"She got a light skinned friend look like Michael Jackson/Got a dark skinned friend look like Michael Jackson," is the famous line from 2004's tribute to the classic records our parents used to cut a rug to, "Slow Jamz," (featuring Jamie Foxx and Twista) that made me chuckle and take immediate notice of Kanye West.
Many hip-hop fans noticed as well, and no doubt were thinking "who the hell is this nigga in a pink polo?"
People were talking. People were listening. And somewhere, West was laughing all the way to the bank.
In a genre dominated by "thugged-out" and almost over-the-top imagery of guns, selling drugs, bottle poppin', copious amounts of expensive jewelry, "grillz," loose women, and baggy clothing came this guy who look liked his stylist was Carlton Banks from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, had an average upbringing, and was rapping about religion ("Jesus Walks") and other serious topics while still having a lighter side ("The New Workout Plan") to increase his crossover pop appeal. Indeed, it was a very risky and different approach to starting a career as an MC (he was mainly a producer on Roc-A-Fella Records before hand) since he didn't fit the typical mold record companies were looking for in a rapper, but Kanye found large mainstream success by going in this direction and hasn't looked back since.
As friendly as his whole image is to the masses, I'm fairly sure old white people are still afraid of him due to his controversial outburts and hissy fits lol. Who can forget the infamous "George Bush doesn't care about black people" line during the Hurricane Katrina fundraiser (and the priceless expression on Mike Myers' face before they quickly cut away) or his various temper tantrums at award ceremonies he throws when he doesn't win something? Still, he hasn't slid into Britney Spears territory where the tabloids and blogs written about him over shadow the actual music.
Kanye's third album, "Graduation," the third CD in a series of education-themed titles ("The College Dropout" and "Late Registration" being the first two) has just been released on to the public and while 'Ye is still up to his normal bellyaching over trivial matters and disowning entire networks, his music is still more important.
For now, atleast.
After hearing Mr. West's first two outings, I thought I had heard everything he could possibly bring to the table. Artists can fall into a rut if they're not careful, and the Windy City native was heading towards redundant-ville at an alarming rate in this reviewer's humble opinion.
The trademark style of his of speeding up/altering the pitch a vocal sample to use as a launching pad for the rest of the beat and song writing was dope on "Dropout," but was starting to wear thin with me by the time "Late Registration" rolled around in 2005 because, by then, other producers began to employ similar methods to beat making and it was getting tiresome, making the effect diluted.
Besides the epic "Diamonds from Sierra Leone," the over played "Gold Digger," "Touch The Sky," and "Addiction," his 2nd album, while still good, was ultimately forgettable to me. So it was great for me to hear "Graduation" start off the with "Good Morning," a blithe head nodder with a hypnotizing, bouncy and laid back beat which becomes the perfect canvas for the "Louis Vuitton Don" to paint his clever lyrics over ("On this day we become legendary, everything we dreamed of/I'm like a fly Malcolm X, buy any jeans neccessary"). It's a wonderful start to what will unfold as a classic album in hip-hop history.
On 50 Cent's album ('Ye's release day rival), when he talks about childhood and his adolescent stages in life in "Fully Loaded Clip," Mr. Cent stands up on the proverbial soapbox to speak on about how he sold drugs and carried guns with him to school. While he may have done that, barely anybody can relate to the song who is willing to spend actual money on an album. Meanwhile, on Kanye's record, we get "Champion," a song that touches on trying to get new clothes from your parents. This is something all kids from low to middle income families, who had any shred of style, went through going through middle school and most of high school. West writes, "Now I ain't sayin' we was from the projects, but everytime I want it, layaway or deposit/My dad'll say 'when you see clothes, close ya eyelids'". True, it's more of a theme song for his life, but it's still a track that covers many bases and is just more realistic and grounded than what you hear in most hip-hop today.
Being realistic and relatable is one thing that draws so many fans into his music in the first place. He's "stanky rich," yeah, but he doesn't constantly brag about it or beat it over your head like other rappers (*cough* 50 *cough*). Take his single "Can't Tell Me Nothing" for example. The minimalistic, meditative beat puts the lyrical content in the fore front so you can actually pay attention to what he's saying instead of just "listening" to words. Some people have told me they don't like this song and I'm seriously questioning the condition their ear drums are in. I'm sorry this isn't a "club jam" or something else retarded and relatively simple-minded like that remedial Soulja Boy garbage the tikes are listening to these days.
The only way you couldn't possibly find a connection with this song is if you're somebody like Paris Hilton and were born into a rich family. "Can't Tell Me Nothing" is the anthem for every person fed up with working a 9-5, hate their co-workers, want to slap the piss out of their boss, and who dream of doing something better with their lives. The Young Jeezy ad-lib samples of "YEAH!" and "HA-HAAA!" add a lot of energy and spice to the stubborn and overall cocky nature of the track.
If you don't like it, spin it again, but this time, just sit back and try to absorb the lyrics; it's a masterpiece.
"She got a light skinned friend look like Michael Jackson/Got a dark skinned friend look like Michael Jackson," is the famous line from 2004's tribute to the classic records our parents used to cut a rug to, "Slow Jamz," (featuring Jamie Foxx and Twista) that made me chuckle and take immediate notice of Kanye West.
Besides the epic "Diamonds from Sierra Leone," the over played "Gold Digger," "Touch The Sky," and "Addiction," his 2nd album, while still good, was ultimately forgettable to me. So it was great for me to hear "Graduation" start off the with "Good Morning," a blithe head nodder with a hypnotizing, bouncy and laid back beat which becomes the perfect canvas for the "Louis Vuitton Don" to paint his clever lyrics over ("On this day we become legendary, everything we dreamed of/I'm like a fly Malcolm X, buy any jeans neccessary"). It's a wonderful start to what will unfold as a classic album in hip-hop history.
