This Valentine’s Day, our SOs, BFFs, and FWBs gave us everything from flowers to chocolates to diamonds, and we thought we were sufficiently happy with that. But to outdo us like Kanye West always does, he gave us the ultimate gift – the gift of music. On Valentine’s Day, Kanye West dropped his seventh studio album, The Life of Pablo, through Jay-Z’s streaming website Tidal. From consistent album name changes, release date delays, and Twitter war replies, The Life of Pablo piqued the interest of almost every Kanye West fan in the world (including myself). And even as a broke college student, I couldn’t help but to sign up for Tidal’s $9.99 monthly subscription to listen to Kanye’s exclusive drop. Since then, I haven’t stopped listening, so now as a self-proclaimed album critic of The Life of Pablo, here is a breakdown of Kanye’s best (and worst) songs off his newest album.
The Problematics
1. “Famous”
With my first recognition of Rihanna’s beautiful voice, I was absolutely in love with this song (because if you didn’t know, I worship Rihanna). Even the track seemed to be a mixture of “Bound 2” and “Mercy,” and honestly I didn’t think I could love this song more. The first 30 seconds of the song had me feeling all warm and fuzzy; however, that was stopped cold with the infamous T. Swift verse, where he claims he made her famous presumably from his VMA interruption in 2009.
Although my love for rap is pretty great, I thoroughly believe we do not need more men tearing down a woman’s success.
2. “I Love Kanye”
I appreciate the idea of Kanye writing (and actually producing) a song that is literally all about himself. But, I can’t get through the song without rolling my eyes, especially when he refers to himself in third person the ENTIRE song. Even for a Kanye fan, this is just way, way too much Kanye.
3. “FML”
Honestly, the only reason I listened to the song the whole way through was because of The Weeknd’s feature. Other than the featuring artist, the only part I can vaguely remember is Kanye’s attempt at auto-tuning, giving me unsettling flashbacks of Kanye’s infamous SNL performance in 2008.
4. “Wolves”
No matter how hard Kanye tries, I will never be a fan of his autotune singing (sorry not sorry). This was a song that I repeatedly skipped whenever it came on. However, if you can get past the introduction, the lyrics are wonderfully powerful and insightful, and, at the end of the song, you get to hear Kanye’s real singing voice, without autotune!
The Faves
1. “Ultralight Beam”
This is the first song off TLP, incorporating a soulful and gospel sound, while featuring up-and-coming rapper Chance the Rapper and gospel singer Kirk Franklin. “Ultralight Beam” is slow and peaceful—something that some might not think Kanye can accomplish. All in all, while you might not add it to your workout playlist, like you would do with “Gold Digger” and “Jesus Walks,” “Ultralight Beam” will keep you consistently hitting replay and will leave you like this…
2. “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” and “Pt.2”
I didn’t even notice these were two different songs, until I looked up the track listening; they completely melded together to create one cohesive masterpiece. These two songs, which make total up to about four minutes, are great for head bumping, lifting weights, and deejaying at a party. “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” and “Pt. 2” are like gospel, electronic, rap, and trap music all combined with the help of Kanye’s arrogance, I mean confidence, which kinda, totally works.
3. “Feedback”
At this point, this song is the first rap song, in the album. There is no fusion of genres; it is exclusively a rap song and one of the five songs without a featuring artist, allowing Kanye to showcase his ability to rhyme, and rhyme well at that! A sick beat and an amazing flow all come together to leave a memorable mark on you ears.
4. “Facts (Charlie Heat Version)”
This song is a play on Drake’s song “Jumpman,” and boy did Kanye deliver, as he celebrates the success of his Adidas Yeezy Boost line in rap form. He takes the beat to a whole new level, causing you to unconsciously rock your head to the music, all while dissing the entire Nike shoe company for not giving him artistic freedom. Even while the whole song is about shoes, you can’t help but love this fun and upbeat song.