Kanye West’s highly anticipated The Life of Pablo (formerly titled both Waves and Swish) dropped recently, and did not fail to cause commotion. A lot of the controversy around the album stemmed from Kanye’s insistence that this will be “one of the greatest albums of all time”, which caused some people to refuse to even listen to the album, put off by Kanye’s notorious pretentious attitude. The irony in this is that the album is about Kanye’s loss of superficial ego, and him placing his trust and values in God. While the official track list doesn’t show this progression in the way it is presumably intended, Kanye tweeted a list of the tracks on the album, separated into three different “acts.” After listening to the songs in that order, the albums message becomes clear.

The intro to the album, according to Kanye’s own list, is a song called “Low Lights.” This song starts off saying “I want to tell you a testimony about my life…” Kanye is stating that TLOP is the story of the progression of his life through fame. Following “Low Lights,” Act I begins with “Famous.” In this song, Kanye is very clearly high off of fame. The lyrics are misogynistic, vulgar, and petty throughout. “Father Stretch My Hands” is up next on the playlist. Themes remain similar, but Kanye mentions his desire to feel liberated. “Waves” and “Highlights” are the next two songs, both of which are about the extreme ego that Kanye develops. At the end of Act I comes the track “Feedback,” and a difference is immediately noticeable. The beats of the first five tracks were very straightforward, but “Feedback” contains some distortion. The song is about Kanye’s obsession with money and notoriety. This transitions into Act II.

Act II kicks off with “Freestyle 4.” Kanye’s hysteria and mania are displayed through half-hearted mumbles about things typically associated with fame and being a “gangster.” This is the peak of Kanye’s high, where he is the most detached from reality, and at the end of the track it suggest that this is the point where Kanye begins to “wake up.” This is followed by the track “30 Hours,” in which Kanye begins to realize what his life has become. This theme transitions into “No More Parties In LA,” where Kanye laments all the stupid and irresponsible things he has done and realizes that he needs to change his life. He begs, “Please, baby, no more parties in LA.” At the end of Act II, Kanye reaches out to God in “Fade.” He expresses how he feels he has slipped away from his faith. Gospel music is sampled at the end of this track, reinforcing the theme of religion and making a transition into Act III: the ultimate restoration of faith.

Act III is a complete 180 from Act I; Kanye now takes a critical look at his life and discusses his problems instead of participating in destructive behavior to distract himself. The first track of Act III is “FML (For My Lady),” in which Kanye talks about his struggle to stay faithful to his wife, even though he loves her. This shows that Kanye wants to be a better man, but he is so accustomed to his destructive lifestyle that it remains a struggle. In the next song, “Real Friends,” Kanye continues to analyze his relationships and the hardships he faces in order to maintain them. However, he is not accusatory, and even blames himself for the problems. In “Wolves,” Kanye compares his relationship with Kim to the biblical relationship of Mary and Joseph. And finally, in “Ultralight Beam,” Kanye turns to God for redemption and is forgiven for his sins across the album.

Although the production and lyrics made for a mediocre hip-hop album, the concept is what truly makes TLOP a work of art.