But what sets it apart is the false ending. Built on a heartbreakingly lonely piano loop, the song finds Kanye bemoaning his personality flaws and features a tight verse from Clipse MC Pusha T. Kanye is one of the great innovators of the sung-rap-song movement that has dominated urban radio the last few years, but here he takes it to new extremes. “Runaway”, the album’s emotional center, debuted at this year’s VMA’s, where it served as a subtle retort to Taylor Swift’s condescending and much hyped “I-Forgive-Kanye” moment. As soon as her voice dies down it gives way to a maelstrom of strings, horns, synths and percussion that does not give way until the final moments of Gil Scott-Heron’s outraged rant on “Who Will Survive in America”. Album opener “Dark Fantasy” kicks off with a spoken word intro from Nicki Minaj, whose talking voice is almost as interesting as her rapping voice. It probably wasn’t by design, but the very title of the album spits in the face of the goofy “real” concept. Everything here sparkles and nothing is out of place. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is hands-down the most ambitious mainstream rap album ever made. Yet he somehow pulls it off, and he does it by backing up all the swagger and hype with an album that may actually be that good. This is the most certain way to start ringing the “realness” alarm bells.

But perhaps the rule Kanye violates the most flagrantly is also the biggest recipe for disaster: Don’t sound like you are setting out to make the greatest album of all time. False endings give way to noodling instrumental outros.

The album is composed of nine-minute rap epics that don’t adhere to traditional verse-chorus-verse guidelines. Kanye breaks plenty of rules on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. In a genre and a culture that expects its great artists to submit to a vague set of ideological rules, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly where Kanye West fits into the pantheon of hip-hop royalty.

Rappers are applauded for being “real”, but what this reality encompasses is never explicitly stated. In short, to be considered great an artist needs to sound like they were around in ’88, but not sound like anyone who was around in ’88. New artists are maligned for not sounding like the old ones, but there is no crime greater than “biting” those who’ve come before.

Fox, Vocals : Tony Williams (3), Vocals : Alvin Fields, Vocals : Ken Lewis, Co-producer: Jeff Bhasker, Co-producer: Mike Dean, Vocals : Alicia Keys, Vocals : Charlie Wilson, Vocals : Elly Jackson, Vocals : Justin Vernon, Vocals : K.Hip-hop fans are a tough bunch to please. 'Who Will Survive In America (Album Version (Explicit))'Īrt Direction: Kanye West, Art Direction: Virgil Abloh, Artwork : George Condo, Coordinator : JP Robinson, Coordinator : Kristen Yiengst, Coordinator : Todd Russell, Design, Illustration : M/M (Paris), Executive Producer: Antonio 'L.A.' Reid, Executive Producer: Gee Roberson, Executive Producer: Kanye West, Executive Producer: Kyambo 'Hip Hop' Joshua, Executive Producer: Shawn Carter, Mastered By: Vlado Meller, Photography By: Fabien Montique, Producer: Kanye West, Product Manager : Doug Joswick, Backing Vocals: Justin Vernon, Backing Vocals: Nicki Minaj, Producer: No I.D., Producer: RZA, Producer : Jeff Bhasker, Producer : Mike Dean, Vocals : Amber Rose (3), Vocals : Teyana Taylor, Backing Vocals: Tony Williams (3), Featuring: Kid Cudi, Featuring: Raekwon, Producer: Mike Dean, Producer: No I.D., Handclaps: Chris Soper, Handclaps: Ian Allen (7), Handclaps: Uri Djemal, Handclaps: Wilson Christopher, Producer: Symbolyc One, Producer : Jeff Bhasker, Producer : Mike Dean, Vocals : Dwele, Vocals : Alvin Fields, Vocals : Ken Lewis, Co-producer: Jeff Bhasker, Piano: Elton John, Vocals : Alicia Keys, Vocals : Alvin Fields, Vocals : Charlie Wilson, Vocals : Drake, Vocals : Elly Jackson, Vocals : Elton John, Vocals : Fergie (2), Vocals : John Legend, Vocals : Ken Lewis, Vocals : Kid Cudi, Vocals : Rihanna, Vocals : Ryan Leslie, Vocals : Tony Williams (3), Featuring: Bon Iver, Featuring: Jay-Z, Featuring: Nicki Minaj, Featuring: Rick Ross, Producer : Mike Dean, Producer : Plain Pat, Co-producer: Mike Dean, Featuring: CyHi Da Prynce, Featuring: Jay-Z, Featuring: Pusha T, Featuring: RZA, Featuring: Swizz Beatz, Producer: No I.D., Featuring: Rick Ross, Producer: Bink!, Producer : Mike Dean, Backing Vocals: Tony Williams (3), Co-producer: Emile (2), Co-producer: Jeff Bhasker, Co-producer: Mike Dean, Featuring: Pusha T, Vocals : The-Dream, Co-producer: Mike Caren, Co-producer: Mike Dean, Co-producer: No I.D., Vocals : Teyana Taylor, Vocals : The-Dream, Featuring: John Legend, Producer: Frank E (2), Producer : Mike Dean, Vocals : Chris Rock, Vocals : Salma Kenas, Co-producer: Jeff Bhasker, Co-producer: Mike Dean, Featuring: Bon Iver, Vocals : Alicia Keys, Vocals : Charlie Wilson, Vocals : Elly Jackson, Vocals : K.

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