Tag Archives: survivor

As ‘Ye drops his unrepentant magnum opus, we look back on his most eventful year, from Taylor Swift to Twitter, from ‘Runaway’ to ‘Today.’ By James Montgomery Kanye West Photo: Stefania D’Alessandro/ Getty Images There is perhaps no album released this year that comes with as much emotional baggage — or backstory — as Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, a 70-minute magnum opus of high emotion and even higher stakes. Born out of a 14-month period of intense personal struggle and immense public scrutiny, Fantasy is West at his most unhinged and unrepentant. But perhaps the album’s greatest accomplishment is that it perfectly mirrors the turbulent, trying times in which it was made: The beats are bigger, the boasts bolder, the highs higher and the lows, well, they’re practically subterranean. So, with Fantasy finally in stores, we decided to look back at the road that led to this day. From Taylor Swift to the top of the charts, it’s been quite a ride but, ultimately, ‘Ye survived and thrived. He pushed himself and the boundaries of hip-hop, and by doing so, transformed into arguably the most vital artist in music today. And he did it all without explaining himself to his (many) detractors. Hate him or love him, Kanye West is a survivor. And with his new album, he’s proved once and for all that he’s here to stay. On September 13, 2009, West crashed the stage during Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards, grabbing the microphone from her and famously proclaiming, “Yo Taylor, I’m really happy for you and I’mma let you finish, but Beyonc