I like Kanye, why lie! Yes, I know that he had the nerve to stand up in front of America's Sweetheart (?) Taylor Swift and steal her glory. There was also that time when he proclaimed that 'Bush doesn't Care about Black People' on national T.V.. And the problem with this was? Did you SEE New Orleans? He's also egotistical, material and pompous. Hmmm. Again, this does not put me off, he makes good music.
I chose Kanye because I've had this line in my head all day: 'They made us hate ourselves and love their wealth'. It's from 'All Falls Down', a single from his Freshman album, 'College Dropout'. I love this song, it takes me back to 2004, my second year at Uni where my hiphop fanaticism was cultivating. Syleena Johnson gives an impressive vocal on the official single, but you really should check out the remix using a Lauryn Hill sample (which West was not permitted to use for the album).
'All Falls Down' can be viewed as parody or autobiography depending on your angle. Kanye criticises how rap artists behave when they make money. You've all heard it all before - buying the diamond encrusted necklace, but not a house; having rims on your car, but no food in the fridge; gold teeth, but no money for a chapstick (OK, I made that last one up). Kanye raises his thoughts on rappers spending money frivolously and not investing in properties, business or other sustainable means to give back to their communities:
I say fuck the police, thats how I treat em
We buy our way out of jail, but we can't buy freedom
We'll buy a lot of clothes when we don't really need em
Things we buy to cover up what's inside
Cause they make us hate ourself and love they wealth
That's why shortys hollering "where the ballas' at?"
Drug dealer buy Jordans, crackhead buy crack
And a white man get paid off of all of that
He speaks up for his hatred of the bling culture and how it distracts black communities from building and growing economically. This seems ridiculous now, we know him as lavish, flambouyant and dare I say, Diva-like? He hardly promotes Ujima with his references to luxury brands/cars/liquor. But you have to remember that this is Kanye West v1.0, the 2004 edition; he was reasonably low-key, having produced at Rocafella for some years without the limelight.
The video was pretty cool
Looking back from a 2011 (!) perspective, his last 8 bars were a sign of what 2004 Kanye West was to become:
But I ain't even gon act holier than thou
Cause fuck it, I went to Jacob with 25 thou
Before I had a house and I'd do it again
Cause I wanna be on 106 and Park pushing a Benz
I wanna act ballerific like it's all terrific
I got a couple past due bills, I won't get specific
I got a problem with spending before I get it
We all self conscious I'm just the first to admit it
Kanye warned that, despite his protestations about leading a material life, he'd contradict himself and join the bandwagon. He knows right from wrong, but doesn't preach about it in a 'Holier than thou' way. We all have an element of contradiction in our lives. We often deviate from what is 'right' in favour of what is easier or better for us. I contradict myself all the time and you do to - so don't knock Kanye for it...
OK, you can if you want - but I won't - I rate him for his honesty. This is the same honesty that saw him shunned by society (media!) for his comments over Bush and Taylor Swift. Everyone, including Kanye West, over-reacted about it, George Bush even called it (when West called him a racist) "the worst moment" of his presidency!
This has changed Kanye West and his new album, 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy', is very different. He seems to lament on events in his life in a very introspective way with a blend of arrogance and (faux?) humility that we saw in 2004. But let me tell you, if he was 'self-conscious' then, he's full on self-obsessed now!
I'll leave that write up for a separate post but here's a great single from the album:
Runaway
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