10 years later, Kanye’s most famous album continues to make waves

On September 13, 2009, the hip-hop world was changed forever. That was the day of the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards; it all started with the award for Best Female Video. This award ended up going to Taylor Swift with her hit music video “You Belong with Me,” despite Beyoncé winning Video of the Year. Kanye West, who had recently released the album 808s & Heartbreak, was not too pleased with this result. During Swift’s acceptance speech, West walked onstage, took the microphone and spoke the infamous, “Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'mma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!” This controversial event was seen by celebrities all over the nation. West received quite the backlash after that night from celebrities like Pink, Janet Jackson, Katy Perry, and even President Obama.

Following the awards show, West was advised to leave the country for some time and go into self-imposed exile. He traveled to Japan and moved to Rome in November, claiming he was done with music. However, he later moved to Hawaii where he began creating his Magnum Opus. Kanye knew that with the reputation he had, he needed to perfect an album to redeem himself in the eyes of the public. For this, he would have to build a crew of excellent musicians, fly them all out to the island, and start making music 

The focus of this album was unheard of. Rapper RZA said of its creation, “I spent like two weeks out in Hawaii while he was working on this album and looking at his regimen… They get up every morning to eat breakfast together, his whole crew. They talk about yesterday and the next day and the day of. They plan for a noble prophecy, they sit there and they talk about what they want to do, what they did and how to make their music better. They go exercise together...and then they get to the studio about four o’clock…he stays there from four and leaves at four. So 12 hours of in the studio work, go to bed, get up and do it again the next day.”

Approaching the release date of the album, West released a series of free songs called “Good Fridays.” These hits included other well-known artists such as Jay-Z, J.Cole, John Legend, Nicki Minaj and others. Four of these tracks were included on the finished album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. 

The album opens up with Nicki Minaj reading a passage from Roald Dahl’s 1982 piece, “Revolting Rhymes,” in the song “Dark Fantasy.” Kanye West opens up his part talking about him achieving his dreams of success. The next song, “Gorgeous” features multiple complex verses from West along with a hook sung by Kid Cudi and another verse by Wu-Tang Clan member, Raekwon. In “Gorgeous” Kanye talks about the obstacles that Black men face in America. Next was “POWER,” with samples from "21st Century Schizoid Man" by King Crimson, "Afromerica" by Continent Number 6, and "It's Your Thing" by Cold Grits. This song was said to have been made in 5,000 man-hours according to Kanye. “All of the Lights” following the Interlude, includes many award-winning artists. Kanye’s verses, in between the chorus sung by Rihannna, are accompanied by vocals from Sir Elton John, Elly Jackson, Fergie, Kid Cudi, Drake, and Alicia Keys. “Monster” includes one of the greatest verses of the decade, rapped by Nicki Minaj. “So Appalled” has five verses by Kanye West, Jay-Z, Pusha T, CyHi da Prynce, a chorus by RZA and a refrain by Swizz Beatz. Later in the record, Rick Ross performs a legendary verse in “Devil in a New Dress” after a solo guitar interlude by Producer Mike Dean. The standout song in this album is “Runaway.” A song about raising a toast and realizing that you will not always please everyone. The nine minute track includes a “cocky” verse from Pusha T and an outro of West’s voice distorted. This is a symbol of him being left voiceless after his actions in the Awards show. “Blame Game” features John Legend and is about the end of an unhealthy relationship, with a sketch by Chris Rock as an outro. The last song in the album is “Lost in the World” assisted by Bon Iver. This song is Kanye speaking a poem he wrote to his now wife, Kim Kardashian. The album ends with a poem from Gil Scott-Heron, “Comment #1,” in the track “Who Will Survive in America?.” 

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was instantly acclaimed by the music world. It sold nearly half a million copies in its first week while simultaneously topping the charts. The album is now certified double platinum. After being called out by numerous figures in America, including President Obama, West was able to release a project of work that can be enjoyed by everybody and was able to improve even after his last four albums all debuted high in the charts. This album will forever represent Kanye’s ability to completely turn around his life and revisualize his identity. It stands as both a testament to Kanye’s musical talent, and a reminder of his controversial yet memorable actions on that night in 2009.

By Ty Rasmussen
Oshkosh West Index Volume 117 Issue 3

December 11, 2020