Thursday, September 13, 2007

Ode to Kanye, Verse 2

Yes, he’s known for throwing the occasional public tantrum and saying whatever’s on his mind (i.e. “George Bush doesn't care about black people.) But have you ever really listened to his lyrics?
They’re clever, gritty, humorous and at times relatable.

In case you hadn’t figured it out yet by our blog posts and comments, Kanye has quite the fan base here with some of us Link222 bloggers. And of course, we're all too thrilled that he beat his contenders to the No. 1 spot on the charts. So, we decided to have a little fun and try something different to the end the week in honor of his third album release “Graduation,” released Tuesday.

It was difficult to do, but we picked out at least 10 of our all-time favorite Kanye lyrics as well as 10 of our all-time favorite songs.

What do ya’ll think? Let us know what you’d add…or take off. (As much as we LOVE free speech, we must warn you - comments with expletives may get deleted.) Here goes:
Top 10 classic Kanye West lyrics:
1. “If you ever wanted to be anything/There’ll always be somebody that will shoot down any dream/There’ll always be haters/That’s the way it is/Hater (men) marry hater (women) and have hater kids.” – “Bring Me Down,” Late Registration (Submitted by Janelle Rucker)

2. “Will I make it from a student loan to a Benzo?/Like old folks pissin’, I guess it all Depends, so …” – “Late,” Late Registration. (Submitted by Joel Anderson.)

3. “Why everything that’s s’posed to be bad, make me feel so good?/And everything they told me not to is exactly what I would?” - “Addiction,” Late Registration. (Submitted by Donecia Pea)
4. “Crack raised the murder rate in DC and Maryland/We invested in that it's like we got Merril-Lynch/And we been hangin’ from the same tree ever since/Sometimes I feel the music is the only medicine.” – “Crack Music,” Late Registration. (Submitted by Greg Pearson)

5. “Damn ‘Ye it’d be stupid to diss you/Even your superficial raps are super official.” - "Gone," Late Registration. (Submitted by Janelle Rucker)

6. “It seems we’re living the American Dream/The people highest up have the lowest self esteem/The prettiest people do the ugliest things.” - “All Falls Down,” The College Dropout. (Submitted by Donecia Pea)

7. “They say because of the fame and stardom/I’m somewhere in between the church and insane asylum./I guess it’s messing with my health then/And this verse so crazy when I finish I’m just gon’ check myself in. Again.” - “They Say,” from rapper Common’s “Be.” (Submitted by Donecia Pea)

8. “I’ll be good like God with an extra O/God knows that my check needs some extra Os.” - “Can’t Tell Me Nothing (Remix.)" (Submitted by Joel Anderson)

9. “Ahh, the sweet taste of victory/Go ‘head and breathe it in like antihistamine/I know they say ‘Dang they snapped with this beat.’/What you expect? I gotta history.” - “They Say,” from rapper Common’s album "Be.” (Submitted by Donecia Pea)

10. “Everything I'm not made me everything I am.” –“Everything I Am,” Graduation.(Submitted by Janelle Rucker)

Top 10 songs:
1. Celebration (Late Registration)
2. All Falls Down (The College Dropout)
3. Late (Late Registration)
4. Touch the Sky (Late Registration)
5. Jesus Walks (The College Dropout)
6. Never Let Me Down (The College Dropout)
7. Stronger (Graduation)
8. Addiction (Late Registration)
9. Spaceship (The College Dropout)
10. Good Life (Graduation)

20 comments:

Nikki Nicole said...

I am totally feeling Kanye's new joint.

While he is always throwing tantrums, his lyrical genius is impossible to deny. I love his word play.

Donecia Pea said...

Yay! So what's your fave song or lyric?

Anonymous said...

Kanye is nice, but Common...whew..he is NICE.

CG4ever

Donecia Pea said...

Anonymous, I am with you on that! In fact, you should check out a July 31 blog post we did on him. Kinda of our "Ode to Common." lol.

I just love G.O.O.D. music!

But come on y'all...tell us your fave Kanye song or lyric, pretty please?

Anonymous said...

Okay, the album is freaking dope. I have been bumping it in my car since Tuesday. I know this sounds bad, but everytime I play it and my daughter recites must of the words to Can't tell me nothing, I'm proud she is a kid who knows good hiphop.

Donecia Pea said...

Yay Lisa! And hey, you SHOULD be proud she knows good music when she hears it, lol.

Anonymous said...

I love the new CD! I've been listening to it non stop since I got it!

Donecia Pea said...

Yes, Special K, I totally feel you on that! I just cannot turn it off, lol.

Anonymous said...

DPeezy, although "Stronger" is a 'strong' track (pun intended), my favorite Graduation track is "Big Brother" (last track, #13). For all the real Jigga fans, it really hits home.

"My big brotha/was BIG's brotha/so here's a few words from your kid brotha/if you admire somebody you should gon' 'head tell 'em/people never get the flowers while they can still smell 'em... ...A idol in my eyes/god of da game/heart of da city/Rocafella chain/never be the same/never be anotha/#1, Young Hov, also my big brotha"

Anonymous said...

You know it's good hip hop when you exchange quotes, from the cd, via email all day with a friend.



" I had a dream I could buy my way to heaven/when I awoke I spent that on a necklace."

Klaus Bronson, N.Ph.D. said...

I'm not sure about the rest of y'all, but I feel like the first verse of Graduation, from "Good Morning" is some of Kanye's finest:

Wake up, Mr. West, Mr. West, Mr. Fresh
Mr. by-his-self-he-so-impressed
I mean, damn, did you even see the test
You got D's mother fucker, D's, Rosie Perez
And yes, barely pass any and every class
Looking at every ass
Cheated on every test
I guess this is my dissertation
Homie, this shit is basic
Welcome to graduation

Donecia Pea said...

Hey Howard! Yeah, I love Big Brother too. I love that he keeps it real about his relationship with Jay, the good and the bad. I might need you to break down some of those references for me though, lol. Thanks for stopping by!

black pearl, that is SO real! I mean honestly. One of my fave new lines is in "Good Life:"
"Welcome to the Good Life where we like the girls that ain't on TV 'cause they got more a--- than the models."

nick, I feel you on that. I love "Good Morning" too. It just sets the mood for the rest of the CD for real.

Anonymous said...

Great list but Kanye totally has some better lyrics.

"Mayonnaise colored benz i push miracle whips" -Last Call

"They say you never know what you got til it's gone, I know i got it, i don't know what ya'll on"

Nick said...

best kanye song: never let you down.

The.Hanyeé said...

Illest joint: Never Let You Down

Mad Rhymes:
“I’ll be good like God with an extra O / God knows that my check needs some extra Os.” - Can't Tell Me Nothin (Remix)

You know that one auntie, you don't mean to be rude
But every holiday nobody eatin' her food
And you don't wanna stay there 'cause them your worst cousins
Got roaches at their crib like them your first cousins...
- Family Business

Anonymous said...

"...reach for the stars so if you fall you land on a cloud..."

Anonymous said...

'Through the fire, to the limit, to the wall, for a chance to be with you I'd gladly risk it all,
Through the fire, through whatever come what may,for a chance at loving you I'd give it all away' THROUGH THE WIRE

'Now I could let these dream killers kill my self-esteem
Or use my arrogance as the steam to power my dreams
I use it as my gas, so they say that I'm gassed
But without it I'd be last, so I ought to laugh' LAST CALL

'Yo first I snatched the street then I snatched the charts,
First had they ear now I have they're heart
Rappers came and went I've been here from the start...' NEVER LET ME DOWN

* So many more, the man's amazing

Anonymous said...

I'm a little upset that they didn't have the lyric from "Last Call" on College Dropout "I went to the malls and I balled to hard / 'Oh my God, is that a Black Card?' / I turned around and replied, why yes, but I prefer the term African American Express."

Anonymous said...

One of my favorites lyrics is in Flashing Lights:

"I'm just saying, hey Mona Lisa
Come home you know you can't Rome without Caesar!"

This is cleverly placed and has confused to many people! I think he is not only talented but very clever in his choice of lyrics!!

Anonymous said...

My friend and I were recently discussing about technology, and how integrated it has become to our daily lives. Reading this post makes me think back to that discussion we had, and just how inseparable from electronics we have all become.


I don't mean this in a bad way, of course! Ethical concerns aside... I just hope that as technology further innovates, the possibility of downloading our memories onto a digital medium becomes a true reality. It's a fantasy that I daydream about every once in a while.


(Posted on Nintendo DS running [url=http://quizilla.teennick.com/stories/16129580/does-the-r4-or-r4i-work-with-the-new-ds]R4[/url] DS ccPost)