Kanye West’s latest album,“The Life of Pablo," is an undeniably ambitious and unique work of art. Kanye not only shows off his own expert production ability, but also the skills of an eclectic cast of characters -- ranging from a prophetic Chance the Rapper to a providential Kirk Franklin to a resurgent Kid Cudi. The album, described by West as a “gospel album with a whole lot of cursing on it,” is exactly that -- for better or for worse. And it's specifically the disjointed thematic juxtaposition, as well as the dubious presentation of the album as a piece of contemporary art, that call into question the true motivation behind the piece.

Is “The Life of Pablo” a gospel album? Genre definition is not an exact science. Sure, the album is filled to the brim with biblical references and Christian symbolism, more so than other contemporaneous, high profile hip-hop albums. The album truly does contain many gospel components -- thanks to seven time Grammy winner Kirk Franklin, among others. But the album is also inundated with West's standard fare of absurdist, highly sexualized imagery. Consider the following lyrics from "Father Stretch My Hands pt. 1:"

"Now if I fuck this model and she just bleached her asshole/ and if I get bleach on my T-shirt, I’mma feel like an asshole/ I was high when I met her."

The incongruous relationship between Christian symbolism and West's corrupted worldview begs the question: is the album truly a gospel album, or is it simply exploitative of religion? Greg Kot from the Chicago Tribune sums it up perfectly when he says that "West's version of gospel touches on some of those sonic cues -- heavy organ, soaring choirs -- but seems more preoccupied with gospel text and the notion of redemption".

Another curious aspect of the album is West's presentation of the piece as contemporary art. A month after the album’s release, West tweeted, "Fixing Wolves 2day, Life Of Pablo is a living breathing changing creative expression. #contemporaryart."

West is attempting to portray the album as this grandiose, landmark achievement in both music and art. However, it’s easy to argue that the changing aspect of the album is more due to insecurity than artistic integrity. Greg Kot writes that "'The Life of Pablo' sounds like a work in progress rather than a finished album" -- and with the various directions the album takes, from the overarching gospel tone to trap features, the album actually feels directionless. This almost lost feeling is rare for one of West's albums -- starting with "The College Dropout," all of his albums have achieved tight, concise thematic and artistic expression. It seems as though West is caught up in artistry for the sake of artistry, rather than genuine artistic expression.

So how is this bad for music? West is still clearly king of the production game. The features on the album, notably Chance the Rapper's, are some of the finest among the canon of West. However, the feelings of genuineness and thematic conciseness that are extant on West’s previous releases are gone. It seems as though this latest album was released with the sole intention of making money.

West himself puts it best: "In Roman times the artist would contemplate proportions and colors. Now there is only one important color… Green."

Perhaps West has nothing genuine left to say, but that seems unlikely. Maybe he’s passed his artistic zenith and is only still in the game to make money. The fact of the matter is, one of the most influential figures in music has sacrificed his own artistic integrity, and there’s little hope for resurrection.

Will “The Life of Pablo” create a new trend in the creation and release of music -- releasing unfinished work to the public? Will this become the new zeitgeist of the latter part of the 2010s? Your guess is as good as mine. However, whether this trend catches on or not is irrelevant -- it’s a trend regardless and it will, with certainty, be copied by someone else.

As West struggles to truly define who he is artistically in this stage of his career, others will surely be watching and listening intently.