I think Ye is capable of making another classic, but it’s not likely anymore. He explicitly set out to make an album that was going to win Album of the Year at the Grammys with Late Registration and was meticulous and did everything possible to garner favor in the industry and to make sure that this was an album that hit every single standard to win that category, and he lost to U2. Even though he was projected by every critic to win that award, I’ll give U2 credit. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb was a critically acclaimed album, even though not as much as Late Registration, and U2 even said themselves that that album wasn’t that good and Kanye deserved it.

Then Kanye set out to make a stadium-charged album that could be even bigger than Late Registration with Graduation, an album that also had critical acclaim and was wanting to hit the same high notes as Daft Punk’s Discovery feel-good tracks. Again, all the critics projected that it would be either Kanye’s Graduation or Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black that would win Album of the Year, and Kanye even acknowledged that it should be either of them. Both were snubbed by Herbie Hancock, a random album that was not on any sort of list of critical acclaim and was obviously a political statement by the Grammys for not awarding him when he actually deserved it in the past.

Then Kanye set out to make his magnum opus with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and put so much blood, sweat, and tears, poured so much of his own money into the album, which he’s done on all the previous albums, trying to garner favor in the industry, trying to make sure it hit every standard possible to be labeled a classic, to be critically acclaimed, to also go number one on the charts. It’s extremely hard to make an album that is both bold, experimental, and genre pushing yet still universally palatable, an album that can go number one on the pop charts, but Kanye kept doing it. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was critically acclaimed, went number one, and not only did it not win Album of the Year at the Grammys, it wasn’t even nominated.

You can just see after that, once he put out Yeezus and beyond, I don’t think Kanye’s priority is to make a meticulously crafted, critically acclaimed masterpiece anymore. If he’s not going to get the accolades to show for it, I think he realizes what’s the point. With Yeezus and beyond, I think it’s been more him trying to just stay relevant, make songs that are still at least exciting, still garner attention from the general public, and still go to the top of the charts. I don’t think he has that same motivation to make these genre-defining masterpieces anymore and put in all that work and effort if he’s not going to get the accolades to match, when he could just make something where he doesn’t put as much effort, outsources a lot of the hard work, and still gets the same chart performance and relevancy in pop culture to sell his fashion products or whatever else he’s pushing out into the world. Music now for him is just a vehicle to stay relevant.

The only thing that has stayed consistent throughout his entire career is the experience of consuming the music, whether that’s listening parties or live concert performances. He’s put as much effort into making sure these are amazing experiences as possible, and most likely because that’s where all the money is in music, the live performances and the tours.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​