An Analysis Of Kanye West's Music

Kanye West, born June 8, 1977, is a world renown rapper, songwriter, record producer, fashion designer, and entrepreneur. among the most acclaimed musicians of the 21st century, and is one of the best-selling artists of all time, having sold more than 32 million albums and 100 million digital downloads worldwide. He has won a total of 21 Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artists of all time. (Kyles, 2013)

Throughout Kanye West’s prolific career, he has possessed an intricate sound that has separated him from his hip-hop counterparts. After the immense praise he received on his breakout album, College Dropout, it was no surprise that Kanye West would perform at the same level on his second album, Late Registration. West presented an innovative and soulful sound to the hip-hop industry, earning individuals’ ears and hearts.With lyrics that discussed themes of poverty, drug abuse, and domestic issues and samples that provided a sense of nostalgia, Kanye West was steadily transforming into a political icon far beyond the means of his hip-hop artistry. With such empowering and sincere lyrics, Kanye West served as the voice of historically marginalized people, whose voices were seemingly unheard before. In the song “Drive Slow,” West’s guidance and empowering message remained evident, as he joined forces with GLC and Paul Wall to create a soulful song that offered assistance on how to overcome barriers in life. Through the use of suggestive details, figurative language, and vivid storytelling, West utilizes the automobile culture to assert how individuals can achieve success of every field of human endeavor through constant efforts in the right direction. In addition, he also attempts to convey that one must “drive slow” in a car in order to appreciate the environment that consists outside of the automobile. West creates a double entendre of the word “drive slow,” expressing that

When it comes to running a business, your hustle and work ethic are your bread and butter. Sure, you may have a product that is out of this world, but if your business model is shaky, it could spell trouble for your brand. There is something to be said for Kanye’s consistency in his message and branding. Likeable or not, the rapper believes in his goals, which is crucial to the equation.

Kanye West also known as "Yeezy" is American rapper, fashion disaster, and also music producer. People may say that Mr. West is our youth of today voice. He has made a tremendous mark in the music and fashion industry. As we all know Mr. West is known for having his moments. It is safe to say that he has the best and top “omg” Moments, such as interrupting Taylor Swift at the VMA’s. Kanye in the begging when he first came on the hip hop scene was this calm, joyful, his music in my eyes was the most different music out at the time, just because he wasn’t rapping about what everyone else was. Kanye was one of those joyful guys, everybody wanted him on his record or produce it. Then a tragic event occurred where his mom died. After then you see

In his spoken word song “I Love Kanye”, West pokes fun at the media’s egotistical perception of himself. He raps, “What if Kanye made a song about Kanye? // Call it ‘Mr. Old Kanye’, man that’d be so Kanye // that’s all it was Kanye, we still love Kanye // and I love you like Kanye loves Kanye…” (I Love 1). This is evidence that Kanye isn’t the blind, egotistical, out of control superstar. Kanye West is just like everyone

Kanye West produced the popular song “All Falls Down” in 2004. He is well known for creating many wonderful tunes but this one stands out above the rest. While his other songs contain bass-heavy instrumentals and contain lyrics about money and women, this one is strays away from the previous structures. “All Falls Down” catches the attention of youth, with its mellow melody, to send a strong message concerning the overemphasis on money and education and how it can be harmful through the lyrics. The issues contained in the message are highly focused on the idea that money and education will not always be there

Kanye West likely seeks reinforcement and loves attention, negative or positive from individuals he does not know, or is not familiar with because of his constant need for attention. He acts the way he does due to his thought process and erratic personality/ personality disorders.

Kanye West has many heroic traits about him. One of which, is his capability for

Peter Bienart, the American columnist “The top line is that hubris is a disease that comes from success. " When you start to have a lot of success you will start to have excessive pride about it and you will want other people to know how successful you are. The Odyssey is about a man named Odysseus and he is at war for 10 years and then it took him 10 years to reach back to his home. Kanye West is a modern hero who just like, Odysseus, wants to always be the best. Kanye West makes music on being the best and his experiences.

The best way to get a four spot on the Billboard Hot 100, is by rapping about something everyone will go through, a heartbreak. That is what Kanye West did in “Heartless,” a song about a heartbreak he went through with former fiancee Alexis Phifer. The song debuted as a single but was later put on his 808s & Heartbreaks album. The song explains nearly everything about his relationship. They both made mistakes, but she’d act as if hers were minor. That is why he states, “I’m gonna take of tonight.” He emphasizes the word tonight, to prove he is exhausted and wants to be taken seriously. But he then argues himself by asking why they always end up late night on the phone. Which proves who is the intended audience. Simply, anyone that has gone through something similar, sometimes ends up on the phone with them late night with remorse. West’s tone in is angry in this song. He was tired of his ex-fiancee, who left him at his lowest point. When his mother had passed away just months before he was finished working on this album. Both of the women that he loved the most have left his life, in an instant. Kanye just began working on his music as a way to overlook the trials set ahead of him. He released this song and it was only the second time he used auto tune. Apparently auto tune can get you a 5x platinum record, mind that’s five million sales.

“Yo Taylor, I’m really happy for you…I’ll let you finish. But Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time!” (West). Most people if they don’t know anything about Kanye West, they know this quote. When anybody hears his name everybody always has an opinion. Some people love him, while a lot of other people hate him, each for a variety of reasons. Though most people only see the arrogant and egotistic side of Kanye, the more important side that people don’t always see is the hardworking musician. In order to fully understand Kanye’s motives and to fully appreciate him, people have to know how he got to the point he is now today.

Within these last few weeks, the public has heard Kanye West make some extremely controversial statements, from him praising Donald Trump, to him saying in an interview with TMZ that “400 years of slavery was a choice”. Contrasting Kanye's recent action with Childish Gambino who has recently released a new song and video that can be interpreted as his views on what America truly is. Both men are held in high esteem in both the public eye and to black people living in America. The popular opinion is that Childish Gambino is now taking Kanye’s place in the music industry and being the voice for black people, however Kanye’s place in the industry is secured and can never be taken; not because he is a “genius” or

“George Bush doesn’t care about black people” (Strachan 15). Chances are, if you were born before 1995 and involve yourself with American media, you know exactly who this essay is about. Kanye West, a very important man who has a lot to say if only people would listen. Hold on! Imma let you finish, I know there are images in your head of him at the 2009 VMAs with a mic he stole from Taylor Swift in one hand and half a bottle of Hennessy in the other, making a cute, innocent, pop-star cry, with his drunken belligerence. I know you’re probably quite embittered right now, “Who is this Daniel Wonderling kid and why is he writing about Kanye West while all the other Juniors are writing thoughtful narrative about much more important topics like: Huckleberry Finn or people doing LSD during the Hippy Movement? That’s what I care about!” and there’s no denying that there are things to be learned from those topics but there is a breath of fresh air by researching Kanye, in that, the topic hasn’t been academically analysed for a grade by every high schooler in the nation and that someone like Kanye West and his message are often obscured due to his portrayal in the media.

Kanye West’s new album is soon upon us and fans have high hopes. Apparently, it will not only be the album of the year but the album “of the life.”

With twenty-one Grammy’s and fifty-seven nominations, Kanye West is often regarded as one of the most influential and important artists of our time (The GRAMMYs 2). But many believe he is a musical fluke, who seeks attention and controversy. West first broke into the music industry by producing beats under the guidance of famous hip hop producer No I.D. (“The Mentor” 1). After his highly praised groundbreaking album, The College Dropout, was released, Kanye quickly found himself in the spotlight. His second album, Late Registration, was met also met with critical acclaim. With his recent successes and connection to the youth of America, West took an opportunity to help the people affected by Hurricane Katrina by appearing on TV alongside Michael Myers for a Red Cross event.