My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is the fifth studio album by the American rapper Kanye West. It was released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 22, 2010. It was primarily produced by West, alongside Mike Dean, No I.D., Jeff Bhasker, RZA, Bink, and DJ Frank E. Guest appearances include Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Pusha T, Rick Ross, Kid Cudi, John Legend, Bon Iver, Raekwon, and Elton John.
Retreating to a self-imposed exile in Hawaii after a period of controversy in 2009 following his interruption of Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards, West recorded at Honolulu's Avex Recording Studio in a communal environment with numerous musicians. Additional recording took place at Glenwood Place Studios in Burbank, California, and Electric Lady and Platinum Sound in New York City. Critics noted the maximalist aesthetic and opulent production with elements from West's previous work, including soul, pop, baroque, electro, and symphonic, with progressive rock influences. Lyrically, it explores West's celebrity status, consumer culture, self-aggrandizement, and the idealism of the American Dream.
Alongside several free songs released through the weekly GOOD Fridays series, West supported My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy with four US Billboard Hot 100 top-40 singles, "Power", "Runaway", "Monster", and "All of the Lights". West also released an accompanying musical short film, Runaway. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy received acclaim from critics, who considered it a return to form for West and praised the maximalist approach, production, themes, and variety. Many publications listed it as the best album of 2010, and it won Best Rap Album at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards and CD of the Year at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards.
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and the Canadian Albums Chart, while reaching the top 10 in six other countries. It was certified triple platinum in the United States, and received sales certifications in a few other territories. In retrospect, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy has been regarded as West's magnum opus; several publications, including Pitchfork and Rolling Stone, have ranked it as the best album of the 2010s and among the greatest of all time.
Background
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy evolved from Good Ass Job, which Kanye West had planned as the conclusion of a college-themed tetralogy that began with The College Dropout. He adhered to the plan with Late Registration and Graduation, but after the death of his mother Donda West and his breakup with his fiancée Alexis Phifer, he pivoted to the electropop project 808s & Heartbreak. While industry publications and collaborators reported that West would follow 808s & Heartbreak with Good Ass Job, in private, West had lost interest in continuing the plan. He explained to MTV News in October 2010 that he "didn't want to... have to stick to the skits" and other conventions of his previous albums.West conceived My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy at Avex Recording Studio during his self-imposed exile in Oahu, Hawaii, in 2009, following a period of public-image controversy. West said that fatigue from overworking led to his controversial outburst at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards when the singer Taylor Swift was awarded Best Female Video at the ceremony. West then went on stage, stole the mic from Swift who was 19 at the time, and said "Yo Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'ma let you finish, but, Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!" West then shrugged and gave the mic back to Swift. He was disgusted with the media response, which led to a brief hiatus from recording. He observed at the time of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy release that Swift never defended him in any interviews, saying she continuously "rode the waves" from the controversy. West had held recording sessions at the same studio as 808s & Heartbreak.
In response to the backlash, West's scheduled tour Fame Kills: Starring Kanye West and Lady Gaga with the singer Lady Gaga to promote 808s & Heartbreak was cancelled on October 1, 2009. In 2010, he explained to Ellen DeGeneres the incident served as motivation for his works because he felt like "a soldier of culture", realizing no one wants this to be his role and admitted he will continuously "feel convicted about things that really meant stuff to culture that constantly get denied for years". In 2013, West said that My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy served as a backhanded apology after his VMAs outburst, detailing that he used the music to become accepted again. He elaborated that a minimum of 80 percent was genuine, with the remainder "fulfilling a perception" for the public. West insisted that he was not criticizing My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and instead failed to reach satisfaction, then openly revealed his idea of the truth.
Recording and production
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was recorded at Avex in Honolulu, Hawaii. Additional recording took place at Glenwood Place Studios in Burbank, California, and at Electric Lady Studios and Platinum Sound Recording Studios in New York City. It was reported that West spent around $3 million provided by his record label Def Jam to record the album, making it one of the most expensive albums ever made. He explained the initial recording process to Noah Callahan-Bever, the editor-in-chief of Complex and West's then-confidant, telling him he had resided in Hawaii accompanied by his favorite producers and artists to work on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and provide inspiration. Various contributors engaged in sessions with West for the album, including Kid Cudi, Elton John, Rick Ross, Pusha T, and Justin Vernon. Vocals were also recorded by M.I.A., Mos Def, Santigold, and Seal. Producers who contributed in the sessions included Q-Tip, RZA, Pete Rock, Madlib, Statik Selektah, and DJ Premier. Madlib said he made five beats for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, while DJ Premier revealed his work did not make the final cut.West block-booked the three session rooms of Avex simultaneously for 24 hours a day to work on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, until he felt it was complete. According to Callahan-Bever, when West "hits a creative wall", he changes to another studio room to work on a different song. Sheets of paper were posted on one side of the studio with what were known as "Kanye Commandments", such as "No Tweeting" and "No Pictures". West never slept a full night there, opting instead to take power naps on a studio chair or couch in 90-minute intervals when working during the night. Engineers worked a similar schedule, remaining active 24 hours a day. The heavy work ethic led to West and his crew having multi-course breakfasts each morning at his Diamond Head residence, cooked by in-house chefs. Later in the mornings after breakfast, West and most of the crew played games of 21 against locals at the Honolulu YMCA for leisure. Kid Cudi smoked marijuana in preparation and worked out on a treadmill, while RZA exercised in the weight room.
Throughout the album's development, West enlisted other producers and musicians for opinions. At the studio, they went through various conversations and contributions. Observing these discussions during a visit, Callahan-Bever noted that despite the presence of prominent musicians, "the egos rarely clash; talks are sprawling, enlightening, and productive" around the future, present, and past. Q-Tip described the process as "music by committee" and elaborated on its significance to the sessions and West's work ethic:
The rapper Pusha T characterized My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy as "a collage of sounds" and found West's recording methods unorthodox. He explained that when the team thought they were focused on a song, West would hear the work of a record producer such as Jeff Bhasker and his attention would be captured as he went through "his mental Rolodex" to the most suitable point for it on the album. Expressing a similar sentiment, the rapper Malik Yusef said that he was mocked for his vision of incorporating collaborators from genres outside hip-hop like John. DJ Premier recalled that West insisted to him during the production for no electro, describing him as "that crazy dude he's always been" and pointing out his focus on the album's rawness.
West ensured that the recording sessions were secretive, placing paper sheets in the studio reading "no tweeting, no talking, no e-mailing", and also prohibiting speaking with people outside of the location. Pusha T recalled West's attitude in an interview for Rolling Stone, saying that following a leak he remembered his strictness, "Fuck this! We're not going to ever work there again!" In October 2010, West tweeted that the recording of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy had been finished.
Musical style
The music was described as maximalist hip-hop by numerous publications, incorporating East Coast rap, boom bap, R&B ballads, electronic music, and progressive rock samples. Various writers also noticed elements from West's previous four albums. The Village Voices Sean Fennessey thought that West had adopted the skills of his collaborators from the five years before My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, which he sometimes uses to an increased level. West incorporates lush soul from The College Dropout, orchestration from Late Registration, a rich atmosphere from Graduation, and emotionally tired electro from 808s & Heartbreak. Pitchforks Ryan Dombal and AllMusic's Andy Kellman wrote My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy seamlessly combines elements from West's earlier albums; Kellman felt that "All of the Lights" denotes its varied elements and "maniacal extravagance". David Amidon of PopMatters observed the pop sound of Graduation and 808s & Heartbreak.My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was described as a progressive rap record by Carl Williott of Idolator and Rolling Stones Christopher R. Weingarten, with the latter noting that it came at the time of lower album budgets. The album draws elements from varied genres like progressive rock, soul, and old-school rap, moving towards a new sound. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy follows a dense, wide scope of styles; Al Horner from NME called it a rap opera. The author Kirk Walker Graves thinks West became a collagist, who makes a bold and vulnerable work of art from "scattered pop shards and indelible beats".