The decade ahead would prove tumultuous for West, a luminary whose creative concepts are often much brighter than his public presentation and whose ego often obscures his genius. Five LPs deep in his career as a producer/MC with MBDTF, West set the gold standard for years to follow, calling on everyone from Elton John to RZA to complete his vision on a project he then called the first record ever produced “by committee.” I still stand by my assertion at the time that hip hop finally had its own Thriller while awaiting the artist’s return to such cohesive form. Meanwhile this album still bears regular repeat plays.
