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)