“I love you, like Kanye loves Kanye” – Kanye West (“I Love Kanye”). Kanye West’s new album The Life of Pablo (T.L.O.P.) is as confusing as it is enticing. He doesn’t seem to stick with one thing, going from Metro Boomin club beats (“Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1”) to soul fueled piano rhythms (“Real Friends”) to upbeat radio singles (“Waves”). At age 38, West seems to be struggling to find myself and turns to music as a means of saying what he feels.

“This is a God’s dream. This is everything,” West belts on his opening track “Ultralight Beam,” which features fellow Chicago native Chance the Rapper. This is what Kanye is trying to show on T.L.O.P., that this album is everything. It’s all of West’s highs and lows. It’s all the struggles and successes of an artist that reaches West’s level and music experience. West masterfully constructs what can only be described as a therapy session for a genius. West sings about his loneliness on “Real Friends,” about his responsibilities as a father on “FML,” and his financial and musical success on “Facts (Charlie Heat Version).”

All this being said, T.L.O.P. is held back from pure genius by West’s best friend and worst enemy, Kanye West. He can’t help but get in his own way at times, and it hurts his art. Compare it to his other works. The College Dropout told the story of a kid who wanted nothing to do with the system and would go against every rule to reach his success. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, West’s magnum opus, was a divine plethora of musical talent and ambition put together to make an incredible story of a young man with nothing, all of the sudden finding himself at the top of the world. Even Yeezus, West’s most ambitious and diverse album, had West acknowledge his power in the music industry and fully embrace it.

T.L.O.P. lacked this importance of a clear theme. That on top of West simply saying lyrics just to get attention (“Famous” came under fire for a Taylor Swift reference), and lyrics from “Facts” (Charlie Heat Version) was scrutinized due to lyrics involving apparent Bill Cosby sympathy). However, if a listener can get over West’s mood swings and brash comments, what they have left is a tremendous album made by one of hip hop’s most influential people.\
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