My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy cover

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Released

Kanye West’s magnum opus resulted from weeks of studio time in Honolulu, hive-minding with a gang load of producers whose ideas may or may not have been used (including Q-Tip, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, RZA and Madlib), and running up a $3 million tab. The result set the standard for the creative peak most wish Ye would revisit. “Monster” served as Nicki Minaj’s coronation, with a verse that topped Jay-Z’s. Runaway, a Kanye-directed 35-minute short film, gave us the album’s most indelible image: ballet dancers pirouetting around to “Runaway.” The album’s maximalist style even included five separate album covers.

Miles Marshall Lewis

Recommended by

Suggestions
El Abayarde cover

El Abayarde

Tego Calderón
James Blake cover

James Blake

James Blake
Athena cover

Athena

Sudan Archives
Childqueen cover

Childqueen

Kadhja Bonet
MUDBOY cover

MUDBOY

Sheck Wes
Blonde cover

Blonde

Frank Ocean
Blood Bitch cover

Blood Bitch

Jenny Hval
Zuu cover

Zuu

Denzel Curry
The Haunted Man cover

The Haunted Man

Bat for Lashes