After almost two years of buildup, rapper Kanye West has finally released his highly anticipated seventh studio album “The Life of Pablo” (TLOP). West announced the album during the summer of 2014 and the album was officially released on the Tidal streaming service on Feb. 14, 2016.

West’s career has been everything but predictable; his six previous studio albums have each builded on his talents and influenced rap culture to a heavy extent.

Therefore, expectations were tremendous as a West album has never really dissapointed. So, the hectic ride that ensued in the weeks leading up to the album release was slightly worrying and lead some to believe the album was going to be a mess.

Opening the album is “Ultralight Beam,” a gospel inspired song that sets the bar extremely high. Sonically gorgeous, West alerts his audience that “this is a god dream” as he beautifully arranges a Chance the Rapper feature with a Kirk Franklin sermon.

The second and third tracks, “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1 & 2,” continues the biblical themes of the album, and West gives some emotional insight into the faults of his own ego that the nation has become so recognized with over the past decade. West continues to share personal information about his father in part two with a great feature from Desiigner.

“Famous” follows, featuring Rihanna. West details the strenuous conditions that accompany fame, saying, “I don’t blame you much for wanting to be free,” throughout the chorus. This song is definitely the most carefree on the album, and the beat switch is fantastic.

“Feedback,” the fifth song, uniquely and unapologetically responds to criticisms on his success as an artist. West utilizes an pleasingly interesting beat while delivering several humorous lines along the way.

“Low Lights” is next, featuring a gospel-esque ode to religious themes. It is quickly followed by “HighLights,” a celebration of what West has achieved throughout his years in the entertainment industry. The song is another extremely happy point to the album.

“Freestyle 4” comes after, sonically resembling something off of his previous album. It is dark, but humorous and enjoyable at the same time and once again features Desiigner.

The interlude that follows, “I Love Kanye,” is a very tongue-and-cheek response to all of the ex-fans who claim that West has changed. West comments on how without him there would not be any “Kanyes,” but his influence has also resulted in a number of “Kanye” impersonators.

“Waves,” a track that almost did not end up on the album, is next, and it is a stunning track assisted by Chris Brown’s chorus, so thankfully this song made the cut. West talks about death and how someone leaves, they are never truly gone because “that’s just the wave.”

“FML,” a very introspective track follows, and West (paired with The Weeknd) comment on how it seems many are fighting against his and Kim Kardashian’s marriage. The Weeknd’s eerie chorus is outstanding, putting the icing on the cake that is this wonderful song.

“Real Friends” comes next, where West details how as he garnered fame, some of his friends and family stopped truly being a friend to him. The emotion is clear as West and Ty Dolla $ign sing, “Real friends, how many of us?”

Directly leading into “Wolves,” a track previewed at SNL, West raps in one of his most emotional songs to date, as he details how he is “surrounded by the wolves.” The coldness of the instrumental creepily mimics actual wolves, which is a nice touch.

“Wolves” is the last song on the core of the album, but there are four bonus tracks and an intermission, each unique in their own way. Once again, West has shown he is by no means afraid to step outside of the comfort of the genre of rap and try something new. Still, the end result is a somewhat disorganized but overwhelmingly gorgeous assortment of some of the best tracks of West’s discography.

West recently mentioned on his twitter that a new album would be coming this summer, so until then we will have to last on TLOP. To see another viewpoint, check out Geoffrey Schmelzer, junior’s, review of TLOP.