Kanye West has been in the news more than usual lately, for more than one reason. Apparently, he’s $52 million in debt. His controversial comments about Taylor Swift have arisen both from his performance on Saturday Night Live last week and a line from his latest album, The Life of Pablo. Along with these pieces of entertainment gossip, Kanye releases his eighth studio album, which has been kept pretty secret and changed title several times – even until the week before its release. The album features artists like Rihanna, The Weeknd, Chance the Rapper, and more. A lot of the talk about this album has been about whether it would be classic Kanye back when he was on top of his game or more like “Yeezy” Kanye, which didn’t do so well a few years ago.

I am here to tell you that The Life of Pablo is a healthy mix of Kanye’s sounds over the years, taking you back to his Late Registration days and sprinkling the off-center beats and samples he used on Yeezy. Kanye’s new album comes after continued media scrutiny for his public image, making shroud comments and interrupting speeches. He didn’t attend this year’s Grammy awards, but was absolutely there in spirit, in the form of Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech. The Life of Pablo, however, is somewhat limited in its release. You can only buy it or stream it if you have a subscription to Tidal. Tidal is one of the newest streaming services on the scene, piloted by music legend Jay Z. Tidal’s appeal comes from the several popular artists that have endorsed the service. This has prompted over 500,000 downloads in the first couple days, just from the popular torrent site, PirateBay.

The most famous song on the album is – you guessed it – “Famous.” This song features the line, “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex/ I made that b***h famous.” This song features Rihanna and is a prime example of a classic, clever-lyric heavy Kanye track, probably the most mainstream sounding song on the record. “Father Stretch My Hands” Parts One and Two both fit in with the mainstream hip-hop/R&B crossover hits that are popular right now. He actually samples the intro line from “Jumpman,” by Drake and Future, in the beginning of Part One. “I Love Kanye” is exactly what you think – Kanye rapping about how much he loves himself. It’s actually a pretty interesting freestyle with no music, explaining the stereotypes about him that are out there but also showing how he knows that he loves himself and rightfully so. “I love you like Kanye loves Kanye,” he tells us.

Kanye already released three of his tracks as part of his “G.O.O.D. Fridays” tradition. “Waves” features Chance the Rapper and Chris Brown and actually prompted a re-release after the album was dropped because Kanye wanted to make an edit. “No More Parties in L.A.” features Kendrick Lamar and you can tell the influence he had on the track, citing the classic Kendrick sound we’ve come to know. It’s a great blend between these two rap giants.

“Facts” is your classic Kanye, circa Graduation. “Yeezy Yeezy Yeezy just jumped over Jumpman,” he boasts. This song is a rap freestyle where Kanye basically lets loose on all he wants to get off his chest via rhyme.

The Life of Pablo was a pleasant surprise release from the rapper/media magnet. He jams 18 tracks into this release and according to Kanye, he has plenty more. Now we just get to watch how he handles his debt issues and his future presidential campaign. “2020 Ima run the whole election!” (A line from “Facts”). So I guess he wasn’t kidding.