Maps of Music

VH1 Storytellers (2010)

Where the lyrics of VH1 Storytellers take you, and where it was really made.

The set was taped for a three-hour episode, but it was cut to 90 minutes for its VH1 premiere.

Key places

Recorded at Sony Stages in Los Angeles (2009)

Live show Motown Recording Studios — West performed the set at Sony Stages in Los Angeles on 13 February 2009. The taping ran three hours and was later cut to 90 minutes for its VH1 premiere. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• VH1 Storytellers is the second live album by American rapper Kanye West
• Released 5 January 2010 on CD and DVD through Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings
• Nine tracks on the album; three performances added as bonus clips on the DVD
• The DVD adds a question-and-answer session and previously unaired performances, running over 70 minutes
• Most performed songs come from Graduation (2007) and 808s & Heartbreak (2008)
• Between songs, West freestyled the stories behind them, touching on musical influences, American society, and the media

Background

• On 3 February 2009 West announced an episode for the VH1 Storytellers program, to be filmed on 13 February
• His mentor Jay-Z had appeared on the same program a year and a half earlier
• About 80 tickets were given to fans through a contest on West's website
• Stage design by Es Devlin; lighting design by Martin Phillips and John McGuire
• The taping lasted three hours and was cut to 90 minutes for the VH1 premiere on 28 February 2009
• Executive producer Bill Flanagan said some of West's stories were cut down due to time constraints

Recording

• Performed at Los Angeles' Sony Stages on 13 February 2009
• The set premiered via VH1 on 28 February 2009

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Disc 1

Disc 2

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Ye (born Kanye Omari West, June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer.
• Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago; began producing in the mid-1990s for Chicago-area artists.
• Signed to Roc-A-Fella Records as a recording artist after producing for Jay-Z's label.

Members

• Solo artist; formed the Go-Getters group with GLC, Timmy G, and Arrowstar (1999).

Career

• Debut The College Dropout (2004) and Late Registration (2005) earned critical acclaim.
• Released eleven US Billboard 200 number-one albums; five US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles.
• Known for stylistic shifts from chamber pop to electropop, gospel, and industrial rap.
• Founded GOOD Music label; ventured into fashion with Louis Vuitton, Nike, and Adidas (Yeezy).
• Has 24 Grammy Awards and sold an estimated 160 million records.
• Faced major controversy for antisemitic statements from 2022 and later expressed remorse.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, who often praised West's performances
• Metacritic weighted average score: 66 out of 100 from 6 critic scores, labelled generally favorable
• Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly gave a highly positive review, finding West rarely boring
• Greenblatt wrote that West lets his id out onto the stage in free-form fragments rather than telling stories
• Ross Langager of PopMatters was often excited by the performances and praised West's idiosyncratic take on the storytelling portion
• Andy Kellman of AllMusic was less enthusiastic and called the album a nice addition to a hardcore supporter's collection
• Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club gave a mixed review, finding the unusually dour presentation undermined the intimate vibe
• Scott Plagenhoef of Pitchfork saw less storytelling and more entertainment, while viewing West as a perfectionist who gave fans their money's worth
• Lindsay Zoladz of Cokemachineglow gave a negative review, calling the album an extravagant, bombastic mess, though she praised the lighting and backing band
• Reception of West's speeches was more divided over the depth of his stories, with a few reviewers commending their honesty

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• West insulted Radiohead during the taping, over lead singer Thom Yorke's alleged snobbery toward him backstage at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards.
• West asked the audience to give Chris Brown a break after the singer's assault on Rihanna; few details were available at the time.
• West delivered 14 performances for the album; nine made the final track listing.
• The bonus clips were Street Lights, Paranoid, and Homecoming; Go Hard was cut and one Love Lockdown performance was only released online.
• Touch the Sky from 2005's Late Registration was the only track from his first two albums.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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