After a long, anticipated wait, rapper and fashion designer Kanye West finally released his new album, The Life of Pablo, exclusively on the music streaming website Tidal. Pablo has been a worldwide trending topic on Twitter for days and can be illegally downloaded on every website you could possibly think of. I sat down and listened to the entire album straight through and to put it simply: I love it.

Compared to previous Kanye albums, Pablo takes a more creative turn. It features elements of trap, gospel and even soul. It went through multiple revisions; songs were added, removed, and added again, setting back the release date by a few days. Pablo was first played at an album release party in Madison Square Garden when Kanye debuted his Yeezy Season 3 fashion line.

Ben Westenberger, a junior at East, had nothing but positive things to say about the new album.

“I like The Life of Pablo because it shows how Kanye has grown from his previous albums,” Westenberger said. “It’s like he took certain aspects of each album and combined them together to make his greatest work.”

So far, Westenberger’s favorite songs include “Ultralight Beam”, “Fade”and “Freestyle 4”.

Every song on Pablo blends into the next to tell a story, each one revealing a little bit of Kanye’s personality. As the album progresses, his personality changes. Throughout the album, the primary subject continues to be Kanye’s internal and external characters. In songs like “Real Friends”, “30 Hours” and “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 2”, he raps about how hard he’s had to work, family problems he’s experienced during his road to fame and the amends he’s tried to make.

During some songs on Pablo, Kanye comes off as vulnerable, but his attitude can always be found changing to pride and believing he’s the best. Songs like “I Love Kanye”, “Famous, “Highlights” and “Facts” were ways for Kanye to address those against him, trashing on different artists and companies to build himself up.

Along with a cleverly produced storyline, Pablo is a collaborative effort, featuring tons of artists including Rihanna, Frank Ocean, Chance the Rapper, Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd and Andre 3000, just to name a few. These talented people help make the album what it is: an exciting and unexpected musical feat.