Despite the critics and negative press, from “College Dropout” to “The Life of Pablo,” there is no doubt that Kanye West has come a long way as an artist and a person.
From his open embrace of faith in the compelling track “Jesus Walks” to being referred to as the “Chi-town’s Pete Rose” for his relentless attitude on perfecting his music, Kanye keeps giving the people what they want—something to talk about.
While his music may turn off the average listener—and his attitude and persona may turn off the average person—he understands that people really don’t like him.
“I know I got a bad reputation,” said West on his track “Bound 2,” the cynical track that pokes fun at people doubting the depth of his relationship with wife and reality-show queen, Kim Kardashian.
While some people work miracles and others build homes in South Africa, West’s public service is creating art and “[inspiring] people to be the best they can be.”
West idolizes himself and believes he is Christlike. This comparison is evident in his last album “Yeezus,” which is an obvious combination of his nickname “Yeezy” and Jesus. On the remix of Chief Keef’s “I Don’t Like,” West stated that, like Christ, he too was crucified: “The media crucify me like they did Christ.”
“The Life of Pablo” is West’s seventh studio album, which premiered during the Yeezy Season Three fashion show on Feb. 11, at Madison Square Garden. It was live-streamed at hundreds of theaters across the world and on TIDAL, a streaming service created by rap mogul Jay-Z. West claimed that the album would be available though other outlets shortly after the debut, but later said that it would be a TIDAL exclusive and would never be sold on Apple’s iTunes, a move that pushed TIDAL to the #1 spot on the App Store. The Wall Street Journal considered “Pablo” a mix of West’s last three albums: “Heartbreak,” “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” and “Yeezus.”
The album was a creative dream team effort that involved 103 people, including Aubrey Graham, who is credited throughout the 18 tracks. The album also had lots of guest appearances, such as Rihanna, Chris Brown, The Weeknd, Frank Ocean, Andre 3000 and Kendrick Lamar.
The title “The Life of Pablo” is accompanied by “Which/One” and leaves fans with a choice to make: Which persona is Yeezy taking on? It has been speculated that he is either referring to Pablo Picasso, the artist; Pablo Escobar, a notorious drug dealer or the Apostle Paul, whose name is Pablo in Spanish.
The lyrics in “No More Parties In LA,” show how ambiguous this question is: “I feel like Pablo when I’m workin’ on my shoes/ I feel like Pablo when I see me on the news/ I feel like Pablo when I’m workin’ on my house/ Tell ‘em party’s in here, we don’t need to go out.”
Through this particular album, West leaves it up to his audience to decide which alter-ego he is personifying. The album’s flow consists of references to previous and current versions of “Kanye,” and expressions of love that only West can offer and West fans can understand.
In the verse “Yeezy, Yeezy, Yeezy just jumped over Jumpman” on the track “Facts,” Kanye takes shots at Nike, from “treat employees just like slaves” to “I ain’t dropped the album but the shoes went platinum,” in reference to his own Yeezy Boosts shoes, sold by Nike’s competitor Adidas. West even gives a shout-out to Bill Cosby: “Do anybody feel bad for Bill Cosby?” It seems to connect the dots to the controversial tweet “BILL COSBY INNOCENT !!!” that West posted days before the album’s release.
West also tweeted the album’s cover art by artist Peter De Potter before the show. Despite the abstract design, the minimalist cover was not enough to contain social media’s frenzied rehashing of past beef with pop star Taylor Swift over the shocking lyrics in West’s song “Famous.”
Listeners never know what to expect from the rapper. He uses his music as a platform to voice his viewpoints on controversial topics—a shock factor that clearly mesmerizes the public, time and time again.
Whether you are a fan of the rapper or not, one thing is undeniable—the man knows how to keep people talking.