I love that sound as well. It sounds sorta like Norf Norf from Vince Staples to me
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Kanye West presents The Life of Pablo |OT| WE ON AN ULTRA LIGHT BEAM
- Thread starter enzo_gt
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I love that sound as well. It sounds sorta like Norf Norf from Vince Staples to me
captainnapalm
Member
Bipolar could be a good call. His megalomania is off the charts. Asking people to rather send him money than build schools in Africa (which he calls a country) is so ridiculously insensitive and offensive, he can't be in his right mind.
The scariest thing for Kanye though is how many people are out there totally willing to feed this megalomania.
Tatsumi Oga
Banned
Ah yes that makes sense.
Damn those lyrics are something. Perfectly describing a depression and more. I've been depressed, like many people, but definitely not all of what he's talking about here. Where does he say this? Certainly not on All Day, i recently listened to it. This a separate song?
Heh, I thought of him too.
Tatsumi Oga
Banned
Yes, lots of snakes out there for sure. Of course we don't know what his wife is like, but I hope she supports him in every way possible. But depression can be a motherfucker and they tend to ignore every bit of help people offer. Seen it with my own father, Rest in peace, and other people too.
It reminds me of MJ too, dude had countless of sharks and snakes around him. His ex wife talked about that after his death. That he wouldn't listen to her but she warned him of the no good people around him, controlling him and his life. If she had stayed with him, things very well could have been different. Hope Kanye has a wife like that, someone who doesn't put up with that shit.
Yeah. He hasn't released it, but it was featured after All Day in the video by Steve McQueen that played in a few galleries last year.
It's heartbreakingly honest. I wish he'd put it out, but it doesn't really fit with what he ended up doing with TLOP.
All Day video (Steve McQueen-directed) had it as a second song:
https://vk.com/video-4100014_171225526?list=aa7df863ef783e985b
Jo Shishido's Cheeks
Member
I'd imagine loads of other songs have sampled howling wolves before.
captainnapalm
Member
I don't know, the Kardashians hardly seem like a calming influence. They're plenty dysfunctional on their own.
I've seen enough of Kim on her show to realise she probably can't even begin to understand what makes Kanye tick and everything that's going on with him. He's pretty complicated - a troubled artist - she exists in a totally different universe.
Veritigo_X
Member
I don't think howling wolves is something unique, but I was immediately reminded of Nightride by Kavinsky.
Tatsumi Oga
Banned
True. They seem plenty crazy indeed. I hope dude got some great friends thatll help him pull through.
That's the thing though, you can never be 100% certain about that. Does Kanye really need all the extra publicity? He already has tons of it and he knows it. If anything it seeks more like a cry for help, it certainly doesn't look to me like it's all fake, all fun and all for publicity.
Sometimes people forget that at the end of the day these rich celebrities are human beings too and while they seem untouchable and happy with all the money in the world, money is just that. Plenty of examples of artists where it went completely wrong, where even though they were filthy rich, still took their own lives because of... God knows what was going around in their head.
I just hope it won't go down like that for this very talented musician. But I wouldn't call it all publicity man. Maybe I'm wrong though, no idea.
On another note. Just listened to All Day again, I don't know what it is but I love the production on that. I wish it was on this new CD. At least it's on Spotify though.
Deadly Cyclone
Pride of Iowa State
Fine, I signed up for the Tidal HiFi trial. You win, Jay.
captainnapalm
Member
I guess that might be true, but that would make him a pretty huge asshole, tweeting stuff like the Africa thing and the Cosby thing. I hope he's not that desperate for album sales.
He's a complete asshole for tweeting the Cosby thing no matter what.
If he believes it, he's a fucking idiot and a fucking asshole.
I...I think I like Tidal? The android app is cool and it does sound good.
You really think you can judge their private life from a a couple clips you saw of their reality show? Come on. Stop acting as if you know him better than his own wife who spends time with him all the time and supports him on everything that he does.
How exactly are they disfunctional? From what I recall they stick together no matter what even if they are issues. If you wanna believe in some kind of perfect fantasy like families.. sure go ahead but that's not based on reality. I dont see Khloe kicking the shit outta and going all Solange on Kanye anytime soon.
Veritigo_X
Member
It's alright, but it's still missing some of the features in Spotify that I use like Connect or Chromecast support. I think for the same price it should have more features like that.
I've also noticed that some songs are really slow to load if you're skipping around.
Tatsumi Oga
Banned
What were those tweets about the Grammies? Isn't that based on music from last year? In that case his new stuff can never be nominated. Or is it based on several years?
killertofu
Member
YES. (Nightcall). This mashup...how could I forget, I made a video with it lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdIIwsHI9zQ
I'm not an economist and can't save enough to save my own ass, but even i understand this.
His businesses has nothing to do with his personal fortune. His businesses own that debt. Kanye himself is still filthy rich with all his peronal assets intact. Those are two separate things. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
.I'm not signing up for Tidal, it's personal.
He said he was $53 million in personal debt.I'm not an economist and can't save enough to save my own ass, but even i understand this.
His businesses has nothing to do with his personal fortune. His businesses own that debt. Kanye himself is still filthy rich with all his peronal assets intact. Those are two separate things. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
That isn't business debt.
It's ok, but I don't find it's storefront as broad as some of the others. Also seems really hip hop and RnB focused, which is par for the course for something Jay Z related I suppose.
Some of it could be. He mentioned in his Shoe of the Year Award speech that he forked out millions of his own money towards the Adidas Yeezy line. I'd bet that's been the case throughout his fashion ventures. But yea, I'd imagine a big portion of it will still be personal debt, from things like the wedding and jewellery costs, Kim's engagement ring etc.
Bruce Springsteen
Member
Damn, another week on tidal so another week wait for that iTunes mastering
Zaraki_Kenpachi
Member
Does anyone know if there's any easy way to tell if you have a subscription to tidal or not? The garbage app keeps telling me I need a subscription but I've signed up twice now through it where it tells me I can start listening but still says I need a subscription. Want to make sure they won't charge me at some point.
I'm not an economist and can't save enough to save my own ass, but even i understand this.
His businesses has nothing to do with his personal fortune. His businesses own that debt. Kanye himself is still filthy rich with all his peronal assets intact. Those are two separate things. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
I'm not signing up for Tidal, it's personal.
He said personal debt tho.
Did you give your CC information? If not, you must.
RecRoulette
Member
*alarm goes off*
WAKE UP NIGGA WAKE UP! WE BOUT TO GET THIS PAYPAH!
this is the shit i need in my lifeeeee
Just reading those lyrics puts the song in my head and now I'm ready to kick ass today.
Zaraki_Kenpachi
Member
I did, it's the only way to sign up. After hitting confirm payment it says the typical "congrats your subscription starts now. Enjoy he high def music" or similar and then when I hit play on something it brings me back to the subscription page to signup again. Their shitty app is borked.
Edit: So it won't take my password from the app so I have to reset it to access my account but it says I have no payment info but there's payment info on the app. Why the fuck does this app suck so much?
Also, did he nuke his bandcamp? Says there's no tracks there when I visit now.
So after who knows how many listens, I decided to start taking notes and briefly rate individual tracks. My short notes essentially turned in to a review lol. Present thoughts (though these could still change).
Overall.
Firstly, the negatives. I am a little disappointed that there's not as much Kanye rapping on this album, especially when outside of tracks like 30 Hours, Real Friends, Facts and No More parties in LA (all previously released), he doesn't actually drop a whole lot of verses throughout, at least not to the same degree as in older albums anyway. Add to that, a lot of what he does is often elongated with singing, format or repetition, or not particularly heavy in lyrical content or quality. Perhaps just one or two more verse and rap heavy tracks would have topped it off perfectly. That or simply extending the length of tracks like Part 2 or Freestyle 4.
The other thing is that the verse heavy tracks he does offer, tend to be less dynamic in terms of production, especially compared to other tracks on the album which constantly mix things up sonically.
I also found that the album is perhaps not as thematically coherent as his previous work, but I don't mind this as much because I appreciate the variety and breadth of musicality on offer. This album is clearly supposed to be quite playful and broad, not too dissimilar to his take on the different Pablo's indirectly referenced within, and in that regard it's fitting that it's not too strictly tied down to a specific theme. It does however sort of have a pseudo house sound, which tends to veer towards bass heavy, moodier, atmospheric, oft electronic, sample rich medley's.
The only other main negative is with some of the mixing. There's clipping here and there that I don't think really adds anything besides irritation, e.g. the choir peaks in Ultralight Beam, or the sub bass in Real Friends and Wolves, which can result in some subtle distortion and crackle.
Having said all the above, overall this is still an incredible album that is highly consistent in terms of competency of production. It offers an addictive, sometimes stunning array of diverse, quality music that you can essentially leave on repeat in it's entirety, and still continuously enjoy. This is a celebration of collaborative efforts, but at the same time often still personal and introspective to Kanye. This balance in approach is refreshing coming off of the back of Yeezus, which was almost relentless in it's hard hitting and gritty nature. Comparatively I find The Life of Pablo is a much lusher and easier to digest sonic experience, that might not be as daring, but is in my opinion more enjoyable and broader in appeal. I'm not going to rank it with Ye's other albums till I've had more time with it, but my current overall score…..
8.5/10
- Ultralight Beam - Excellent, almost MBDTF esque. It's euphoric, warm but melancholy, making for a good opener. Chance's bar is solid, and the choir vocals add a real richness to it. The whole thing sounds layered. Unfortunately there is some minor clipping.
9/10
- Father Stretch My Hands Pt.1 - Blends in coherently, keeping up the positive sonic energy and vibe, and retaining some of that background choir like euphoria and soulfulness. Solid overall beat, with a playful but rather random verse. It's over a bit quick.
8/10
- Pt. 2 - Also blends in nicely. Another fantastic beat, this time the bars and music start getting dark and moody. Background instrumentals start introducing more haunting elements. The two mixes in samples work great, though the second to last (Imogen?) is introduced way too abruptly. Overall the track is over far too quickly and could have done with one more loop and verse. Still, I really like it.
8.5/10
- Famous - Ups the ante on the darker atmospheric vibe. Has a halloween esque ethereal sound that is addictive, and slips between Rihanna's smooth chorus vocals well. The bass line is banging, and the cut away to the samples fit really well, all tweaked and worked uniquely to compliment the overall track successfully. Finishes off nicely. Still not too keen on the made Taylor Swift famous line, but overall an excellent track.
9/10
- Feedback - Decent verses on this one, and a good quantity of them too. Has a really unique and strange background beat and instrumental. Almost emotes a slight uneasiness about it, but in a slightly more easy listening and funky way than some of the tracks on Yeezus for example. Enjoyable.
7.5/10
- Low lights - Really random. Not sure it necessarily fits in very well, but it's an interesting listen. Probably not really necessary in the grand scheme, but it does at least offer a slight pacing differentiator.
4/10
- Highlights - Slots in a bit unusually, and would have probably worked better without Low Lights interrupting the flow. But here the beat and sound is more vibrant and fun, maintaining a smoothness about it that makes it easy to groove to. Almost feels slightly soulful. The verses are equally playful, with Kanye just having a bit of fun. Sonically, there's also some nice switch ups throughout.
8/10
- Freestyle 4 - This track brings us very quickly back to a more dark and aggressive sound. Very atmospheric and almost villainous. Here Kanye seems detached, but the intro through to the main beat and drop is luscious, rich and additive. Only problem is it's over way too quickly, though I love the way it ends with those weird alarm synth type sounds (which also quietly creeps in midway through the song for added continuity). Just wish the main beat looped through at least one more time, with another verse in between. Love this one, but it's just over too quickly.
9.5/10
- I Love Kanye - Fun, short little lighthearted verse. After the detached feel from the last track, this one just grounds things again.
7.5/10
- Waves - Another very lush sound, with a smooth and celestial feel, but this time without the darkness of previous tracks. Ye's verse seems a bit random and loose, but it's a small element of the track, which otherwise seems to be reliant on Chris Browns vocals. This one also seems more Pop RnB radio like than other tracks, so I can see why Ye might have wanted to originally cut it. But it's a good track addition overall with a nice flow.
8/10
- FML - I absolutely love this track. It's musically rich, powerful and has a presence to it that few of the other tracks possess. The chorus from the Weeknd works fantastic, and Ye's verse really feels like he's pouring his inner demon's out there, even if subtly and using few words. The drop is excellent, and the way it's introduced with the drums really well done. The background sample is twisted and uncomfortable, lifted by the brilliant bass line, and contextually it all fits together perfectly. Even the abrupt end works.
10/10
- Real Friends - Great track to follow on to, as it is essentially Ye continuing to pour more of his personal, deeper sentiments and introspections out there, this time family orientated. The verses are strong, the beat super atmospheric, but also simple and not over complicated. It's not as sample heavy as the other tracks, and given the lyrical relevancy on offer, I think it does the track justice. Ty Dolla's chorus works well, and that operatic hum at the end just finishes it off beautifully. Only negatives to this track is that I can hear very slight bass distortion and crackle.
10/10
- Wolves - Sonically and contextually, this track also follows on really well. It's the atmospheric flavour of Real Friends, but with added layers of musical complexity and an even murkier texture. Ye's verse works well, even though it's very limited in content, but I love the way at one point his voice almost cracks, as well as the closing lines involving his children, which are almost poetic in nature. The switch to Frank Ocean is excellent, especially with that weird echoey intro, followed by the beautiful pianos. Even though Frank's voice sounds a bit rough and poorly recorded, I think it really adds to the mood of the track. And though I really really miss Sia and Vic's parts, I can't deny this is still an amazing track. If Ye just brings the other two back in, making it some long, ultra extended piece, it'll be even more amazing. Unfortunately like with Real friends, there is also some slight bass distortion with this track.
9.5/10
- Silver Surfer Intermission - A bit of a random interjection, but after the addictive but slightly depressing tone of the last few tracks, it does sort of work. You also get a nice bit of an insight in to the situation regarding the previous potential album title.
5/10
- 30 hours - Super addictive and sonically detailed head bopper. Some nice little instrumental intricacies and samples throughout that just lift it. I like his verses, though they're again over quite quickly. I don't mind his ad-lib at the end, and even like the fact that his voice cracks again. Gives you this feeling that he's just been in there working away tirelessly throughout the early hours of the morning, which fits the theme of the track. The mumbling and freestyle in this section are bad, but his side rambling and the phone call at the end interesting. Just gives you a good insight in to his working environment and mind frame, whilst giving you a great beat to bop along to.
8.5/10
- No More Parties in L.A. - I think this works well as a follow up and is overall an enjoyable, funky track. Whilst the beat is a bit repetitious and simplistic, despite the numerous samples used throughout, I think it still works because here the focus is clearly the solid verses delivered by both Ye and Kendrick. They take centre stage and the rest is just dressing, and it's great to hear, especially throughout what has otherwise been a lyrically de-emphasised album.
7.5/10
- Facts - Whilst some of the lines are still a bit questionable, the overall beat, mixing and production here are improved enough that it's a better listen. I also like that it's slotted in here in the album, because where we've seen darker and/or more uneasy sides of Ye throughout, it's sort of comforting to see him penultimately close with something so braggadocios and full of bombast. Whilst Kanye is clearly troubled in certain parts of his life, this is a loud celebration of some of the things accomplished, and even though some of it is arrogant, misdirected or somewhat misplaced, he's sort of earned it.
6.5/10
- Fade - A good way to end. An uplifting, addictive, but fairly simple headbanger that gets you moving and immediately re-energised. The electronic elements sound pretty weird and wonderful, and the cut away is great, allowing for that nice build up before the main catchy beat is satisfyingly re-introduced. It ends strangely abruptly, but that sort of makes you want to jump right back in.
8/10
Overall.
Firstly, the negatives. I am a little disappointed that there's not as much Kanye rapping on this album, especially when outside of tracks like 30 Hours, Real Friends, Facts and No More parties in LA (all previously released), he doesn't actually drop a whole lot of verses throughout, at least not to the same degree as in older albums anyway. Add to that, a lot of what he does is often elongated with singing, format or repetition, or not particularly heavy in lyrical content or quality. Perhaps just one or two more verse and rap heavy tracks would have topped it off perfectly. That or simply extending the length of tracks like Part 2 or Freestyle 4.
The other thing is that the verse heavy tracks he does offer, tend to be less dynamic in terms of production, especially compared to other tracks on the album which constantly mix things up sonically.
I also found that the album is perhaps not as thematically coherent as his previous work, but I don't mind this as much because I appreciate the variety and breadth of musicality on offer. This album is clearly supposed to be quite playful and broad, not too dissimilar to his take on the different Pablo's indirectly referenced within, and in that regard it's fitting that it's not too strictly tied down to a specific theme. It does however sort of have a pseudo house sound, which tends to veer towards bass heavy, moodier, atmospheric, oft electronic, sample rich medley's.
The only other main negative is with some of the mixing. There's clipping here and there that I don't think really adds anything besides irritation, e.g. the choir peaks in Ultralight Beam, or the sub bass in Real Friends and Wolves, which can result in some subtle distortion and crackle.
Having said all the above, overall this is still an incredible album that is highly consistent in terms of competency of production. It offers an addictive, sometimes stunning array of diverse, quality music that you can essentially leave on repeat in it's entirety, and still continuously enjoy. This is a celebration of collaborative efforts, but at the same time often still personal and introspective to Kanye. This balance in approach is refreshing coming off of the back of Yeezus, which was almost relentless in it's hard hitting and gritty nature. Comparatively I find The Life of Pablo is a much lusher and easier to digest sonic experience, that might not be as daring, but is in my opinion more enjoyable and broader in appeal. I'm not going to rank it with Ye's other albums till I've had more time with it, but my current overall score…..
8.5/10
Veritigo_X
Member
Are you logged in? I was having this problem when I signed up. For some reason it kept logging me off immediately after logging in.
I stand corrected then. Thanks
Japanmanx3
Member
306 pages. When we getting OT2?
After a few listens, I've decided TLoP was simply research on how to make an album, appear on ~40% of it, but put your name on the front and still go platinum.
Now that I think about it more, that's brilliant. Kanye IS a genius. I never would have thought of this... Dude figured out the secret formula
Now that I think about it more, that's brilliant. Kanye IS a genius. I never would have thought of this... Dude figured out the secret formula
captainnapalm
Member
I don't really think the way the Kardashians live their lives is conducive to good mental health and normalcy. But my main point with the Kim thing is she seems like the lowest watt bulb of the bunch - and it's not exactly a family of geniuses to begin with.
But you're right, you can't fully judge them from their reality show.
Thanks for making Tidal the number one app in the world !!!
Zaraki_Kenpachi
Member
Yeah, says I'm logged in. :/ It's not worth the effort anymore. I'll wait the year or whatever until he actually releases it.
Once in a generation brilliance. It's as if he was actually able to transcribe directly from a Zoloft or competing SSRI commercial!
It's not like Kanye wasn't nuts before he dated Kim... He probably is in a better space now than during his Amber Rose/Taylor Swift period. I don't know Kim, but I don't think she is stupid considering her business moves. She portrays a specific type of person for the outside world.. That's more or less he job and she gets paid for that.
Well let's get back to the music... It's weird discussing personal stuff we don't know anything about just because of a couple of tweets.
Lol, that picture is amazing.
Veritigo_X
Member
Hmm weird. Maybe try again later? I was getting frustrated with this yesterday morning but it was worth it in the end.
MMaRsu
Member
Listening to College Dropout on my way home from work and that album is still goddamn good. Better than this recent bullshit that doesnt carry any weight or seem to have any personal shit behind it.
Well personal shit in thay he talks about his issues but Id love to have him be a little more positive. All I hear id Ye whining.
Well personal shit in thay he talks about his issues but Id love to have him be a little more positive. All I hear id Ye whining.
You think so? West seems like he loves the limelight as much as the K's do. I mean the girl is worth almost as much as Kanye is. And she still has her money. She can't be that stupid.
If he's 53M in debt it means he really needs someone to handle his money and he married into the right family.
Weird, sorry but I have no idea what happened.
Zaraki_Kenpachi
Member
I tried all day yesterday and then this morning. :/ Not worth it anymore.
Yeah, no clue. My friend had no trouble signing up on friday.
Japanmanx3
Member
DISDATRAPGAWDSHIINIGGA!!!
RRRAAH
*BOOM*
RRRAAH
*BOOM*
RRRAAH
*BOOM*
*WHOO*WHOO*WHOO*WHOO*WHOO*
Prolly gonna be the most underrated song on the album but goodness is it a banger. Hope he extends it. Its the "Beach is Better" of the album.
RRRAAH
*BOOM*
RRRAAH
*BOOM*
RRRAAH
*BOOM*
*WHOO*WHOO*WHOO*WHOO*WHOO*
Prolly gonna be the most underrated song on the album but goodness is it a banger. Hope he extends it. Its the "Beach is Better" of the album.
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