(upbeat music)
- [Jacques] Kanye West 2010 album,
"My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy"
is considered by many
to be one of the greatest musical works of all time.
With 13 tracks, Yeezy's magnum opus
pushed the boundaries of hip-hop
and redeemed Kanye in the eyes of fans and critics alike
after a series of controversies.
Ye's prior solo efforts already established him
as a genre defying musician,
notably selling out stadiums with "Graduation",
and shifting rap sound with "808's and Heartbreak".
But on "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy",
West interrogated this fame and celebrity,
his previous works that brought him
from the position of a castaway.
- [KANYE] Yo Taylor, I'm really happy for you
I'ma let you finish,
but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time.
One of the best videos of all time.
- [Jacques] Kanye's interruption of Taylor Swift
at the 2009 MTV video music awards
set in motion a fierce backlash
that reached even the highest levels of the US government.
- [BARACK] The young lady seems like a perfectly nice person.
She's getting her award.
What's he doing up there? - Why did he do that?
- He's a jackass.
- [Jacques] Kanye apologized a few days later,
but widespread anger
and a canceled tour with Lady Gaga
forced him into self-exile.
After this hiatus, Kanye left to Hawaii
with a slew of producers, comedians, rappers, and more
for what was deemed Rap Camp.
- [KANYE] Like literally left America.
I stopped doing music altogether.
When I came back to the States, I moved to Hawaii
and lived there.
Lived there for like six months
and just worked on music again.
Pete Rock,
the RZA.
- [Cipha] Oh, you went back to the essence.
- Yes. - Yeah.
People with that intangible sound.
The people that everybody copied.
- [RZA] The way everything happened though,
was like focus energy yo.
And actually I never seen that from a rapper before.
- [JACQUES] Legendary Queens rapper Q-tip
described the process as communal, saying quote,
"It was like music by committee.
"If the delivery guy comes in the studio
"and Kanye likes him and they strike up a conversation,
"he'll go, 'Check this out. Tell me what you think.'"
- [KANYE] I really put myself in a zone
that I felt like my life was dependent
on the success of this album.
-[JACQUES] Ye's musical return came in late May, 2010
with his lead single "Power,"
where he pushed back on the limitations of fame
Explained his absence.
And grappled with being rebuked by the US
and its first Black president.
The music video cast Ye as god,
something he would later embody on 2013's "Yeezus."
Ye was determined to use free music
to get back in the good graces of pop culture.
Starting in August, 2010 and running 15 weeks
up until the release,
Kanye began G.O.O.D Fridays,
dropping a new track every week for free.
The second week featured a posse cut called "Monster"
featuring JAY-Z, Rick Ross, and Bon Iver,
with a standout verse from then upstart, Nicki Minaj
In an interview Nicki told Genius' Rob Markman
that the verse was so wild
it almost didn't even make the album.
-[NICKI] I remember Kanye he called me,
he said, "I know niggas gonna say
"this the best verse of my album.
"I'm taking a chance by putting this shit on here man,
"you know what I'm saying?"
- [JACQUES] G.O.O.D Fridays changed the landscape for building hype,
similar to the free mixtapes
popularized by 50 Cent and Lil Wayne
back in the mid to late aughts.
G.O.O.D Fridays kept hip-hop fans tuned in
for each weekly drop.
But in order to get pop culture back
he would have to return to the mantle he fell from,
the MTV VMA's.
Kanye's September, 2010, return to the VMA stage
came with his song, "Runaway,"
an explicit backhanded apology
for the controversy he caused a year prior.
West never planned on seriously apologizing
for something he felt was true.
- [KANYE] I feel like in some ways like I'm a soldier of culture,
and I realized that no one wants that to be my job.
And I'll never go on stage again.
I'll never sit in a award show again,
but will I feel convicted
about things that really meant stuff to culture
that constantly get denied
for years, and years, and years, and years?
I'm sorry, I will.
- [JACQUES] And to this day, Kanye West and Taylor Swift
remain at odds.
"Runaway" also contained a scathing verse
from G.O.O.D Music labelmate, Pusha T.
That October, West revealed
"My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" as the album's title,
and announced a new film called "Runaway."
According to West, the film was a quote,
"Parallel to my career.
"I threw a Molotov cocktail on my career last year in a way
"and I had to come back as a better person."
- [KANYE] The main meaning of the film is just express yourself
and don't let people tell you how to think or how to be.
- On November 22nd, 2010, Kanye West's
"My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" was released
and was instantly met with critical acclaim.
The album opens with Nicki Minaj in a faux British accent
reading a spin on a passage from Roald Dahl's 1982 piece,
"Revolting Rhymes".
Ye's first words on the project
speak to achieving his dreams of success.
The second track "Gorgeous"
features seminal versus from Ye,
as he critiques how harsh mistakes are
for Black men in America, notably himself.
Kid Cudi struck a chord, singing on the hook.
The album's early peak can be heard on its fifth song,
"All Of The Lights."
A wide range of collaboration
featuring more than a half dozen additional voices,
including Sir Elton John.
- [KANYE] 12 people on that song
because I couldn't find the answer.
Dream, Elton John, Rihanna, Drake,
Kid Cudi, Fergie, so many people,
Q-Tip, worked on this song until we found the answer.
In my opinion, one of my greatest sonic landscapes.
- [JACQUES] "So Appalled" also includes
one of Yeezy's earliest mentions of President Donald Trump,
who Ye aligned himself with in late 2016.
On "Devil In A New Dress", Rick Ross delivers a career verse
after an extended guitar interlude
from legendary producer, Mike Dean.
"Dark Fantasy's" apex is "Blame Game" featuring John legend.
On the song, Ye reminisces
about the end of a rocky relationship.
That song ends with a legendary sketch from Chris Rock.
- [CHRIS] Kanye West is a genius
I'm gonna say I was in the booth for about two hours.
- Oh my God. I thought it was just like a one-take.
- No man. He was just throwing shit at me,
try this, try that.
- Many thought the song
was about his ex-girlfriend Amber Rose,
but she doesn't buy it.
- It just didn't pertain to me personally.
Everyone else thought it was just about me and it wasn't.
- The last song in the album is the Bon Iver assisted,
"Lost In The World",
where Ye speaks to his now wife, Kim Kardashian West.
- "Lost In The World", I wrote like this poem to her,
and it ended up being the lyrics for "Lost In The World".
- The album ends with the late poet, Gil Scott-Heron piece,
"Comment #1",
for the track "Who Will Survive In America?"
"My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy"
went on to sell nearly a half a million records
in its first week,
and is now certified two times platinum.
While not as plainly influential as his fourth album,
"808's and Heartbreak",
"Dark Fantasy" is seen by some as Kanye's magnum opus.
Ye wanted back into the spotlight
and did it the only way he knew how,
making great music.
And it's something he first saw on "Last Call"
off of 2004's College Dropout.
In order to survive, Yeezy had to give it his all,
and show everyone who Kanye West really was.
I'm Jacques Morel with Genius News,
bringing you the meaning
and the knowledge behind the music, at home.
Peace!!!