The Heavy Rotation started as an idea between friends, Kalium Ewing and Grant Frahm, who were constantly sharing albums over text and wanted to connect through music in a more intentional way. They missed the feeling of hearing music in the same room and talking about it face to face. The club became their way of carving out time to slow down, listen together, and explore how music can hit differently within a community of strangers who become friends. For Session 17, The Heavy Rotation will listen to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West in full. We recognize that Kanye West is a deeply polarizing figure, and we don’t want to ignore or separate that reality from the conversation. At the same time, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy has had an undeniable impact on music, from its ambitious production and collaborations to the conversations it continues to inspire more than 15 years after its release. This session is an opportunity to sit with all of that. We’ll dive into the album’s lyrics, production, themes, contradictions, legacy, and the complicated relationship that can exist between art and the person who created it. This isn’t a space where everyone is expected to arrive at the same conclusion. We welcome admiration, criticism, discomfort, nostalgia, and everything in between. Whether you’ve played this album hundreds of times, haven’t listened to it in years, or will be hearing it front to back for the first time, all perspectives are welcome. Come ready to listen, question, challenge, and have an open conversation.