#3. The Life of Pablo
By: Kanye West
Pablo is an album that only Kanye West could have made. Every record he makes sounds like a snapshot of Kanye at that moment. Every record he makes sounds like what music will sound like tomorrow. This album is no different: unruly, rambling, occasionally offensive, and even musically shoddy at times. But those moments only add to the album’s legacy in the Kanye canon. This is his White Album. It may be flawed, but it is never less than 100% undiluted Kanye, himself in all his enigmatic genius. Music aside, TLOP took full advantage of what an album can be in today’s digital landscape. For weeks after it was released, West continued to tinker with the album’s mixes and to add and subtract songs. Nowhere else last year, any other year, or in Kanye’s old discography can you find an album like this. No matter what you think about him - and he’s constantly, even today with his Trump compliments, giving you new reasons to second guess him - he never is anyone but himself. Messy and brilliant. That is The Life of Pablo in a nutshell.
Key song:
“Ultralight Beam” - That Chance the Rapper verse, though. Best verse of the whole year.
By: Kanye West
Pablo is an album that only Kanye West could have made. Every record he makes sounds like a snapshot of Kanye at that moment. Every record he makes sounds like what music will sound like tomorrow. This album is no different: unruly, rambling, occasionally offensive, and even musically shoddy at times. But those moments only add to the album’s legacy in the Kanye canon. This is his White Album. It may be flawed, but it is never less than 100% undiluted Kanye, himself in all his enigmatic genius. Music aside, TLOP took full advantage of what an album can be in today’s digital landscape. For weeks after it was released, West continued to tinker with the album’s mixes and to add and subtract songs. Nowhere else last year, any other year, or in Kanye’s old discography can you find an album like this. No matter what you think about him - and he’s constantly, even today with his Trump compliments, giving you new reasons to second guess him - he never is anyone but himself. Messy and brilliant. That is The Life of Pablo in a nutshell.
Key song:
“Ultralight Beam” - That Chance the Rapper verse, though. Best verse of the whole year.