1. Dark Fantasy. When I first heard this track in the beginning of the short film Runaway, I had no choice but re-listen to it. Over..and over..and over. This was one of those tracks that took immediately grasp listeners when the British accent of Nicki Minaj makes you wonder where this whole album is going to take you. Then the chorus chimes in, and you don't know where it's going. Finally out of nowhere Kanye drops the first hit with :
I fantasized about this back in Chicago
mercy, mercy me, that Murcielago
that's me, the first year that I blow
how you say broke in Spanish? Me no hablo.
& There it is! No need to wonder anymore, you're reassured instantly that you've got more than your money's worth when he spits the catchy verses that you've always been promised only this time with full orchestra and art blasting through your speakers.
2.Gorgeous. I have to admit I wasn't anticipating Cudi so soon, but the chorus was reallllllllly GOOD. I will never let you live this down down downnnnn. It immediately foreshadows the tone Kanye will take, informative and enlightening. My favorite line in this song had to be:
This the real world, homie, school finished
they done stole your dreams, you dunno who did it
I treat the cash the way the government treats AIDS
I won't be satisfied til all my niggas get it, get it?
Simply because it took me back to Roses, when Ye says:
If Magic Johnson got a cure for AIDS
And all the broke muh' fuckas passed away
You tellin' me if my grandma was in the NBA
Right now she'd be okay?
Plus, damn Raekwon killed it.
3. Power. I love this song because of the people, the essence of it, the volume. I ALWAYS get hype. I love love the remix, but ain't nothin' like the original. The smooth transitions between the verses is crazy. "I just need time alone with my own thoughts," I think that summed up these last few years pretty well. Then with, "At the end of the day, got dammit I'm killin this shit." It was just so good. And it was like his comeback song. And don't even get me started with the beauty of the video.
4. All of the Lights Interlude. This song had me sit and think about life. 62 seconds of pure reflection that transitions directly into...
5. All of the Lights! This song has my heart. Favorite song on the album. Hands Down. Takes me back to my childhood with my dad, crazy drama. It mixes Kanye's weird sense of humor with all the shit you remember about your parent's divorce. Add all that to the craziest collabs, you got some GOOD ass music. The instruments: crazy. The vocals: stupendous. The scene in Runaway: perfection.
6. Monster. I usually am not a huge fan of Nicki Minaj. But with the help of Kanye she's become like my favorite female rapper. Like she went in. I haven't heard her go in like that since Sweet Dreams Remix on No Ceilings with Lil' Wayne. Bon Iver was definitely an interesting addition that really added flare to Monster. Just like Nicki, I really was suprised by Rick Ross, too. I think this song, the subject of it, and the beats really brought out the best in these rappers. Plus I always love when Jay and Ye collaborate.
7. So Appalled. I loved how Ye uses all of the people from Good Friday on So Appalled. Plus Jay Z goes in. This song was mostly about all that GOOD Music really stands for. Pusha T saying "5 star dishes. Different exotic fishes." And definitely when Ye says:
That was a little joke, Voila!
Praises due to the most high, Allah
Praises due to the most fly, Prada
Baby Im magic, Tadah!
Address me as your highness
High as United, 30,000 feet up and you are not invitedWhat a great line. This whole song goes hard...then the switch up when Swizz Beats is all "One hand in the air.." The whole song...fuckin ridiculous.
8. Devil in a New Dress. When I ask around this always seems to be a favorite of the people. "Put ya hands to the constellations, the way you look should be a sin you my sen-sation" It's just really catchy. Like you sing it in the shower and when you're driving. People can relate easily to relationship problems, especially really funny ones like in this song.
9. Runaway. I cry to this song whenever I hear it. It's not the lyrics, the beats, the artwork. Its the beauty of the song. The instruments and the way the whole song moves together. I know its kinda cliche, but this song is the reason I started believing in hip-hop again. When you realize something you love is resurrected to a new, better version of the original, you can't help but feel good. You see, I've been a fan of Kanye since I was 7, when I got College Dropout. It made me love music. It made me want to know about the world, and I can't help but feel like years later life has come full circle, like Hip Hop ain't dead yet.
10. Hell of a Life. This song wasn't one of my favorites, but it was still damn good. I mean like damn Ye, you totally took us back to Drunken Hot Girls. It always makes me wonder what the rockstar life is really like when I listen to songs like these. Always gives off that "What happens in Vegas" vibe...
11. Blame Game. This was also one of my favorite songs. Like you tug at the heart strings of your fans like with this song and you're bound to keep them coming back. John Legend really hit the vocals right and a lot of my friends cry to this song. It was masterfully composed. It makes you really look at harvesting all those feelings of remorse and anger, and check yourself. This takes the other side of the relationship advice Ye gives on MBDTF and makes you think.
12.Lost In The World. This song sums up just how awesome and weird the Runaway video was. It brings full circle everything he meant to say throughout the whole album and it is fuckin awesome. I loved the instrumental Ye uses and the comparisons we all face in relationships sometimes:
Your my Devil, Your my Angel
Your my Heaven, Your my Hell
Your my Now, Your my Forever
Your my Freedom, Your my Jail
Your my Lies, Your my Truth
Your my War, Your my Trues
Your my Questions, Your my Proof
Your my Stress and your my Masseuse
Mama-say mama-say ma-ma-coo-sah
Lost in this Plastic life,
Let's Break out of this fake ass Party
Turn this in to a Classic Night
If we die in each others arms we still get laid in our Afterlife
If we die in each others arms we still get laid
13. Who Will Survive In America. This one really threw me off. I couldn't have possibly thought ever.. that this would make me think how it made me think. It took me back to classic Kanye when you had to think about social issues in America. Listen to what the man in this song is saying and ask yourselves does it matter what race you are? Will anyone survive in America?
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