The Life of Pablo – Kanye West

The outrageous, out spoken, one of a kind Kanye West has finally released his newest album. “The Life of Pablo,” was first mentioned over two years ago when it was originally going to be called “So Help Me God.” A release date was never fully stated, though if you kept up with West over the years, it seemed that there was always a chance for the release to be completely unannounced. Finally, after four title changes, West decided on the name and revealed that he would release it at a fashion show in the sold out Madison Square Garden.
What everyone thought to be a full run through of the album only ended up being half of it. West said the album would have ten tracks on it. When it was finally released, the track list showed a final number of 18 songs. Some of these songs had already been released over the last year, but most were brand new. This album features a wide variety of Kanye West sounds that you will be familiar with from throughout the years. From the beginning, the album does sound like the “gospel” album that West said it was. From beginning to end, the album satisfies everything you would hope for in a Kanye album. The only negative feedback received was that Kanye did not have enough rap verses. Though not every song showed off Kanye’s rapping ability, his ability to produce a solid, catchy and high quality track was shown. West, who was listed as a producer on every song on the album, really put his best touches on each track and spent time to prove that he cared deeply for each song that he put on display. If you are comparing this album to any of his six previous works, it is very comparable to “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” which many proclaim to be his best work as an artist. From start to finish, you will hear some outlandish lyrics, as well as some really down to Earth lyricism that may not always be displayed by West. This may not be the album “of the life” as Kanye has initially stated, but it is some of his best work and provides an amazing sound to the somewhat originality depleted hip hop game. It truly is something you need to make an opinion for on your own.

Average Critic Rating: 84/100       
My Rating: 92/100

Family Dinner Volume 2 – Snarky Puppy

Snarky Puppy, a band that formed in 2004 has now released their tenth studio album. Throughout the years, the band has seen as many as 40 members come and go. A majority of the band, both current and former, have come out of the University of North Texas. Though the band has used up to 40 different members over the last 12 years, the main touring group only consists of 13 core musicians. Snarky Puppy produces a jazz fusion music that is not only incredibly technical, but also very impressive and pleasing to the ear.
Over the years, Snarky Puppy has been under the radar when it comes to the music scene as a whole, but in the jazz world, they are beginning to get a large backing and really making a name for themselves. The first album from this collection, “Family Dinner Volume One,” was the first album that has featured singing. Normally, this fully instrumental group spends their songs jamming out and showing off their composition of various instrumental pieces. They decided to make an album featuring some of the best jazz influenced singers they could find three years ago and eventually came out with their second installment last week.
“Family Dinner Volume 2” provides close to 90 minutes of smooth listening. The shortest song on the album is just over three and a half minutes long while the longest is over ten minutes in length. You could put an average time of each song around seven minutes. The length can seem a little daunting for listeners who just want to put on an album, vibe out, and not think about what they are listening to. Luckily for Snarky Puppy fans, these songs all have their own individual sound that make getting through this album a pleasurable experience. For jazz fans and music appreciators everywhere, this is the perfect album to give a listen because it offers some of the best sides of jazz music, well developed lyrics and vocal arrangements and it was created with passion and care.

Average Critic Rating: 80/100       
My Rating: 80/100