Kanye’s fantastical fulfillment comes to fruition

Kanye West builds his own buzz, builds his own expectations — there’s no one who does it better.

Not only are his artistic ambitions dangerously high (he wants to be remembered as the greatest artist of this generation), but he demands that he meet them by setting himself up for failure.

It was just one year ago that Mr. West was public enemy number one. People were glad to see him go on his Hawaiian hiatus after his mistreatment of Taylor Swift.

Forward and progressive in ways that previous works weren’t, “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” still retains the lush and personal elements of “College Dropout” and “Late Registration” and masters the pop expertise displayed on “Graduation.”

It combines all of the learning done inside and outside the studio into an LP that should be too deeply personal or too gaudily ambitious to be this adept and this pointed.

It’s almost too much. “All the Lights” comes off as much an experience as a song, with 11 collaborators and a monstrosity of a horn section that balloons into pure modern grandeur by its apex.

Its wind-down allows for a breath, but then it launches into “Monster,” another, ahem, monster of a track that is weird and features Nicki Minaj’s self-proclaimed “breakthrough” verse.

It’s a habit of West to bring out the best in his peers: Every guest spot is right on, with a couple of uninspiring efforts from Jay-Z (“Monster”) and Cyhi the Prince (“So Appalled”) being the only exceptions.

“Devil in a New Dress” turns the album over with a chameleon switch in the middle of the track, transforming from Yeezy’s light-hearted snark over a soulful piano to a slower version of the same sample, only this time with an overdriven guitar nursing the brasher female fantasies of Rick Ross.

From that point, the back half of “Fantasy” reels it in — not in style, but in terms of content.

West sets out to contrast the ugliness of ego against the beauty of musical artistry — all with the refinement of a studio wunderkind become genius. The ego paradox rears its head on the masterful “Runaway,” which has the audacity to ask for praise while disregarding empathy in the face of scrutiny, all over the top of a gracefully strong keyboard background.

Pusha T, quickly becoming Kanye’s ideally visceral sidekick, tears his verse to shreds.

“Blame Game” maintains the “dark” side of the fantasy, where Yeezy goes all “808s” with a chopped and screwed rant on the song’s bridge, the schizophrenic notions of a conflicted lover in the middle of a breakup.

The rest of the track is insulated by an elegant Aphex Twin sample, a merciful violin part and some poignant vocals from John Legend, before Chris Rock, of all people, provides some comic relief in a skit on the back end.

The finale, “Lost in the World,” crosses over to indie territory, featuring Justin Vernon of Bon Iver for a sonically tribal sound that churns the song forward. West’s identity crisis eventually gives way to Gil Scott-Heron’s 1970 spoken-word piece “Comment #1” to close it out.

Kanye goes big because it’s the only way he knows how. Extravagance, ego and enthusiasm are cornerstones of his lifestyle, reflected in his music and his behavior.

“My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” encapsulates all of that and blazes new trails in rap music, if you’re into those kinds of proclamations. And if you’re not, don’t worry. Yeezy won’t shut up anytime soon.