Kanye West has the best album of the 21st century, according to GQ, with 2010’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The publication’s rationale for this selection goes into the impact that the project has had, but it also explains just how influential West has been with all of his projects.
“It could’ve been any one of the seven albums West released this century, as fascinating a catalog of celebrity, triumph, love, loss, terrible puns, pretty decent puns, that was ever fucking put together by a single artist,” GQ says. “MBDTF was just the record where he talked about all those things at once—a portrait of a man seizing the spotlight, drowning in it, and then somehow finding a way to turn that harrowing experience into art. Anybody who wants to be famous or make music for a living—or do both at the same time—should be forced to listen to MBDTF first. The rest of us are free to enjoy it for the bloody, hard-won, titanic achievement that it is.”
In 2010, HipHopDX’s Editor-In-Chief at the time, Jake Paine, reviewed the album, which earned a 4.5 out of 5 in its HipHopDX review.
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“Kanye West’s bravado has inspired cartoons, it’s made award show producers sleepless, and it’s caught the attention of both Presidents Bush and Obama,” Paine wrote. “But within that bravado is a bravery that allows Hip Hop artists to step outside of their carefully-guarded boxes. From nine-minute douchebag manifestos, to enlisting an A-list Grammy ensemble to piece-mealing his album out to the masses every Friday, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy defies logic and it ignores convention. Whether it’s acknowledging his mistakes, measuring his might, or fantasizing of wifing Kristina Rose, Kanye West finds a way to relate to all. He’s not forcing his hand, just reminding us that the biggest star we appointed in the last five years can still recognize our own fantasies, insecurities and desire for colorful music from his spaceship.”
OutKast has the third best album on the GQ list, following Is This It by The Strokes, with 2000’s Stankonia. Daft punk’s Discovery, which was released in 2001, and LCD Soundsystem’s Sound Of Silver, which was released in 2007, round out the Top 5.
Ghostface Killah’s 2010 album, Supreme Clientelearrives at #10 on the list, Jay Z’s The Blueprint ranks #12, J Dilla’s 2006 effort Donutslands at #19. For the full list, visit GQ.
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