Which rapper’s 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was his fifth studio album? Kanye West. Released on November 22, 2010, it was West’s fifth studio album and followed 2008’s genre-blending 808s & Heartbreak.
West recorded much of the album during a self-imposed retreat in Hawaii after the controversy surrounding his interruption of Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. He created a communal studio environment involving producers and artists such as Mike Dean, No I.D., RZA, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Kid Cudi, Pusha T, Bon Iver and Elton John.
The album combined soul, pop, progressive rap, orchestral textures and electronic production while exploring fame, consumerism, excess and the American Dream. Its major singles included “Power,” “Runaway,” “Monster” and “All of the Lights.” It debuted at number one in the United States and later won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. A common mix-up is counting collaborative releases such as Watch the Throne; that album came afterward and is not one of West’s solo studio albums.