The five album artworks of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, created by contemporary visual artist, George Condo.
ULTRA #001
Unpacking My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
by Kanye West
part 1 of 2
BY USMAN
September 19th, 2020
Welcome to Usman's Life Through Reflective Archives (ULTRA) - a series where we bring you commentaries through the eyes of guest BCC contributor, Usman. For the inaugural entry, we are travelling back a whole decade to 2010 to explore Kanye West’s fifth (and arguably best) album: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (which is a mouthful so we’re going with MBDTF from here on out).
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Kanye West is probably the most controversial artist ever. In fact, outside of politics, he might be the MOST controversial person in our generation. I am, of course, chuckling as I write this because I’ve just remembered that he very recently entered politics…
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Whether he is thinking out loud through a Twitter meltdown, declaring that George Bush doesn’t care about black people or openly supporting Donald Trump – no one can deny his colossal and ground-breaking impact on music; an impact that he continues to make to this day.
“Hey Usman – you mentioned how controversial Kanye is, but you never mentioned when he interrup…”
Guys come on. You can’t Kanye me in my own article. We’ll get there when we get there.
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So, in case you’ve never heard the exceptional body of work that is MBDTF, it is universally regarded to be one of the greatest albums of all time in any genre. Kanye is widely known to break down a new barrier with everything he does, so how does he do it? His ability to constantly shift a new paradigm in music with each album release is defined by one basic concept: hip hop can simply take any form that he wants it to. Ignoring the rulebook from day one is the reason he has such a diverse discography. There is a Kanye album for everyone - I mean that.
I recently revisited this particular album from start to finish after a long time and experienced almost the exact same feelings as when I heard it for the first time 10 years ago. I decided to pay tribute to those feelings by creating ULTRA.
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What are we about to get into?
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Before I go any further, I want to point out two things. Firstly, this is not a review - I genuinely wrote this whole thing just to remind you that this masterpiece exists. I won't have anyone sleep on this album on my watch. Secondly, I'm not going to be discussing modern Kanye. If you are expecting coverage of Kanye's latest controversies, you're not going to find them here. Sometimes you simply have to separate the art from the artist. When it comes to Kanye, the quicker you do this, the more free capacity you'll have to enjoy the greatness.
Kanye West performing Runaway during the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
How did we get to MBDTF?
In 2004, Kanye came out of the shadows as a behind-the-scenes producer and went completely against the grain by releasing The College Dropout (his debut album) which didn’t revolve around violence, gangs or a wildly troubled past. He remained authentic, not pretending for a single second that he had that sort of upbringing. He simply presented us with stories that we could all relate to on some level, at times, even tapping into his spirituality and his simple quest for a better life.
In 2005, we got the second offering - Late Registration. Kanye's zealous efforts to improve his sound really shone through. He even had the balls to have features on back-to-back tracks from Jay-Z and Nas… BEFORE they actually squashed their beef! Damn, you guys forgot that huh?
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Two successful albums and heaps of critical acclaim... but the evolution of sound had only just begun...
Toward the end of 2007, Kanye and 50 Cent became entangled (sorry Will) in a friendly but competitive public contest for their respective third albums. It was absolutely everywhere; you couldn’t miss it. I distinctly remember reading about it on every online newspaper, magazine or publication that I knew. For context, I should note that one of my top 3 favourite albums at the time was 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’ so I naturally had some faith in 50 Cent to deliver a great project. Nevertheless, as soon as I had both albums in my hands - the incontestable supremacy of Kanye's Graduation became apparent.
Let's be real - Kanye absolutely bodied 50 Cent in what the world thought was actually going to be a close battle for the ‘king of hip hop’ as it was penned back then. The final products from both artists were simply worlds apart. 13 years on, I feel I must utilise this platform to openly admit that my prediction was wildly off target.
Graduation was the biggest evolution of Kanye's sound to-date. He lined up his already very impressive arsenal of tricks and fused it with rich electronic instrumentals, rock elements, pop influences and unforgettable hooks to create a sensational album that truly pushed hip hop on from its roots. We had never heard this sound before from a rapper but we couldn't get enough of it. Was this a nail in the coffin for gangsta rap? Did anyone even see 50 Cent after this? I don't think I saw him again until I watched Power on Netflix.
LEFT: The infamous Rolling Stone magazine cover showing the iconic face-off between 50 Cent and Kanye West following the release of their respective albums. (Cover by Rolling Stone)
RIGHT: 50 Cent and Kanye West pose for a face-off while presenting an award together during the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards in Las Vegas. (Photo by John Shearer/WireImage)
We had our minds completely blown the following year in 2008 because we got 808s & Heartbreak. An album recorded in just three weeks following his mother’s tragic death and the conclusion of his 18-month engagement to then-fiancée Alexis Phifer (whom he had been in an on-again off-again relationship with for six years). We got up close and personal with Kanye’s pain. It was full of desolate lyrics sung through auto-tune. The production had a minimalist feel but was still punchy. Fans and critics were invited to a harrowing insight into Kanye's consecutive personal losses. 808s is a lot to process, despite being such a great record.
On top of everything he had achieved thus far, it was now okay for rappers to talk about their raw emotions and feelings in their music. Oh, and he also made auto-tune cool. Unfortunately, T-Pain was mostly attacked for his attempts. While on the subject of other artists, I sometimes wonder if we would even have guys like Drake or the Weeknd if it wasn’t for this project. Hmmmmmm.
Kanye West's first four albums (left to right): The College Dropout (2004), Late Registration (2005), Graduation (2007) and 808s & Heartbreak (2008).
I don’t rate Taylor Swift but we still have to talk about this.
The turning point. Fast forward to the MTV Video Music Awards that took place on 13th September 2009. You all know what happened. Heck, I bet even your parents know what happened. It is genuinely the only thing my mother knows about Kanye West.
Having spent a sizeable chunk of the evening swigging Hennessey straight from the bottle, Kanye walked onto the stage while Taylor Swift was giving her acceptance speech for winning the Best Female Video award, took the microphone out of her hand and said:
“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!”
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No caption necessary. (Photo by Jason Decrow/AP/Shutterstock)
The 'Kanye shrug'. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
He was subsequently booed, did what became known as a ‘Kanye shrug’ and walked off the stage. The backlash of this moment would crucify him for many months to come, and while all of this was going on, his high-profile and tumultuous relationship with Amber Rose hit low point after low point until eventually it ground to a halt in July of 2010.
To add insult to injury, he had a scheduled tour with Lady Gaga planned to promote 808s & Heartbreak which was cancelled without explanation. That would’ve been one hell of a tour, right? Shame it never happened.
Friend and collaborator Mos Def was telling Kanye to leave the country at this point. Kanye responded to this turbulence by actually leaving the country through self-prescribed exile to Hawaii... but not to flee. Nope. He disappeared so that he could create a magnificent masterpiece and the rest, as they say… is history.
The birthplace of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - a residential area called Maunalua (Hawaii Kaii) on the stunning island of O'ahu in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Welcome to Hawaii, Mr. West. Enjoy your stay.
Avex Recording Studios, Honolulu, Hawaii was to be Kanye’s home for the following 8 months while he constructed MBDTF. Over this time period, the following producers and artists were invited to the island to inspire the record and play their part:
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Mike Dean
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Jeff Bhasker
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Q-Tip
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RZA
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DJ Premier
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Madlib
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Statik Selektah
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Pete Rock
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Raekwon
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Pusha T
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Rick Ross
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Charlie Wilson
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​Big Sean
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Cyhi the Prynce
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Swizz Beatz
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Dwele
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Nicki Minaj
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T.I.
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Drake
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Common
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Jay-Z
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John Legend
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Fergie
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Rihanna
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The-Dream
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Ryan Leslie
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Elton John
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M.I.A.
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Justin Vernon
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Seal
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Beyoncé
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Kid Cudi
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Mos Def
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Santigold
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Alicia Keys
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Elly Jackson
A pretty dazzling list of people, I know. Unsurprisingly, not everyone's contributions made the final cut but not to worry - too many cooks did not spoil this broth.
As you can see, there was no shortage of talent in the building. Kanye West is pictured here with Wu-Tang Clan's RZA (left) and Common (right) during recording sessions in Hawaii. (Photos by Complex)
Kanye booked three session rooms at the same time for 24 hours a day and reportedly did not sleep a full night for days on end, opting to take hour-and-a-half power naps on random chairs in the studios or whatever sofa was available instead. He would bounce off the walls from studio to studio, pitching dozens of ideas but also demanding ideas in return. He was constantly making progress on multiple songs rather than focusing on finishing one before moving on to the next. Sound engineers were working tirelessly round the clock.
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The 'Kanye wall of commandments' on one side of the studio. My favourite one is "JUST SHUT THE F**K UP SOMETIMES". (Photo by Complex)
He employed two chefs for hot and cold food respectively. Each morning they had a communal breakfast at a nearby property he was renting. They would play street basketball against locals (except Kid Cudi who slept in to avoid any sporting activity and only emerged when they were done). Am I the only one who wants to travel back in time and be a fly on the wall for this?!
Photo by Complex
Many of the artists present have since commented on their time in Hawaii in 2010. Justin Vernon said that Kanye was not just a rapper or a producer but an all-round musician in the way he expressed himself while working. Nicki Minaj said he was completely open while in the studio and even found him in one of the studios watching porn.
Pete Rock was blown away by how much Kanye knew about hip hop and DJ Premier said that even though Kanye successfully made sampling cool again in his previous work, this project was “strictly hard beats and rhyme”.
Pusha T recalled how Kanye would be utterly focused on one song until he would randomly hear a sound made by Jeff Bhasker or another producer and completely break away to focus on that sound and pinpoint where he could incorporate it or where he thought it would fit.
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In a nutshell - it was going quite well! However, while it was all well and good to have barrels of creative juices perpetually flowing, there was still the matter of the worldwide reception when he was ready to eventually resurface with his fifth album.
How does a loathed man in exile get the world ready for his upcoming album that no one wants to hear?
I have to hand it to Kanye for how he conquered this demon in particular. In July of 2010, he made public appearances at Facebook and Twitter headquarters delivering acapella versions of various songs. He also made his Twitter account for the first time, and also tweeted for the first time. Yep - this is where it all started.
The most impressive part of the build-up was the concept of GOOD Fridays. This would see him release a song every Friday from the end of August to November of 2010, the final song releasing just 10 days before his album dropped. This promotional triumph featured artists from his music label as well as many others he frequently worked with. There were a lot of features. This created a worldwide buzz and euphoria; we knew we were witnessing something special.
While this was a dangerous strategy if the songs turned out to be average or unappealing – Kanye eliminated the mere prospect of failure by dropping banger after banger. That’s one way to manage the risk, right? I had all of them on my iPod Nano and can remember wheeling them on the way to and from school. It gave us a sneak peek into the themes he would explore in this project as well as the new sound he was cooking up with his team.
What a time to be alive.
Kanye performing during the 2010 BET Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The red Kanye era of MBDTF was always cool to me. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
So, what was cooked then? What are the ingredients?
I truly believe that Kanye’s transparency is what makes his music so great. He is so unashamedly himself and while we saw snippets of this in his first two albums, it was Graduation and 808s & Heartbreak where we learnt that he would never ever mince his words to distort a message or theme he wants to get across. I know that lots of artists exist who are unashamedly themselves on their records, but to do it with such grandiosity and still remain captivating and charming is something very few have achieved.
In many ways, MBDTF takes something iconic from each of Kanye’s albums. We hear the chipmunk sounding samples that became synonymous with his early production and The College Dropout. We get the rich orchestration and fusion of soulful jazz and blues with hip hop from Late Registration. We most certainly get the atmospheric electronic synthesizers and rock influences from Graduation. And don’t worry - we got auto-tune (and good auto-tune too). We have 808s & Heartbreak to thank for that. MBDTF is essentially a culmination of absolutely everything he had learned up until this point.
For me, MBDTF is an album of opposites. Kanye explores both sides to fame - balancing the wealth, luxury and excess with the burden that it ultimately carries elsewhere in his life. At points he doubts himself, but at others he is fully aware of his greatness. He manages to perfectly illustrate that while he has been embraced by the world for his brilliance, being black will always be his curse. It will always hold him back in some way. The album ricochets between expressive highs and brutal lows within mere moments. While these are the underlying themes, Kanye finishes the dish off with healthy sprinklings of bravado, narcissism, decadence, hedonism and his swollen ego throughout the record... just for good measure.
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"This is getting ridiculous. You've been rambling for ages and we haven't even touched on a single song yet."
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I humbly apologise for being so abrupt, but I'm actually going to end it here. The eagle-eyed among you will have spotted that this is the first of two parts. I personally feel that a track-by-track exploration and deep dive of this album's artwork deserves it's own post.
In actual fact, my purpose for part one has been fulfilled. It's just an obscenely verbose public service announcement.
My homework for all of you is to go away and listen to MBDTF from cover to cover. If you are a hip hop veteran and know this album well, refresh your take on it with a fresh listen. How do you feel about it a decade later?
If you are not acquainted with it or it has been a long time since you pressed play, pop some headphones on and see if you can unpack this magnum opus.
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Either way, I need to collect the rest of my thoughts - so I'll see you in part two.
Artwork created by George Condo for Kanye West