“The Life of Pablo.” Which one? Picasso? Escobar? Sanchez? There’s still no definitive answer. Yet, it’s only one of the many mysteries that surround this album. Kanye West might take the cake here for the messiest album rollout of all time, and while it seems tiresome to keep discussing the confusion around the album, there’s no doubt that it reflects on the album and how we perceive it. The album’s title was up in the air until days before its “release,” after more publicized name changes than what any album should go through. Two weeks after the album’s premiere in theaters paired with Kanye’s Yeezy Season 3 fashion show, The Life of Pablo is still not available for retail. Despite the album being illegally downloaded over 500,000 times already, Kanye has remained rigid in promising the album’s exclusivity to Tidal.

I wrote that paragraph in February. Today, at long last, The Life of Pablo is available on all major streaming services complete with Kanye’s promised tweaks. The fact that Kanye West had his fans beta-test his unfinished album for two months is an annoying reality worth a separate 1000-word piece that I don’t have time for. But that’s all water under the bridge because as always, Kanye lets his music speak over his antics.

Of his entire catalog, The Life of Pablo is his most scattered project. Gone is the meticulous cohesion seen in Yeezus and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Instead, Kanye delivered something very different. The Life of Pablo is an album of moments. Powerful moments that remind us, amidst all the confusion, drama, outbursts, and stress leading up to release, why Kanye West albums are such a momentous occasion. It takes about a minute and a half for the gospel choir to come in on the album’s opener, “Ultralight Beam.” But as soon as you find your soul again after having it snatched out, Chance the Rapper comes in and delivers the verse of his life. Moments like these are spread out throughout the album. “Waves” sounds like the ascension to heaven. The most unexpected Metro Boomin tag on “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” is followed by an angelic chorus from Kid Cudi (only to be ruined by Kanye rapping about bleached assholes soon after). Kanye’s passionately depraved outro to “FML” is topped only by the flawless transition from “Real Friends” into “Wolves.”

This album can be best described as a culmination of Kanye’s influences over the years. What The Life of Pablo lacks in cohesion, it makes up for by including sounds from all points of Kanye’s musical career. There are touches of College Dropout and Late Registration on soulful tracks like “Ultralight Beam” and “No More Parties in LA,” the latter of which featuring one of Kanye’s best verses in recent memory. Who would’ve been able to predict Kanye West absolutely washing Kendrick Lamar? The eerie, violin-led “Freestyle 4” sounds like a refined continuation of Yeezus. “Feedback” is a track that calculatedly exudes the Kanye braggadocio that we all know and love. “I Love Kanye” is a delightful and thoughtful commentary on his own career arc — a song completely about himself, something that only Kanye himself can pull off.

However, The Life of Pablo doesn’t come without its shortcomings. The majority of the album feels lyrically hollow. Granted, one shouldn’t expect next-level lyricism from Kanye West. But for the self-proclaimed “greatest artist of all time,” Kanye’s raps were disappointing. Lines ranging from bleached assholes to offensive Native American puns were like ugly stains tainting otherwise great tracks. This letdown was highlighted by the way the album was rolled out, with “Real Friends” and “No More Parties in LA” being the first singles released off the album — two lyrically complex songs flaunting a completely rejuvenated Kanye. After setting his own bar that high, he fell embarrassingly short on the rest of the album.

The Life of Pablo is arguably Kanye’s most star-studded album. The tracklist omits the album’s features, or else it would look like a superstar roll call: Rihanna, Chris Brown, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean, and uh, Post Malone. Kanye is no stranger to a feature-loaded album but this one seems different than say, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. What critics and fans alike claim to be his best album, MBDTF was a lush compilation of Kanye and his G.O.O.D Music cohorts. The Life of Pablo, while not lacking in big-budget artists, feels more thrown together rather than being carefully blended. And with Kanye still updating his album on streaming services to this day, it’s clear he as well is still trying to figure out the album’s formula. Stop it, Ye.

Kanye’s relationship with his collaborators has always been a polarizing subject. On one hand, what makes Kanye and his music so progressive is his ability to take the backseat on his own track and let someone else steal the show. But on the other hand, it takes some credit away from Kanye. With all these talented musicians in the room, how much can we attribute to Kanye himself? Does it even matter? Kanye West’s music is bigger than just himself (if that’s even possible, given his ego). What we get neatly wrapped up into MP3 form is the product of countless brilliant musical minds, with Kanye at the forefront conducting his orchestra. Kanye has provided us with enough groundbreaking music that most things can be chalked up to his genius. Hell, can’t afford a Future feature? Sign an off-brand Future ironically named Desiigner, take his single, rap over it, and call it your own. No one’s going to say anything because he’s a copycat anyway. #BoycottPanda. [Editor’s Note, aka me: I wrote that long before “Panda” became a #1 single and won over my heart as hard as I tried to resist it. Sorry, Past Hannan.]

This might not be the last time I update this review. Screw it, if Kanye can, why can’t I? This review is a living breathing work of art. It’s called contemporary writing, get used to it. There aren’t any rules anymore. The Life of Pablo is both great and disappointing; for an artist who has consistently pushed the boundaries of hip-hop with each successive album, Kanye falls short of delivering what he’s truly capable of. The fortunate thing is that Kanye falling short of his own astronomic expectations still results in an enjoyable album, full of special moments scattered throughout. You just gotta find them before Kanye updates the album again.