Stream this fifth studio album from Kanye West titled My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Released on November 22, 2010 by Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam. This tape debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 496,000 copies in the United States. Listen to full project below. Dark Fantasy ft. Teyana Taylor 2. The album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy can easily be considered the peak of Kanye West’s creative work. First, the artist has practically refused from.
Kanye stories are the best stories. Period.
In just the past two months, we've learned that Kanye asked Jay Z to add the n-word to every song title on their Watch The Throne album and that during the creation of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kanye once used a luxury suitcase delivery man as a one-man focus group.
On the latest episode of the A Waste of Time podcast, Rory Farrell, co-host of The Joe Budden Podcast and general manager of HennyPalooza, joined brothers Eric and Jeff Rosenthal of ItsTheReal to talk about, among a variety of topics, his experience interning at Def Jam in the summer of 2010, when Kanye was in the middle of crafting MBDTF, and man, this might be the best Kanye story ever.
'[Kanye] shows up out of nowhere at the Def Jam offices like Lupe and Nas trying to get their albums out, in a full suit,' Farrell said. 'He has—I want to say it was Don C's son, but don't quote me—there's a child dressed identical to him, carrying his Louis Vuitton bag. Comes in and is just throwing a fit at how shitty everyone is dressed. So he says, 'I'm not doing business today until everyone [here is wearing] a suit.' So the next day, people are scrambling to find—not just regular suits—black suits, white shirts, black ties. And, of course, they're not gonna look like the ones Kanye buys. Everyone comes into the office looking like a terrible funeral. I went to H&M, I had no money. I looked a mess, a lot of execs I won't name looked worse than me.
'He comes in, the child opens up his Louis Vuitton bag, throws a blanket over the conference table. Takes out two goblets—the medieval wine glasses. Pours him either white wine or water, it was in one of those unmarked bottles. And Kanye says, 'I'm parched. We can begin now.' He then takes out his laptop and starts playing My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. At this time, it was called Donda's Boy, I don't know if that ever went out but it was called Donda's Boy and the idea was [that] he was going to do 10 tracks, and each track was going to be 10 minutes [long]. 'Runaway' was 20 minutes at the time, Pusha wasn't on it. Kanye was singing for 15 minutes of it, maybe, at the end. What was the shit he put out with Beyoncé on Hot 97? I don't think it made the album. 'See Me Now.' [Sings melody] Charlie Wilson was on it. He played that without Beyoncé—he put it out the next day. Beyoncé had to have done it like an hour after that meeting. It was him just singing the hook. What else was on it? 'All of the Lights' without Rihanna, without The-Dream, it was all Kanye. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy but it was just Kanye West. And it was amazing.'
So, in review:
Despite a few small contradictions—if the album was ten 10-minute tracks, how could the original version of 'Runaway' be 20 minutes?—and some timeline inconsistencies—by July of 2010, Kanye had already wrapped his Honolulu recording sessions for the album, so it'd be odd that none of the guest contributions were present for the version of the album he wanted to play for the Def Jam brass—Rory's Kanye story is up there among the all-time greats.
Dark Fantasy | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
Gorgeous (feat. Kid Cudi & Raekwon) | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
Power | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
All of the Lights (interlude) | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
All of the Lights | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
Monster (feat. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj & Bon Iver) | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
So Appalled (feat. Jay-Z, Pusha T, CyHi Da Prynce, Swizz Beatz & The RZA) | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
Devil in a New Dress (feat. Rick Ross) | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
Runaway (feat. Pusha T) | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
Hell of a Life | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
Blame Game (feat. John Legend) | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
Lost in the World (feat. Bon Iver) | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
Who Will Survive in America | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
No matter what evil tongues may say but Kanye West remains one of the most original performers in the game. This quality of his is not only revealed in music where he artfully joins samples, beats and electronic effects, but also in his videos. West’s last work 808’s & Heartbreak released two years ago proved to be the artist’s most personal creation and had everything to do with his unlucky personal life. The singer devoted one of the songs to his late mother, the rest of them – to the breakup with his fiancйe, the work helping him survive the losses. Today, two years later, the musician is not getting inspiration from the events around him but from himself, from his own thoughts. His fifth studio album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy – is not only Kanye West’s views on world, but also the exploration of his own consciousness’ depths surprising with the richness of various images and proving that Kanye West is one of the most extraordinary personalities in the present days’ show-business.
Music has always been Kanye West’s best means to express himself, but it is one thing to put some concrete emotions into yours songs and another to bring your imagination’s fruit to life. Yet the artist has never been the one to stop in front of difficulties, and the album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy proves that better than any words. Lengthy epic tracks, 13 compositions lasting almost an hour ten minutes, faultless arrangements and production, the impressive guest list make the record one of the brightest in West’s discography. Kid Cudi and Raekwon join Kanye on the emotional number Gorgeous, and JAY-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj and the band Bon Iver have contributed to the sullen but extremely contagious track Monster. The first single POWER conquers with an ethnic sample and the splendid combination of voice, instruments and beats, but it is the chorus of the fourth single All Of The Lights refined with tubes, Rihanna’s vocals and unusual drums that lingers in the mind after the first listening to the album/ one insistent piano note on the second single Runaway (featuring Pusha T) is one of those simple and genius discoveries that help Kanye West to create hits, while another monumental number So Appalled pleases with verses provided by JAY-Z, Pusha T, Prynce Cy Hi, Swizz Beatz and The RZA. John Legend’s vocals on the melodious piano number Blame Game makes it even more heart-felt, whereas the last lengthy track Lost In The World (once again featuring Bon Iver) is the most complicated, many-layered and colorful on the record. Finally, the question Who Will Survive In America repeated against the background of impetuous percussion closes this epic narration amazing in its scale.
The album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy can easily be considered the peak of Kanye West’s creative work. First, the artist has practically refused from artificial sound of most of the previous works on it. Second, he has never yet managed to get together the most different elements with such proficiency. The album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is carried out in the best Kanye West’s music traditions: monumental arrangements, excellent samples and fresh beats – all of it is involved. Yet West would not be him if he only limited himself to a vivid album. It is no secret that all the videos for the previous albums’ singles were noticeable and unusual, but little could foresee that Kanye west would make an entire short film this year. Most of the songs from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy can be heard on the beautiful and spectacular motion picture Runaway about love of the beautiful girl-phoenix who has fallen down from the sky for West’s character. Add the controversial album cover to that and you will get one of the most successful creations in the unique performer’s entire career.