Album Review: Kanye West brings the gospel on “The Life of Pablo”

Kanye West has been one of the most polarizing people on Earth for years at this point. Seemingly you either love him or you’re cynic to the rapper’s antics. Admittedly, the now legendary MC and producer has plenty of issues. Never one to bite his tongue it seems as though his developed case of “Twitter Fingers” are rubbing even more people the wrong way and his bandwagon is as empty as it has ever been. Making matters worse is the previous 2-3 year period in which we have seen the least musical output of his career, the last being his divisive album Yeezus. Kanye is at a bit of a cross-roads musically with life’s ambitions slowly pulling him away and that’s where we find him on The Life of Pablo.

When this album goes down in history it will always be noted for one of the most confusing rollout plans in recent memory. Aside from the numerous title changes (started as So Help Me God, then Swish, then Waves and finally The Life of Pablo) the album was also released in different stages. Our initial listen came at his YEEZY Season 3 fashion show in front of a sold out Madison Square Garden, that 10-track version would be replaced with an 18-track album 4 days later via Tidal exclusive. To date it still has not been sold physically and was on iTunes for only a few brief moments before he pulled the link. Literally the only thing more confusing then the way this album was released is the music itself. TLOP sound and rollout both mirror Kanye West’s life right now, an interesting journey but one that is disjointed and only shines in certain moments.

Proclaimed as a “gospel album with curse words” there are certainly some major themes of Christianity and spirituality that make their way here. While certainly not gospel in the traditional sense Kanye manages to blur the line between religion and insanity from top to bottom.  Forgiveness is the theme on quite a few tracks including the lead single “Real Friends” (although the cousin who stole that laptop should still watch his back). Death and the afterlife are themes as well, particularly on Waves. Written primarily by Chance the Rapper and heavily featuring Chris Brown its very well constructed and helps to bridge the album, residing in the middle of the tracklist. Low Lights/Highlights is literally a testimony to God’s love and grace that leads into a celebratory single with Young Thug. FML is good look into Kanye’s spirit. Backed by a strong chorus from The Weeknd, the rapper speaks on misogyny and how his lust for women must stop. “God I’m willing to make this my mission, Give up the women before I lose half of what I own,  I been thinking about my vision, Pour out my feelings, revealing the layers to my soul” spews Kanye, in some of the more directly religious lyrics on the album. The album’s most club-ready song is also one of its more honest moments in “Father Stretch My Hands”. Part one starts with Kid Cudi and Metro Boomin contributing before part 2 converts to “Panda”, the bubbling single from new G.O.O.D. music signee Desiigner. Kanye uses this particular backdrop to paint a picture of pain speaking on issues he shares with his father, his mother’s passing and the need to feel liberated. I repeat, this is the most club-ready song on the album. All of this combined with sampling from Pastor T. L. Barrett’s Father I Stretch My Hands is the perfect example of how the gospel portions of this album are crammed into different genres.

Though the vast majority of the album is melodic and filled with more singing than rap, a common trend with much of Mr. West’s latest releases, there are some moments of rap splendor on a couple of records. “No More Parties in L.A.”, one of the early releases from TLOP, comes to mind instantly as a lyrical standout. With Kendrick Lamar joining the rapper they both let off a barrage of rhymes that range from corny-to-clever but manage to keep it interesting. In one of his better verses in years Kanye’s topics range from his rise to fame to barricades being built on a highway in his neighborhood. Arguably the track that best symbolizes what “the old Kanye” (you know, the one that has been missed so much even Kanye made mention of it on an interlude on the album)  is “30 Hours”. As with any of his work he pulls of one of his classic samples, this time using Arthur Russell’s 1986 song “Answers Me”. Ye gives us the feeling of his early records shining with witty punchlines throughout but ultimately reminds us of his downfall by the end of the track, closing it with an unfinished reference verse.

For all of the gospel influence the project holds there are some truly confusing moments. One such moment is “Feedback”, a record that sounds as though it was straight out of the Yeezus vault. While not necessarily a bad track it’s construction and a random “Oprah-style” proclamation at the end leave it feeling like it was better fit on his previous album. “Facts” is essentially a diss-track aimed at Nike and everyone involved with the company, very out of place on the tracklist. “Freestyle 4” quite simply should not be on the set nor any other one of his LP’s. Not only does it offset the emotional tone of TLOP but it doesn’t have any continuity in the lyrics or production when compared to everything else. It is really all over the place and feels unfinished as well.

The lone track I can say that doesn’t seemed rushed in any way is ironically the intro “Ultra Light Beams”. This is the crowned jewel when it comes to TLOP and also the one true gospel song on the album. It displays Kanye’s penchant for constructing a track with other artists as it is anchored by a full choir, Kelly Price bringing through an amazing bridge, The Dream sharing his vocals, Kirk Franklin delivering some of his motivational words and Chance punching in his submission for “best feature on a Kanye track” (though Nicki Minaj still holds the crown in my opinion). Words can really explain how good this particular song is. I would personally put it in my top 10 when it comes to his catalog.

It truly feels like Kanye could have given us an undisputed classic but just didn’t want to take the time to do so.  If more songs had been given the amount of thought it seems was put into Ultra Light Beams this one without question Kanye would have been much better off but alas he misses his mark. The Life of Pablo can be classified as a great but in the current moment it seems as though it may never be considered one of his top albums. The vision of what he was trying to accomplish can be seen but for someone who usually promotes top quality and meticulous preparation of everything he releases this falls short. Kanye manages to once again evolve and bring forth a unique sound palate, unfortunately he just does so in a much too cluttered way at times which takes away from an otherwise pleasant listen.