The first release of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in the market was in November of 2010 and from Hawaii. The music artist collaborated with some of the industry's best such as Jay-Z and John Legends to give due credit to the album. And, the album did stand the tides of time. And that is why here at Betway, we take a look at it 10 years post its release, celebrating the 10th anniversary.
While West's recent releases have been criticized and his public approval has not seen much rise, the times were no better during those days either. Soon after the public debacle with Taylor Swift, West retreated to the paradise for some good work. And, he came out with the 'Apology' record. The album had 11 featured artists with many who got their first break and emerging stars who credit this album for being their true time.
When the album made it to the market, it sold over 496,000 copies in just the first week, and that itself was a record performance in the US. Compared to any previous album from West such as The Life of Pablo, Graduation, the My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy reigned supreme among the listeners.
Even more, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy has stood the test of time, and 10 years after its release, research from Betway shows that it still has scored 1.7 Billion streams on Spotify. The album went straight to Billboard 200 and received a lot of praise for the person as an artist. What more, music artists like Paul and Elton made great statements.
While Elton John called it a 'Genius Record', Paul McCartney added that "That was the record of Kanye's that I really envied". In a true sense, the album made great records in performance. It was soon named the best album of the year by a big array of publications starting from XXL Slant Magazine to Pitchfork. A host of major websites like Rolling Stone, Billboard, and Complex ranked it the top. The best was still to come, 10 years later, as we see now.
Making My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Kanye West claimed that it took over 5000 man-hours to record the 'Power' single. The best songs of the album were Power, Monster, and Runaway. They have received the most love till date. Somewhere 18 artists/vocalists appeared in the album starting from Rihanna, Charlie Wilson, Alicia Keys, and Elton John. They made uncredited appearances in 'All of the Lights'.
Further 20 musicians contributed to the recording, with 4 just handclaps. As noted by Q-Tip, it was the work of art by not a musician, but by a 'Music Committee'. Kanye West was very strict with the production of the album asking everyone to wear black, barring blogging, tweeting, pictures, and stuff. The total focus must be on the project when they are around.
And, even though considered an egomaniac himself, West allowed Nicki Minaj and Pusha T to appear in Monster and Runaway, respectively. This surely launched their career and even made their own albums a major hit following the release of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. In 2020 In short, the album had a great influence on several musicians and artists.
Reminiscent
The influence of the album is considered the best work of Kanye West, except him he does not think so. It had a major impact on hip-hop. It has been ranked the 4th best hip-hop album of all time in history. In the 8 years past its release, it has seen critical reviews and everyone loved it as a piece of art. It scored 94 of 100 on Metacritic.
Nicki Minaj's album Pink Friday was a major success following the release of this album. Pusha T's career renaissance also occurred after this album. Even, though West didn't think of it, the album is considered the best work of all time.
This album pushed hip-hop not just as a genre but as a new direction of music. West's qualities, production values, sampling, and combination of collaborators soon became popular.
So, clearly, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is a masterpiece and the best work of Kanye West. Despite his other albums like The College Dropout, which itself is a classic.
