Damn, Lou Reed writes a great review. I love how plain-spoken he is. Refreshing. Maybe that's what you get from a reviewer so legendary that he doesn't have the tiniest need to grandstand in the review itself...but then I like Lester Bangs so what am I talking about.
I started listening to Kanye West when Jay Z's Watch the Throne came out, which is probably one of my favorite albums. If you start with earlier Kanye and compare it to Yeezus you'll see an enormous difference. Yeezus is dark and touches on a lot of issues faced by black people today. In "New Slaves", these lyrics :"Meanwhile the DEA, Teamed up with the CCA" are strong. If you aren't familiar, CCA is Corrections Corporation of America, for profit jailing facilities founded in 1983. I don't really understand why people hate on Kanye West so much. Many hate his lyrics, some think he's a simple idiot. In my opinion, if you've made a few million dollars by 40, you're far from a moron. Kanye says it like it is and frankly I like someone who doesn't hide behind a shroud of fancy words and tact. I respect straight talk, and that's how Kanye does it. Oh, and a little tid-bit: Daft Punk helped produce a few of the tracks on Yeezus. It's a very small hint of taste, but it's there.
I think I read it in Rolling Stone, but Wikipedia article says the same: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeezus
I've actually never actively listened to Kanye. It seems that it's time that I do. Great review.
I think Kanye is one of the biggest talents of his generation. I haven't given anything but a cursory listen to Yeezus so I can't really back flagamuffin's suggestion but I do agree that listening to him chronologically is interesting if you have the patience. Every album is a bit of biography, every one gets at some essential message about who Kanye is. I know of no artist who seems to show so much of himself, it isn't pretty, I find it a bit disgusting and painful. Might be easier to start at Graduation, it's his most accessible album and if it catches you move forward in time before you go backward. I think he is a Stevie Wonder level talent with a lot of ear candy, bravado and arrogance on top and heartrendingly honest biography underneath.
I can agree with you, but Kanye's works in hip/hop & rap are very diverse. Some of it is dark, some funny, and a lot of it makes you think. I think if were to suggest any particular album by Kanye, I'd say start with Yeezus -- It is entirely different than any of his other work that stands alone, almost as though his previous music never existed.