I'm too much of a hip hop traditionalist I guess but Kanye always pushes limits musically. It may not be pre-808s Ye' (the one I miss) but can't deny his knack of causing talk & stepping out of musical boundaries. Probably will go down as one of my least favorite albums I've heard from any artist but in an odd way one of my most appreciated by its art alone. Send It Up knocks as well as Bound 2 though.
Kanye's at a point where whatever sound he produces will trend in the music industry, whatever clothes he wears will trend in street culture, and whatever decisions he makes whether it be interrupting speech or calling the president a racist will be rationalized by many people all over the globe. He understands how much power he subconsciously has over society and the direction it goes, and that's why you see tracks like "I am god" This album is really special because it was a piece of raw art. He didn't have record execs sitting over his shoulders telling him he needs to make hits, he made something he wanted to make, the sound he wanted to go with, and when you hear a party full of people singing along to blood on the leaves, or when you're alone dancing with a girl at 3 in the morning when she turns on bound 2 and tells you it's her favorite song, those are moments that stick with you forever; those are moments an album like this creates. Once you start seeing other artists gravitate toward this type of sound, your appreciation for its primary source alone will have this album in the good books for you