future contains them together. Ye closes off the track by addressing all the fake people as wolves, ultimately closing off his arc in which he tries to better his life by settling down with Kim and his family.
Frank’s track suffered a lot of changes, it was initially the outro of Wolves, while the track had no features from Vic and Sia, but Ye added the two features post-release and gave Frank Ocean his own track. Frank briefly sings about the transformation into a wolf and the last three lines address the loss of Donda West, Ye’s mother, and his family in which he now sees the beauty of life.
For a while, TLOP was to be called Waves as an album title. Wiz Khalifa exclaimed that this term belonged to rapper Max B and Ye couldn’t just use Waves like that, so Max B phoned the Breakfast Club, giving Ye permission to use the term and that phone call is Siiiiiiiiilver Surffffeeeeer Intermission. Ye left it on despite the album obviously not being called Waves, presumably to show that he has the respect of Max B.
Kanye’s life has never been easy and it took a lot of effort for him to break through. On 30 Hours, he reflects on aspects of his past, specifically his past relationship with Sumeke Rainey and uses the relationship to also look upon his now present wife Kim Kardashian. Despite the relationship with Sumeke being over, he still drives 30 hours, from Los Angeles to Chicago, where Sumeke lived, to see her. The second verse dives into his life and the relationship when he was driving to and from Chicago, roughly 2002-2004. He complains about her lack of apparent love for him and ends on the fact that Sumeke was cheating on him and so, he drives back to Los Angeles, but the song is not ever, the best part is yet to come, because we get a classic beat-riding freestyle outro. He uses the story of Matt Barnes, a NBA player who drove almost a hundred miles to beat up his coach after finding out his girlfriend was cheating on him with his coach, to express his feelings towards Sumeke, despite not beating up the guy Sumeke was cheating with on Ye, as far as we know. The background vocals of Andre 3000 are godlike and really support the ride-out.
The first official collaboration between two of the biggest artists of this millenium, Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar, shows us the true power of a pen, ‘I know some fans said I wouldn’t rap like this again’. The sample Madlib uses is phenomenal and the beat is truly a masterpiece. Kanye’s hook fits right in, simply asking Kim (or really Amber Rose at the time when the hook was written) for no more parties, he has had enough of them. After two Ye lines, Kendrick hops on the beat and delivers a powerful verse. Kendrick is at a party with a girl and goes on to describe what a Los Angeles party looks like, focused on every negative aspect. He questions the girl he flew out, wondering why she is seeing other people when he is spending so much on her and why she actively still wants his money. He ends the verse admitting to the party lifestyle and looks for girls to have sex with. It is a shame Kanye follows after the verse, because he outshines Kendrick in every way, almost making Kenny’s verse obsolete, except for the fact it sets up Kanye’s reconciliation with the normal lifestyle. Kanye starts his verse driving to a party, describing his luxurious lifestyle. He starts bragging about his reputation and attacks women that chase rich men, trying to get pregnant and claim child support. He goes on about the dangers of Los Angeles, including Mulholland Drive, the swerving road we all know through the Hollywood Hills. He negates his agents, knowing himself all too well to trust himself to agents. The three comparison to different Pablo’s, the bragging about his package and finally, the forgiving of the cousin that stole his laptop, masterfully written. The outro, sampled from Junie Morrison, describes Kanye leaving Chicago behind for the Los Angeles party-lifestyle. This song dates mainly from the My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy time, which explains the intricate songwriting, but Kanye only officially released it on this album.
Facts is bragging Ye at his best, boasting about his brand Yeezy and how successful the brand is. On the iconic hook, mimicking Drake and Future’s song Jumpman, and the first verse, Ye bashes his former employer Nike and mentions how much more successful Yeezy is, with a sneak preview of his ambition to run for president. The second verse dives back into his debt and how he paid it off, using the money generated from Kim’s app, KIMOJI, at its peak making more than one million dollars a second. He ends the verse shouting out his deceased friend and DJ, Timbuck2. The outro sample from Father’s Children, ‘Look how far we are’, speaks thousands.
Fade is a song, almost more a pop song than a rap song, describing the fading love between a couple, as the woman distances herself from the male. The Rare Earth sample supplies for most of the song, as Kanye takes the first verse, after a brief Ty Dolla Sign hook fitting into the theme of fading love, to say that Kanye isn’t making the loving easy for the female and tells her to just accept it; don’t aggravate Ye. Post Malone’s four lines defend the male and his hard to put up with lifestyle, as the sample finishes the song, conveying the message of fading love, as the album almost fades out, but the best song is yet to come.
Kanye takes every piece of the puzzle and completes it on Saint Pablo in the most beautiful way possible. He starts off the first verse exposing his vulnerabilities, mainly his huge debt. He distances himself from the media and says he is the most influential, rightfully so, then distancing himself from everyone, claiming to see a thousand years into the future and one can only wonder what he sees. The last two lines about his survival past 25 hit the right chords with the fans and Ye takes a prodigious singer, Sampha, and shows the world the true power of a voice, as his hook breaks everyone that hears it. Sampha sings for Kanye, as Ye has descended into his destructive lifestyle and awaits a word from God, but feeling at home with believing. The second verse, Ye breaks down society and passes it off a track on an album. He addresses the brutality amongst black people, the destructive force of capitalism, the rise of social media and negative consequences, his fallback to religion, the importance of family and poverty, all within a single verse. Sampha ends the song with a bridge, two hooks and a verse of his own, each one more powerful than the next. He asks God why he is ignoring Sampha, when he needs him so much. The final lines of the album is Ye confession, letting everyone see who he is as he opens up and shows how scarred he really is. Sampha closes the album off with a final hook, and the sounds stop.
The way Kanye takes words, computers and a microphone and delivers this is breathtaking if you take the time to think about it. Yes, there are better albums and you might argue My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy or Yeezus as superior to this album, but that is the beauty of it all. Kanye does not make these pieces of art once, not twice, not even thrice, but uncountable times, constantly reinventing himself every time. The Life of Pablo is a magnificent look on Kanye West’s life and religion and deserves the highest praise.
Submitted December 12, 2019 at 12:26AM by slausonmalone https://ift.tt/2sf7JSO
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