Acknowledgements Seven Virtues of Yeezus, Pop Christ Portrait of the Monster as a Young Masterpiece The Narcissistic Personality of Our Time Five Uneasy Pieces Art as Atonement University as Universe: The College Dropout A (Very) Brief Aside Re: 808s & Heartbreaks MBDTF Dark Fantasy Gorgeous POWER (sic transit gloria Kanye) All of the Lights Monster So Appalled Devil in a New Dress Runaway Hell of a Life Blame Game Lost in the World The Yeezus Singularity: A Religion of the Self
A beautifully written exploration of Kanye's landmark 2010 album, and his wider work - positioning West as the most compelling American artist of recent years.
Kirk Walker Graves is a writer from Tennessee at work on his first novel. A graduate of Princeton University, he lives with his wife and son in Nashville.
In Graves' book, he not only breaks down each track on the record,
but he also effectively lays out the context of the album's
release, explaining why Kanye is deserving of an investigative book
like this one (and hopefully soon, others), and what about Mr. West
makes him the biggest and most off-putting rock star on the
planet.
*Revolt TV*
Kanye West is the millennial generation incarnate, or at least
that's what Kirk Walker Graves would have us all think. Throughout
the 150 or so pages of this book, Graves unpacks the enigma that is
Kanye West's personality and art. This book isn't so much about the
musical qualities of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy as it is
about how Kanye's ego and public persona can be used to explain
modern 20-somethings. Graves finds meaning in West's music that I
never would have picked out on my own. His fandom is clear, but he
never steps into hyperbole in his praise of the music. Though, at
times, it feels like his discussion of this album can get a bit too
academic, I appreciate the thought that he has put into his
analysis of Kanye's work. This book is some serious next-level
music criticism-I never realized how much Kanye's Gucci line meant
to my life before this guy told me about it.
*SLUG Magazine*
West may be divisive enough to not win over his detractors, but
Graves’ mix of fanboy marvel and critical detachment is persuasive
enough to convince even detractors to give My Beautiful Dark
Twisted Fantasy a close listen. At the end of its 132 pages, Graves
makes a convincing argument that this four-year-old deserves a spot
in the 33 1/3 series. But perhaps more important, he does something
that great criticism should do: he makes you want to listen to the
album.
*PopMatters*
Kanye West’s fifth album is only a few years old, but that didn’t
stop Kirk Walker Graves from writing a book proclaiming it an
instant classic that perfectly captures the spirit of its era.
Graves unpacks the cultural meaning and significance of West’s
famous ego and chaotic public persona, and examines the music both
in the context of the rapper’s brilliant body of work, and how it
fits into the social media era.
*Buzzfeed*
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