Kanye West delivered the album of the decade in 2010. From its composition, multiple album covers, a short film, ballerinas, the infamous red suit and more, Ye’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy would set an unreachable precedent for all projects that would follow in the 2010s era.
2009 VMAs
The always candid and outspoken genius took the stage at the 2009 Video Music Awards to let the world know that “Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time,” while Taylor Swift attempted to accept her first VMA. The validity of his drunken words stood tall, but the moment simply did not belong to him, nor Queen B. This moment birth West’s Dark Twisted Fantasy. He would later take accountability for the action, while also admitting that Hennything goes when the brown hits the system. The backlash came from all angles and sides. “Cancel culture” had yet to be a viable term, but Kanye West was its victim. He was called everything in the book: from thoughtless imbecile to pure jackass. The latter belted from President Barack Obama. We would end the 2000s decade with that lasting impression of Mr. West.
Album Conception
He distanced himself from the world and returned to what made us all fall in love with his genius. Ye hid away in Hawaii, working on MBDTF, inviting artists to the island to join his reemergence into the culture’s good graces. Ye would go on record saying My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is the first album he decided to write down all of his raps because his mission was perfection. His career depended on it.
According to Rory Farrell, who interned at Def Jam during this time, West entered the label’s office, fully dressed in a black suit, with the intention on playing the album, but was unimpressed with what they were wearing. West gave Def Jam an ultimatum: dress better or no album. It was ultimately a privilege. He returned the next day with the album. At this time, “Runaway” was 16 minutes long, but would be condensed to 9:08.
West released a number of covers for the album. The most thought-provoking was deemed controversial and rejected by a number of retail stores. Can’t a man sit on a couch with his phoenix? Oh the days of physical album copies.
BET AWARDS & VMAS Return
Kanye West opened the 2010 BET Awards atop of a mountain to perform, “Power.” This was his first public performance since the infamous VMA mic grab. Decked out in an all-red suit with an oversized sphinx chain, West was back.
Two months later he would close the 2010 VMAs and debut “Runaway,” a tribute to douchbags, that would see the return of The Clipse’ Pusha T.
GOOD Fridays & Runaway Film
West launched a weekly free music series to support the album, leading up to the album’s release. 3 of the songs from the series would appear on MBDTF, including “Monster” with an incomparable verse from Nicki Minaj.
West would turn “Runaway” into a 35-minute short film featuring supermodel, Selita Ebanks. The film explored the beauty of a phoenix, attempting to live in society. The album would serve as the soundtrack to the film and part of the film would serve as “Runaway’s” music video.
Legacy
The album features a number of music’s legends including 11 artists on All of The Lights. Only Kanye West is capable of pulling off such a seamless composition. He would lead the 2012 Grammys in nods and win four of the awards, including Best Rap Album. It is no doubt that the album was snubbed for an Album of The Year nomination.
Currently, Ye is far removed from enjoying the company with a phoenix and living a “Hell of a Life.” Now, he is living a reality through eternal service to Christ. Wherever his faith leads him, he will be defined by the polarizing impact of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
