By Samuel Medina III/ reporter
Kanye West’s highly anticipated seventh album, The Life of Pablo, takes the listener on a ride through his ego with exciting and smooth tunes.
The first track “Ultralight Beam” is the liveliest song with a gospel, soul vibe that could get anyone’s heart pumping. A lot of time and effort was put into this song, and it shows. Surprisingly, Kanye was put to shame in the song.
Kanye sings with minimal auto-tune, and it’s not half-bad. But when the gospel choir erupts with a powerful sound, the focus shifts. Kirk Franklin and Kelly Price make the song moving and could give even the most hollowed person goose bumps. Their voices, coupled with the choir and organ, sound as if they’re being transmitted straight from heaven.
Chance the Rapper adds a unique sound, as if the Holy Spirit is inside of him, as a swell of brass joins his praise.
Kanye stays true to his usual sound and makes himself the main subject of the album, but he makes it work. The many featured artists including Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Post Malone, The Weekend and many more influence the album’s sound.
The Life of Pablo is one of Kanye’s most creative, unique albums and has gained a lot of attention. Instead of addressing social issues as a lot of rappers do, Kanye made the entire album about himself and people he has had issues with. Taylor Swift, Ray J, Rob Kardashian and Drake are all referenced throughout the album.
The unique track “I Love Kanye” is a 43-second freestyle with no beat or instruments in the background. The track only has Kanye rapping about missing “the old Kanye” and saying his name 25 times. But again, he makes it work.
“Waves” is a track full of spirit and heart. The song was not supposed to be on the album, but Chance the Rapper thought otherwise. The album was postponed as a result, but it was well worth the wait. The polished production and vocals by Chris Brown could make any fan of hip-hop get into the groove.
Some tracks start off sounding odd and extremely repetitive, but Kanye delivers with a smooth beat and powerful lyrics about, well, himself.
Kanye said it was going to be a great album, and it is a great album. Nearly every song is a nice surprise with a new sound not too far off his previous work. It is obvious his sound is evolving with his ego, and he is using it to his full advantage.
No matter what one thinks of Kanye or his beliefs, all hip-hop fans who listen to The Life of Pablo will feel the beat inside of them.
