In retrospect: Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’s impact on hip-hop

November 22nd marked another full year that has passed since Kanye West dropped one of his greatest pieces of work, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). With MBDTF, Kanye created an introspective masterpiece that melds pop potency with an epic splatter derived from alien electronic, R&B ballads, and classic rock. And Kanye — who in spite of his recent stumbles remains an exemplary showman — delivered on every count. Looking back almost a decade after its initial release, we hope to examine some of its influences on modern hip-hop and music production.

It goes without saying that Kanye is a once-in-a-generation influencer. Love him or hate him, the sheer artistry and unorthodox sound he brings to the table is nothing short of brilliant. His album prior to MBDTF, 808s & Heartbreak (2008), was no different. However, 808’s heavy use of autotune and minimalist structure proved to be Kanye’s biggest departure from the sound that initially launched his career and subsequently alienated his rap base. At around the same time, Kanye had just broken up with model Amber Rose and faced heavy criticism for the Taylor Swift incident at the 2009 VMAs, which needs no explaining. Retreating to a self-imposed exile in Hawaii, Kanye began crafting an album that would – in his own words – “win back the public.”  And he did just that. MBDTF would eventually flower into an undeniable piece of art, so compelling it would eclipse all of his perceived missteps and reassert his prominence in our culture.

When examining overall themes, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy definitely brought back the idea of concept records, while also inspiring the complex, opposing themes we see in today’s music. The album is exquisite and grandiose, but at the same time also highlights themes of darkness, lust, self-doubt and escapism. The overtly triumphant lead single “Power” lets it be known with no room for uncertainty that he is a presence that must be dealt with, a talent we must cherish and be grateful for. He delves deeper into his feelings of abandonment and alienation from America on “Gorgeous” and “Lost in the World” (and its outro) reflecting further, and less specifically, on the social climate that cast him out, before careening back to the self. Songs like “Runaway” and “Blame Game” walk thin lines between the raw and the refined, humanizing Kanye’s most inhumane impulses as he works out his struggles with romance, arrogance, and self-acceptance. 

If Kanye’s College Dropout (2004) was an impact in bending the rules of hip-hop away from the rigid, Timbaland-sounding, gangster-themed “Bling Era,” then MBDTF completely eradicated any sense of conforming to structural order within hip-hop. In referring to the album’s lyrical content and his character, Kanye once said, “My persona is that I’m the regular person. Just think about whatever you’ve been through in the past week, and I have a song about that on my album.” This stance of appointing himself in direct relation to the listener, as opposed to the drastic divide many of the bling-era rappers painted, represented a substantial change in how relatable a successful rapper could be.

Aside from its lyrical implications, the album not only assisted in keeping veterans Jay-Z, Rihanna, Raekwon, and the RZA relevant, but it also helped to elevate the careers of artists in Nicki Minaj, Kid Cudi, CyHi the Prince, Pusha T, and Bon Iver. The iconic moments of Minaj’s incredible verse in “Monster” as well as the quaint voice of Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon weaved masterfully into the fabric of “Dark Fantasy” garnered the affection of listeners and created a beautiful blend of contrasting music styles. 

In spite of all these qualities, perhaps the most prevalent influence of MBDTF is in its production quality. The album uniquely tears down the walls that divide music genres, and inspired artists ranging from Drake to Nate Ruess of Fun to expand their boundaries of music production. These effects are especially observable in music by Key Wane, London on da Track, and Tyler, the Creator, where the idea of risk-taking, as well as the addition of grandiose themes and live instruments, are so noticeable it almost feels tangible. This approach is also evident in Ty Dolla $ign’s slow-jam symphonies, as well as Travis Scott’s Rodeo (2015), which incorporates an intricate gothic surface with undertones of ominous nonsense.

One of MBDTF’s most interesting qualities lies in its sampling of unorthodox songs and sounds that traditionally weren’t viewed to be part of the hip-hop scene. Utilizing pieces like Mike Oldfield’s “In High Places,” a spoken-word take on Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes (1982), and King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man,” this record exemplifies Kanye’s blurred-lines approach to songwriting, which doesn’t discriminate between contemporary hip-hop, classic poetry, and late-’60s British progressive rock. Kendrick Lamar has explicitly cited MBDTF as one of the primary inspirations in utilizing instruments and samples not traditional to hip-hop to create albums such as Section.80 (2011). Records such as J. Cole’s 2014 Forest Hills Drive (2014) and Logic’s Under Pressure (2014) continued to grow on this idea, exhibiting the unique sampling of lavish orchestras, R&B/soul tracks, as well as presidential speeches and romantic dialogue. MBDTF truly inspired a generation of artists that have been creating a much more cohesive soundscape within hip-hop. 

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is, paradoxically, a near-perfect hip-hop record that gains strength from its messiness and vulnerability. This version of Kanye bears his heart as much as the version that appeared two years earlier on 808s and Heartbreak, but portrays another side of him that is more sinister and less willing to submit his ego to public scrutiny. Even in verses crowded with details about his inner conflicts (e.g. Verse 2 of “Power”), Kanye feels no remorse firing shots at his critics and reasserting his status as the greatest in the game. At the same time, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy changed the rules of that game altogether, expanding hip-hop’s raw confessionalism while making it sound bigger than arena rock.

Article by Abraham Niu