I know this seems a little too mainstream, but for my first review I wanted to look at The Life Of Pablo. It seems premature to write a review already (since the album is only on Tidal), but this has the star power to be Yeezy’s greatest work to date. So why not write about it now, right?

So, just as a point of reference, I wanted to tell about the background setting when I first heard Ye’s new album. It was after a long day of drinking with boys and one of my friends texted me and say that IT DROPPED. So, of course, I rolled threw to the listening party to hear the gospel. I don’t think I was in the right state of mind to have my mind blown to pieces. The place was aflame with bass bumpin’ and heat blastin’. Have you heard about the good news? The phrase “worth the wait” definitely applied to this situation. Now I am here dedicating my entire Sunday listening to T.L.O.P. So, lets face the music.

To be brutally honest, I was never a huge advocate of Kanye’s 2013 album, Yeezus. In terms of production quality, it has been claimed as one of the best of its time. He was coming off from a country wide tour with Jay-Z on his Watch the Throne set and wanted to focus more on his production work. “Blood On The Leaves” and “Black Skinhead” are still claimed as bangers to this day, but I just wasn’t feeling it. I have been a loyal old Kanye fan since I was in high school. I was expecting something similar to “College Dropout” or “Late Registration.” But with times changing and a more narrow focus on electronic production, I knew he would probably move on to a newer style. However, T.L.O.P., I believe resurrected that old and inner-angry Kanye. This album shows how hungry he is to be the best. I mean the very best. Did you hear me? The very best.Who else can have a listening party in Madison Square Garden with every A list celebrity and artist you can think of. Yes, Yeezy can. The funny thing is that he knows it too (in typical Kanye fashion). I believe that his recent marriage with Kim and his recent birth of North West, he wants to go out on a high note. That is, however, if this is one of his last records (which I think will at least for a very long time). The fact that Ye’s name is used for the sole purpose of a precedent, explains how great his work has become. His presence in the Hip-Hop community will never go unnoticed. I mean, have you seen the features on this track list?  Last night was the first time in forever that I turned on Saturday Night Live because I knew Mr. West was going to do something in spectacular fashion. If this happens to be his final and last masterpiece, I would not be entirely surprised. Why? Because Pablo, that’s why.

To start, I would like to retrace to one of my previous statements about his track list. He has included nearly every big name in the hip-hop world on this album. Kendrick, Rihanna, Kid Cudi, and the list goes on and on. Need I say more? He even has Madlib co-produce on the track “No More Parties in L.A.” Kanye’s flow in his song goes raw and uncut. No apologies, no regrets. Even his fellow foe, Ray J gets a shout out on the album. I believe that Kim K has really sparked a flame in Kanye recently to be the greatest. Remember Kim on the Paper Magazine cover? SWISH. He is out for blood and everyone knows it. It is also incredibly difficult to explain his production on this album as well. He has switched his flow on nearly every single on of his albums. Old school sampling techniques and church/family oriented clips ultimately made up his College Dropout piece of work. West suffered the loss of his mother on 808’s and Heartbreaks and was heavy with slow electronic and auto-tune settings. The best way I can explain his production now is a big mixture of everything he has done. Many tracks that he has on the album remind me of 2006 J Dilla sampling, with high pitch gospel clips and fast rotation spin. There are also songs like “Low Lights” and “Ultra Light Beam” that remind me a lot of his Yeezus and 808’s production work. Simply astonishing. His 808’s have a lot of reverb and bounce back sound that demonstrate a heavy and mean style. Like I said, he is out to say something big and he wants the world to hear. This is the type of music that makes you just want to get wild and insinuate a riot. “Feedback”, “Waves” and “No More Parties In L.A.” just makes you want to lean in and rock with it. I can also hear some 90’s Hip Hop sampling and production somewhere in there too. He adds electric and raw guitar riffs that can make anyone go bananas. With this album, I think he knows how powerful he is, so he wants to use every resource he has. Metro Boomin, Andre 3Stacks, Cudi all helping him write and produce. Sure, why not?

All in all, this was the Kanye West that I have been waiting so long for. I have been listening to “No More Parties in L.A.” on repeat for the past hour. Well and also I have pretty big obsession with Kendrick Lamar’s work. This will be on my rotation for a very long time. I think later down the road, this will go down as one of my favorite Kanye albums of all time. Much love, Ye.

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