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.”
For a self-proclaimed God, this might not be the craziest statement to make. Of course, Ye’s claim of divinity is dubious at best. As a human being, Kanye has consistently released commercially successful and critically acclaimed albums. Will the new release be the best album “of the life” or just pretty good? Could it even be a rare misstep for Kanye? We will find out soon enough.
In the meantime, let us take a look back at Kanye’s storied musical career. The following list will examine one song from each of Kanye’s major solo album releases.
1. Through the Wire
Year: 2004
Album: The College Dropout
Notable line: “And I still won’t grow up, I’m a grown-ass kid.”
“Through the Wire” symbolizes Kanye’s transition from a producer with a dream to legitimate MC. The track opens with a pitched up Chaka Kahn sample, “Through the Fire,” alongside a lively beat. On the track Kanye is literally rapping through the wire. The rapper’s jaw was wired shut after a horrific traffic accident in 2003. Recorded while Kanye recovered, the song represented something new for hip hop. It is a clever and funny song chock-full of cultural references. The production is soulful and complex. Kanye set himself up us as a figure between worlds. He was a new kind of rapper that looked forward, but also respected the past. “Jesus Walks” may have
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)
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
Today many people feel compelled to buy anything or everything with an expensive price tag. This includes Expensive designer clothes, latest gadgets, expensive vehicles and many other similar things. This form of consumerism has embedded itself in today’s society; where it's encouraged to invest in such materialistic possessions. Kanye West is an African-American rapper, producer, and entrepreneur, who articulates his struggle with consumerism and the struggle for those around him in his song “All Falls Down.” West, utilizes puns, rhyme, and juxtaposition to highlight the issues surrounding materialism that can be interpreted differently by different listeners such as African Americans and White Americans.
Somehow the artist convinced Dash to sign him: “With reluctance Damon Dash signed West to Roc-A-Fella in 2002…” (“Kayne”). That was his big break. Kanye West was not given everything he has today. To get to the place where he is today, he had to fight like a warrior. He fought until he got signed to Roc-A-Fella, but soon after he got signed, he got into a serious accident that caused his jaw to be wired shut. Thankfully that didn’t stop him. He wrote an amazing song “Through the Wire,” and later got it produced. As stated before, Kanye West went through especially hard obstacles. He got rejected many times from various producers. He even got his jaw to be wired shut, but that didn’t stop him from fighting for his dream. He achieved his dream of becoming a serious rapper, and on top of that, he created a successful fashion line, and became a record producer.
“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.
To the side of Kanye reads, “The Passion of Kanye West.” The title is a direct reference to Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ. West is portrayed as Jesus because he believes he is “crucified in the media” and that “[his] misery is [their] pleasure.” Kanye’s depiction of crucifixion mirrors Nas’ crucifixion in his music video “Hate Me Now.” Kanye goes even further than just depicting himself as Jesus by claiming to be a God in his song, “I Am a God” off of his hit album Yeesuz.
Kanye West has proven himself over time that he is much more than just a producer. With each new album he releases, he constantly pushes the boundaries of music influencing artist across all genres. Kanye has an ever evolving sound that changes almost year to year. Kanye West’s Yeezus album is an album that takes a much darker and more minimalist turn in his discography. This approach to music makes Yeezus a much harder album to listen through because it is not filled with nice, polished sounds. Having the album made this way makes us look over what the message of a song and the album are. Among many rough songs one the most popular on the album was Blood on the Leaves. Blood on the Leaves samples from another song called Strange Fruit sung by Nina Simone which is a very political song talking about gruesome lynchings that happened before and at the turn of the century. With help from the sample, West uses the pain of lynching and drug abuse to compare with the break ups he goes through.
A collaboration between Jay Z and Kanye West, “Watch The Throne” was a 2011 album that marked a major turning point in West’s career and ultimately launched him from the land of music fame into universal stardom. Although music is a purely aural art form, the visual component of an album cover encapsulates the message of the album and its possible connotations, even in an age where physical music is largely obsolete. West’s fourth commercial release depicts an image of a textured gold tile that would look at home in a cathedral or palace. This high-culture image symbolizes Kanye’s metamorphosis as an artist and signifies a change of direction in his career. Starting off as a beat-maker and music-producer from Chicago, Kanye enjoyed a youthful
The Album Cover for Kanye West's Graduation was discharged in 2007 on Roc-A-Fella records which is a backup of the Universal Music Group, it's circulated by The Island Def Jam Music Group in the USA and Mercury Records outside of the USA. The Genre of Kanye Wests music is mainly hip hop and RnB.
“Runaway Kanye West” A year before this song was released Kanye West had his famous moment when he interrupted Taylor Swifts VMA acceptance speech. After that moment he was tortured by the media and hated by many. The following year he performed this song “Runaway” at the next VMA’s. I believe it was an apology to women he had hurt and disrespected, Taylor being one of them, and showed how lonely and vulnerable Kanye is. I think it impacted the way people view Kanye, and affected a culture of men as he describes as “douchbags”, and “scum-bags” and how men in society need to change.
As an artist and public figure, West has established that he is not afraid to express his beliefs or to stand up for what it is he believes in. A common theme in Kanye West’s music is that of the oppression that he and other minority’s face. At the same time, he has always emphasized that this cannot deter our efforts to break out of the mold that society has formed for us. Mr. West interestingly addresses his position of power however he also tries to establish that he faces the same difficulties as the impoverished. The very first voice we hear in the song is a man saying, “Wake up Mr. West”.
Standing the test of time, the album has become widely known throughout hip hop and American culture for fans of every generation. Paying homage to the album's 20th anniversary, Myspace came together with ten writers to paint their versions of the album, track by track, each delivering a short reinterpretation of the
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.