Tag Archives: kanye west

My iPod #458: Kanye West – Good Morning

Leave a reply

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 #451: Kanye West ft. Jamie Foxx – Gold Digger

Leave a reply

With “All Day” circulating the Internet in its official form and the forthcoming album So Help Me God over the horizon, it seems like 2015 is gonna be another busy year for Kanye West. “All Day” is hot fire. Gets me pumped hearing it. Looking forward to the album too. But today’s song comes the rapper’s second studio album Late Registration, released ten years ago this coming August. What the hell.

I remember hearing “Gold Digger” for the very first time. And this isn’t me just saying it, this is something I can vividly recall. Coming back from London Heathrow after the holiday to Belgium, the ‘premiere of Kanye West’s brand new song’ was the main subject on Radio 1. It played. I didn’t think much of it. I was ten, I wasn’t really focusing on it that much I just wanted to get home. My sister, on the other hand, loved it. She was ecstatic. What excited her more was when the music video (as can be seen above) was eventually played on MTV Base weeks later. Those were good times. She then went to Woolworths to buy Late Registration due to boredom when a power cut occurred in our local area. Life went on from there.

“Gold Digger” is one of Kanye’s most popular songs, though you won’t see him performing it anytime soon. He’s very serious about work at the moment. More so than usual. If you haven’t heard the track I dunno where you’ve been in this life. Unless you were born five years ago or something.

Memorable lines are spat, Jamie Foxx imitates Ray Charles, the song is filled with the humourous wit he displayed in his first two albums. Overall, it’s just catchy and funky as anything. Honestly, I don’t know what else to say.

Well, it may have lost its touch due to being replayed immensely over the years. But you still can’t deny its greatness.

My iPod #360: Kanye West – Family Business

1 Reply

“Family Business” is exactly about what it says in the title. It’s Kanye West’s tribute to his family, dead and alive, a particular verse is for a cousin who was incarcerated at the time. But overall, the track is a general salute to those who helped him grow and get where he was back in 2004, or whenever he recorded this track.

It’s probably one of the sweetest tracks Kanye has ever done, not just in terms of quality but to listen to it is very delightful. A cute piano sample starts it all off, with child vocals used during the choir break (which itself is a reference to Rain, Rain, Go Away) and the outro…. It’s a great song to hear if you’re with the people you love.

I love my family, so this is the perfect song.

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

Leave a reply

“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.

My iPod #171: Kanye West – Celebration

Leave a reply

While we all wonder on what Kanye was thinking when he was about to shoot the video for “Bound 2”, it seems quite fitting that today’s song is one of his most underrated from arguably his second best album.

“Celebration” from “Late Registration” is a track where Mr. West actually sounds like he is having fun, and not trying to prove a point about how awesome he is, or how people should gaze and bow at his presence whenever he walks into a room. He may not rap about that last part explicitly, but he might as well do.

No, “Celebration” is a good ol’ mid-noughties hip-hop track about appreciating the good times we share with one another. It actually shows us that Kanye could be funny too; the line where he tells his ‘child’ that he was a mistake because he didn’t use protection, but then saves it by calling it his ‘favourite accident’? That’s priceless.