"Name one genius that ain't crazy"
By now, basically the entire Internet has had its say about Kanye's most recent album, The Life of Pablo (Escobar? Picasso? Sanchez?), but I figured I'd throw in my two cents about it anyway, because that's what we do here at Ambivalence L& -- we are nothing if not masters in redundancy. Also, witnessing Kanye create always seems to inspire me to do the same. Now, I should note that I'm still digesting this album, and thus my opinions could differ greatly with more time to reflect on it, but here are my thoughts on it so far:
Basically, Pablo is a mess -- if there's one sentiment that the Internet seems to agree on, it's that. And accordingly, my personal feelings about Pablo are also a mess. Pablo was rushed, and was clearly sloppily assembled. Shit, this man didn't even have a title or a final track listing done the day before he released it. But sometimes, in music, a mess can actually be a really fantastic thing, especially when it comes from a genius. A mess can bring an authenticity that a nicely packaged, and perfectly sonically designed album can lack. A mess seems more human; more real. In some ways, this strikes me as the most "real" Kanye record we have gotten in years. However, the first thing I thought of when I started listening to The Life of Pablo, other than general frustration that Kanye was SERIOUSLY?? trying to get me to listen to this shit on Tidal (for fuck's sake, man), was The Beatles' White Album. Not that I'm comparing Kanye to The Beatles, but the White Album is also an utter mess. The White Album has some truly horrendous music on it. But the White Album also contains some of The Beatles' most indispensable stuff. For every "Wild Honey Pie", there's a "Blackbird; for every "Piggies", there's a "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", etc. For every severely misguided track, you can find one of equal and opposite beauty. Likewise, on Pablo, in the wake of the abrasive "Freestyle 4", there's the gorgeous "Waves" (No pun intended!!). In the wake of the infamous (and stupid) Taylor Swift line, there's the final 1:15 of "Famous", which features a "Bam Bam" and Swizz Beatz mash-up that is sublime. For every "Facts" (perhaps the worst song of Kanye's career), there's an "Ultralight Beam" or "FML". This, in essence, is the story of The Life of Pablo -- a convoluted edifice of ideas, but with musical gems scattered in every nook and cranny. I should mention, though, that the White Album is definitely not my favorite Beatles album, and Pablo is certainly not my favorite Kanye album -- madness can be beautiful, but a collection of madness can be exhausting, and it can lead to a lot of pressing of the skip-button down the road...
Pablo lacks a cohesiveness that his previous albums have consistently had, which in some ways makes this the most unique Kanye record to date. This album does not have one voice or one point of view -- we see so many different versions of Kanye, and in some ways, it reflects his schizophrenic public persona. We get the boastful and bombastic Kanye on tracks like "Famous", "Feedback" and "Highlights", where he raps lines like: "I bet me and Ray J would be friends/If we ain't love the same bitch/Yeah, he might have hit it first/Only problem is I'm Rich". This is the classic Kanye that people love to hate. This is also the incredibly hilarious Kanye. The line about being the "Ghetto Oprah" on "Feedback" legitimately made me chuckle. Likewise, on tracks like "FML", and "Wolves", we get the thoughtful, sentimental and fiercely loyal Kanye. We even get some self-awareness from Kanye on tracks like "I Love Kanye", in which he nails what I'd suspect most of his fans and critics have thought about him over the past 4-5 years since the release of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
Kanye's production is fantastic as usual. Some of the absolutely golden moments here are: Chance's verse on "Ultralight Beam", the entirety of "Low Lights" (some say it's filler, but I love that beat and the eeriness of it all), Breezy's lines on "Waves", Kendrick's tumbling verse on "No More Parties in LA" and Frank Ocean's 30-second stanza on "Wolves", which almost brought me to tears due to it's sheer beauty (RELEASE YOUR ALBUM, FRANK. PLEASE. please?). Notice how none of these bits actually feature Kanye on the mic -- Kanye's true brilliance has always been in his ability to collaborate with unexpected artists and bring the best out of his features (the dude introduced me to Bon Iver, for christ's sake), and that has never been more apparent than on Pablo. Seriously, these bits of music are up there with my favorite, favorite, Kanye moments. The musical peaks that this album hits are simply second-to-none. God bless you, Kanye, you crazy motherfucker.
(On a side note, it sort it of felt like Kanye included the "Silver Surfer Intermission" purely as a retort to Wiz Khalifa's tweets about Max B, which just feels sort of lame to me. Wiz is probably sitting somewhere smoking a fat joint and laughing about it as I write this. Also, it damaged the flow of the second half of the album for me. Care a little less next time, 'Ye.)
This album though, like a lot of Kanye's recent music, feels more like a vehicle to promote himself and his other pursuits (Yeezy Season 3, anyone?), than music created simply for the sake of music. The White Album came towards the end of The Beatles, and part of me thinks we could be witnessing the near-end of Kanye's music career. He's still capable of such brilliance, but I don't think he's as concentrated on his music as he once was. And that's alright -- it's unreasonable for someone as talented and creative as Kanye to stick to one medium for an entire career. At this point, I'm not even sure if Kanye wants to be dropping albums, or if he's doing it simply because he feels obligated to in order to create the other things he wants to create. In his famous interview with Sway, who AIN'T GOT THE ANSWERS, Kanye describes a cycle in which he feels he has to keep dropping music, in order to maintain his mainstream popularity that will allow him to move into fashion. While this struggle is something that an average muggle like myself could hardly imagine experiencing, it still gives an interesting perspective into Kanye's life, and perhaps an explanation for his recent behavior and extended time off between musical projects. (Starts around the 21:00 mark)
Kanye wants to move on to fashion, Kanye wants to move on to shoes. Kanye wants to create a commercial conglomerate. Let's finally LET him do that. If it's time for him to move on to something else, then so be it. The music was never going to last forever. I, for one, am going to stop expecting consistent releases from Kanye as we move forward -- I'd rather see him pursue what he wants than to begrudgingly release music for the sake of maintaining his popularity/brand. Plus, I don't know if he could get away with releasing another Pablo without experiencing critical and commercial backlash. The Beatles only released one White Album for a reason.
It just goes to show how gifted Kanye is that even when he half-asses it, he's better than basically everyone else in the genre who isn't named Kendrick. And for what it's worth, I am satisfied with The Life of Pablo. If I had to guess, however, I'd say that Kanye is heading for his Abbey Road -- a final sendoff that will be unrelentingly perfect and everlasting. At least that's what I'm hoping for. But knowing Kanye, he'll do the complete opposite. After all, that would be so Kanye.
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