Evil-Genius Kanye West is an arrogant motherf**ker. And as if he needed any more delusions of grandeur, the National Post is comparing the rapper-producer’s latest album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, to the work of Mozart.
The Post invited Toronto Symphony Orchestra double-bass player, Jeffrey Beecher, to comment on specific tracks from West’s album and how they stack up to pieces from one of Mozart’s…mixtapes. Below is Beecher’s take on the first single from Dark Twisted Fantasy, Power, in relation to Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusic, which I believe Soulja Boy is covering next month. Anyway, here it is:
“Eine kleine Nachtmusik was written in 1787 and features viola, cello, violin and strings. “Each instrument comes on with a new personality, like the song’s a dinner party and each instrument changes the conversation,” Beecher says. Power, the first single from West’s new record, is the most traditional hip-hop track on the album and features a sample of 21st Century Schizoid Man by King Crimson. “A lot of ego’s involved in that,” Beecher says, and he’s not wrong as one wry scatological lyric takes braggadocio along an unusually visual path. West elevates this song in his live show, but it pales in comparison to “a little night music.
Winner: Mozart, by a Viennese choir“
In the words of Dr. Evil: Rrrriiiiiiiiggghhhtttttttt.
Bottom line here, Kanye’s new album is impressive. It is an innovative hip-hip record that may contribute to redefining the genre and moving rap away from a gangster mentality. The production is flawless and the rhymes are mean.
But comparing it Mozart? Let’s not give Kanyeezy any more reasons to feel like he can personally play god at the MTV Video Awards.
