Performer Notes

Recording information: Avex Recording Studio, Honolulu, HI; Electric Lady Studios, New York, NY.
Photographer: Fabien Montique.
The sessions for Kanye West's follow-up to the polarizing (if platinum-selling) 808s & Heartbreak involved several hip-hop luminaries, including Raekwon, the RZA, Pete Rock, and DJ Premier. Led by the bombastic King Crimson-sampling single "Power," featuring a return appearance from Dwele (who provided the hook on West's "Flashing Lights"), My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy will surely please those who viewed 808s as a derailment.

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone - 5 stars out of 5 -- "MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY is his most manically inspired music yet....Yeezy goes for the grandeur of stadium rock, the all-devouring sonics of hip-hop, the erotic gloss of disco, and he goes for all of it, all the time."

Uncut (p.84) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] fascinating record, a sumptuous musical banquet at which Bon Iver and Aphex Twin rub shoulders with Jay-Z, Smokey Robinson and a whole Broadway chorus."

The Wire (p.74) - "The bulk of MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY finds him augmenting classic breaks and moody loops with large and immaculate orchestral flourishes."

Billboard (p.24) - "[P]ossibly the best album of the year....West has expanded his sonic palate by incorporating imprecise choir-like chants, new accents and inflections, epic horns, prog-rock samples, sinister guitar riffs and spoken word..."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.108) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "[A] genuinely great record....The album's subtleties run deep and devastating..."

Paste (magazine) - "The record sounds innately full and vibrant, but by peeling back a few layers, West has emerged with his most effective, plaintive work ever."

Clash (Magazine) - "This is not just West's best album, it's a keen contender for the most ambitious LP in hip-hop history."