Tag Archives: graduation

My iPod #460: Kanye West ft. Mos Def & AL BE BACK – Good Night

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On my physical copy of Graduation, I was lucky enough to have “Good Night” as the final track on the album. This lullaby ends it on a sweet and innocent note after the stadium rock type vibes given by “Big Brother” and features the mighty Mos Def singing on the choruses and – a rapper who I thought was Jay-Z upon first listen – AL BE BACK on the last verse.

To the listener Kanye describes a moment in his life when he was a little kid and was out on a field trip with his grandparents, though shortly realises after that there is no point in dwelling over it so much as what’s done is done however much we’d want to go back in time and do it all over again. All in all, the track sends out a positive message to wake up everyday with a new frame of mind, take advantage of any opportunity that may come your way, and make the most of your life before it’s too late.

My iPod #458: Kanye West – Good Morning

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Kanye West’s third album Graduation, the last in the Dropout Bear/Education trilogy (the latter name I made up myself, probably not a good title), was the one in which the rapper now saw himself to be up there as one of the greatest rappers of this generation. Sure he had released two classics before, but it was the 2007 release where his ultimate goal to become known as one of the greatest of all time was set and established. Though “Stronger” was the first single from it to show the new edgier and focused Kanye, it’s “Good Morning” that starts it all off.

The first thing you hear upon entering the disc into your computer is a brief “Uh”, before the track’s beat kicks in followed by a descending synthesizer which leads into Kanye’s declaratory “Good Morning” and the soulful “oooh” sample that repeats after every time he says the phrase. Can’t get enough of that sample, could listen to that every day. In general the track is Kanye psyching himself up, telling himself to wake up, get focused, and prepare himself for what was coming now that he’d made a name for himself.

The guy never disappoints on his album openers.

My iPod #338: Kanye West ft. DJ Premiere – Everything I Am

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“Everything I Am” was a song that was made for Common that was passed on, something Kanye West mentions early in the song.

It was composed using only a Rhodes piano, a vocal sample, and some scratching, this song stands as the album’s most stripped down production. West marries a down-tempo beat to gentle piano chords that are accentuated by soulful cooing sampled from “If We Can’t Be Lovers” by Prince Phillip Mitchell.

This is soulful and mellow beat is complemented with Kanye’s very introspective lyrics about topics such as self-examination, personal troubles, his own flaws and made up gangsters.

The track features a scratched hook by DJ Premier on the vocal sample: “here we go again,” from Public Enemy’s “Bring the Noise”. After West had played an early version of this record for Premier and asked him his thoughts on it. DJ Premier answered he liked the lyrics and the beat and offered to put scratches on it.

……. OK, that was a definite cop out. That’s all from RapGenius, I’m sorry.

I couldn’t put a description of the song in better words myself. Mostly because I didn’t know most of the information that is there.

“Everything I Am” is chill, man. I like it just because of its modesty and humour (something you probably wouldn’t say about him today) and because of the cool, laid back beat which you only have to nod your head to and really focus on what the man has to say.

I miss old Kanye maaaaaaan, bring him back, this is what I waaaaant.

Seriously.