"Can We Get Much Higher?"

Written by Sarah Hernandez

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is exactly what it sounds like. It's dark, twisted, imaginative, and creative, yet it's also lyrically, conceptually and instrumentally beautiful, all at the same time. If you count the Runaway short film, then you can add visually and artistically beautiful to that list. The crazy thing is that regardless of his talent, a lot of people don’t like Kanye West, but Why? Is it because he has the audacity to say the things we think or the things we wished we could say? Or is it because he’s an arrogant asshole? Either way it doesn’t matter, because music isn’t about the artist its about the art.

Honestly, there is literally no critiquing this album because its perfectly imperfect, and by imperfect I mean that it is a representation of us; imperfect people.  I believe that‘s exactly what he set out to do with this album and with his music in general because in an interview with Access Hollywood he stated “I try to make music that touches people because I feel like I am the people, I’m a part of them, I feel like I’m the only one that’s exactly like [the] people…that are on the other side of the tv…I feel [the] responsibility to keep it real.”

So what is My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, besides a genius work of art?
1. It’s Kanye’s challenge to all artists, to step up their game.
2. It’s Kanye’s message to all listeners, that he believes we are not as dumb as the media makes us out to be and to not settle for anything less than great.
    - “Pop culture tries to force feed a dumbed down version of everything and people [in media] try to act like the fans are dumb, [but] people are really not as basic as the media tries to make them out to be.” - Kanye West.
   - “ Kanye West thinks you’re a moron, if you settle for artist who don’t push as hard as he does.” - Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone Magazine

This album is purely Kanye digging into his psyche, only to find multiple personalities; Kanye the apologetic douche, Kanye the failure romantic, Kanye the poet, Kanye the revolutionist, Kanye the dreamer, Kanye the realist, Kanye the boaster, Kanye the artist, Kanye the loner, and Kanye the GENIUS, and channeling them to make material that blows everything else out of the water. I'd be surprised if it does not get album of the year. This is a must have album for everyone, so if you haven't already, go buy the album and be enlightened.

Key Tracks, Quotes and Pin Points
Dark Fantasy:
- "Can we get much higher?"
- Great start to the album.
- A lot of celebrity mentions including Nas, Celine Dion, Kings of Leon and Leona Lewis.
Power:
- Exceptional use of a King Crimson sample.
- “I just needed time alone with my own thoughts, got treasures in my mind but couldn’t open up my own vaults. My childlike creativity, purity, and honesty, is honestly being crowded by these grown thoughts.” 
All of the Lights:
- Superb arena-like instrumentals.
- Crazy amount of featuring artists.
Lost in the World:
- Kanye took something so simple as antonyms and created a genius first verse.
Blame Game:
- The spoken work part right before the 4 minute mark is a great addition to the song.
Runaway:
- Unique instrumentals.
- Definitely an anthem for guys and ladies alike, who can relate to being a douchebag or knowing a douchebag.