Wednesday, 21 September 2016

The Best Kanye Lyrics you haven't heard - EXPLICIT CONTENT


Image result for kanye west pablo


Whatever the most recent media rumbling about Kanye, whatever latest churlish outburst or bold statement, it is undeniable that Mr. West has made a towering impression on the music industry over the past fifteen years or so.

Whether it is creating mind-bogglingly catchy beats like 'Lucifer' for Jay-Z or taking the best part of Hip-Hop royalty to Hawaii to produce 'All of the Lights,' Kanye musically, sonically and creatively has changed rap music forever. What often gets forgotten through all the hyperbole and brassiness is the fact that Kanye is also sharp to the point of bloodshed lyrically. At other times he can be so poor it's cringe-worthy; comparing separated parents at a basketball game to the horrors and brutality of South Africa's apartheid era, springs naturally to mind. There is also the opening to 'Father Stretch My Hands,' a beautiful and powerful symphonic tune, sadly not matched by the song's graphic and pretentious opening gambit.

However, it is important to focus on the positives that Kanye's words bring to the world; heaven knows there is enough out there that disparage him, not that he cares. Underneath the hubris, bravado and fanfare there is a genuine artist; a genuine lyricist. To try and regain some clarity through the madness, these are my favourite Kanye lyrics you may never have heard, explained in full.

And I always find something wrong
You been putting up with my shit for
Way too long
So gifted at finding what I don't like the most
Some think it's time for us to have
A toast

Runaway, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy


Ok, so a number of readers will know this one, but I feel it's an important one to start with. Here Kanye's braggadocio style is dropped completely as he raps about his failed relationship with ex, Amber Rose. Kanye in a moment of quiet reflection delves into the human and more importantly male psyche, pointing out its basic flaws. He concurs that his partner puts up with a lot of his crap, before going onto explain how he always finds what he doesn't want, in this case being lured to send explicit photos to another female admirer. Rather than fight back with contempt and vitriol, Kanye accepts his failings and raises a toast to them.



I know she likes chocolate men
She got more niggas off than Cochran

On Sight, Yeezus


This song is littered with sharp-witted, searing insights but this particular couplet is in reference to Kanye's wife, Kim Kardashian and more pertinently aimed at her white ex-husband Kris Humphreys. Kanye makes the fairly trite point that she seems to be more enamoured with black men at this juncture of Kim K's well-documented life. He goes on to reference lawyer Ray Cochran, famed for getting many black men acquitted, most notably Oj Simpson. Kanye makes the double entendre between his wife 'getting them off' in a sexual manner and Cochran doing so in a legal sense. Brutal, but funny.




We Don't Care, The College Dropout



One of the reasons people seem to love 'The Old Kanye' is his focus on social issues and insights into black, working class culture (All Falls Down). Here Kanye opens his debut record by slaughtering the education system and indeed the teachers who judged Kanye for being 'slow.' He makes the point about after-school programmes being ceased wrongly before attacking the educators and attitudes to those who are not academic. In addition, he references Chicago drug dealer lingo ('rocks, blow, weed, park'), a phrase used to inform potential buyers what was purchasable at the time. Here Kanye is depicting how some people in black communities may not be academically smart, but use 'street smarts' to get themselves out of poverty. Entrepreneurial, huh?



Now we all aint gonna be American Idols, but you can at least grab a camera shoot a viral

Power (remix), G.O.O.D. Friday bootlegs



A fairly straightforward one here. Kanye beseeches all of us rather than sit around and watch derivative Saturday night TV, or indeed aspire to be on such a show, get out there and create something yourself.




All of the Lights, MBDTF

Here, Kanye places himself into the shoes of a man who comes home to find his other half in bed with someone else. Deary me. A fight and separation ensue. Kanye, before having children of his own or indeed a wife, manages to succinctly depict the woes facing his protagonist. Again, he manages to use rhyme and inflection to humorous effect by listing the people he has upset by his antics.




Dark Fantasy, MBDT


Following on from the death of his mother and the break-up with Amber Rose, Kanye is battling his demons. He manages to put himself (as he does so well, so often), into the shoes of the average joe and the issues we face. Kanye is sad and upset and thus reaches for the bottle. However, what's harder to deal with the pain in his heart, or the pain in his head the following day? Hmmm.......




Hell of a Life, MBDTF



Kanye was at his most wild and reckless in this period of his career. Here he tells the allegory of having a marriage with a porn star over the course of one night. The song works fantastically and leaves Kanye realising that he doesn't need the trappings of the wild life, in his own words 'pussy and religion' are all he needs. Kanye makes the valid point that it is wrong that the lady's 'price' would go down i.e. she would be less marketable, if she had sex with him.  He then goes on to support her over-sexualised lifestyle by mocking those who are sexually inhibited. In other words, are those who find it very easy to judge actually in a position to do so, due to their lack of experience/knowledge? An interesting point for hypothesis.


Don’t do no press but I guess the most press kit
Plus, yo, my bitch make your bitch look like precious

Mercy, Cruel Summer

Here we see angry Kanye return, with a hint of acerbic wit to boot. Kanye famously stopped doing any press for a variety of reasons. Kanye makes the point that despite not doing any press, he still gets the most. In addition, he references 'press kit' a tool journalists use to get access to stars. Kanye is his very own 'press kit.' Kanye goes on to reference the film 'Precious' about an overweight, black teen from the projects, saying his other half (Kim K) ...well, I'm sure you get it.


I got two white russians but I also need some drinks

Blazin, Pink Friday (Nicki Minaj)

Simple and effective, a throwaway line, celebrating Kanye's virility and attraction to the opposite success, as well as his obvious celebrity lifestyle.



Face it, Jerome get more time than Brandon
 And at the airport they check all through my bag
And tell me that it’s random
But we stay winning, this week has been a bad massage
I need a happy ending and a new beginning
And a new fitted, and some job opportunities that's lucrative

Gorgeous, MBDTF



Kanye references the injustice between black and white, using stereotypical names from each race. He alludes to the fact that blacks are still unfairly treated, a topic which needs no more highlighting in the current climate #blacklivesmatter.

Kanye doesn't let this get him down though, using the metaphor of a massage for his bad week. As such he needs a new suit fitting (he loves clothes don't you know), more money and of course a 'happy ending,' as per certain, stereotypical dodgy massage parlours.  Bless.




Spaceship, The College Dropout

From his eponymous debut album, here we see Kanye in full flow. Kanye notoriously worked at the Gap and uses this as a reference point for how he perceives inequality. He goes 'ghetto' by threatening to attack the manager before stealing from the cash register. He then talks about stealing from shops (we've all been there, eh? Sorry Mum...), and being patted down by aggressive security guards, yet when some black customers walk in he finds himself maneuvered back to the front of the store by his over-zealous and ethnically-sensitive manager.



Monster, MBDTF
The real skill here is the use of inflection, intonation and rhythm. In fact, it needs to be heard really. Also there is a brilliant verse by Nicki Minaj on this track for largely the same reasons. Kanye talks about his girth which obviously has caused his female companion issues in their oral sexual encounters. He uses word play and double meaning here playing off the idea of oral sex, with academic achievement. All very clever, if not the most highbrow. However, he goes on to say something mildly prophetic as he talks about the future and how he lives in it, a claim he has made many times over and if you are a Kanye fan and watched his impact on the industry, technology etc. first hand, you can only really agree with him. The final line is blunt and a shout out to his 'haters.' Whether you love him or loathe him, we are lucky to have him.




Got staples on my dick. Why?
Fucking centrefolds
I swear to God she's so cold
Got a nigga in Miami wearing winter clothes
I got my fur on feeling like Jerome
She got her fur too we got our his and hers on

Illest Motherfucker Alive, Watch The Throne


My final and perhaps favourite Kanye line. You see, I love his arrogance. I love the fact he won’t settle for life on the treadmill. He demands the best for himself and of all his subjects. But this is Kanye in witty-braggadocio mode and it's marvellous. Kanye uses an explicit metaphor to explain that he is having lots of sex with pin-up girls and centrefolds. He then flips the script, complaining how her aloof coldness means he needs to wear his fur in the Miami heat, to keep out her wintry iciness. He references 80's American TV show Martin and the pimp Jerome who is seen in his fur, before making the double entendre that his girl also had her 'fur too,' however, she of course will be naked. 



So, this article has been a long time in the making and hopefully it highlights rap is still relevant and why Kanye is not only a visionary sonically and visually, but also is relevant and interesting lyrically as well.  I hope it inspires some people to go and check out the songs. I hope as well that people reading this won’t allow the media's presentation of this entrepreneur cloud their judgement of him. In Kanye's own words 'most people are slowed down by the perception of themselves. If you're taught you can't do anything, you won’t do anything. I was taught I can do everything.'
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