This man has redefined celebrity arrogance. The guy got called a jackass by the President of the United States. Obama hasn't even called any Fox News broadcasters jackasses, at least not on record. Kanye West is a whole new level of jackass.
I mean, he interrupts Taylor Swift. He said that George Bush doesn't care about black people during a Hurricane Katrina pledge. He posed as Jesus on the cover of Rolling Stone. The guy knows no boundaries. And despite all evidence to the contrary... the guy's a genius
Yeah, I would be lying if I said I wasn't a Kanye West fan. He's definitely superstar-worthy, as you can't really find an artist anywhere like Kanye West. He has a different style, different lyrics, and he puts his songs together beautifully. And I'm counting down the Top 10 times where he has done so, starting with...
10. "Power"
Best to start off a powerful artist with a powerful song, and right from the title you can tell that this is going to be a humdinger. Between the sampling and Kanye's lyrics addressing his recent media missteps:
They say I was the abomination of Obama's nation
Well that's a pretty bad way to start a conversation
Indeed. This song brings Kanye back into the public's good graces, just for being a stellar piece of music.
9. "Through the Wire"
This is how awesome Kanye West is: he breaks his jaw in three different places, and still records this song with his jaw wired shut. I love the spoken interludes during the chorus in particular, which sound off-the-cuff and real. The sampling of "Through the Fire" is brilliant as well, with "through the wire" being taken quite literally.
8. "All Falls Down"
Kanye, as you may have gathered from the first two entries, is very good at incorporating sampling into his music. But what if you can't get the legal rights to a sample? You get another talented singer to sing the relevant lyrics. That's exactly what Kanye did with Syleena Johnson's voice and Lauryn Hill's song, proving that Kanye West can solve problems easily, and will do what it takes to make a song sound perfect.
7. "Big Brother"
I decided not to include Jay Z and Kanye West songs from Watch the Throne in this list (although if I did, "Otis" and "No Church in the Wild" would have been strong contenders). But it's impossible to deny Jay-Z's influence on Kanye West, and nothing details it more than this song. What I like about this song is that it conveys mixed emotions, which is exactly what Kanye feels. It's not all happy, and it's not all resentful either. It's a very real song.
6. "Hey Mama"
Of course, if you really want Kanye to say what's on his mind without any bullshit, you listen to him rap about his mother. This song is why I've never really completely bought Kanye West's egotistical jackass persona. Deep down, he's just another guy who loves his mama. Kanye details a really sweet story about growing up with his mother, almost reverting to childlike states in his lyrics.
Can't you see, you're like a book of poetry
Maya Angelou, Nicky Giovanni, turn one page and there's my mommy
He calls his mom "mommy". Awww.
Even more touching than this is his 2008 performance at the Grammys in tribute of his recently deceased mother. I don't cry often, but this makes me come close.
So after sensitive Kanye, what's next?
5. "Gone"
Well, how about some classic-sounding Kanye with a killer beat and an awesome Otis Redding sample? Yeah, that sounds about right. I'm mostly surprised by Cam'Ron here, who I mostly know from mediocre early 2000s songs. While he's still the weakest rapper on this track, he holds his own better than he ever has. Perhaps he was brought up by the power of Kanye West, or possibly the power of the beat, which is also the power of Kanye West.
4. "New Slaves"
All in all, I wasn't really a huge fan of Kanye's latest album, Yeezus. Maybe it just went over my head, or maybe it was all pretentious fluff. But if there was a bright spot in the album, it's this blistering criticism of not only racism, but also hip hop culture and buying the same brands. It's like if Kanye West wrote "Thrift Shop", for Christ's sake. The whole thing devolves into nothing short of nonsense at the end, but somehow it's all worth it to hear Kanye's interesting take on hip hop and race relations today.
3. "Can't Tell Me Nothing"
This is the type of song that nobody but Kanye could have performed. Kanye at this point has suffered so much scrutiny for being himself, and he not only acknowledges this, but spits right back in his critics' faces with this:
La, la, la, la, wait till I get my money right
la, la, la, la, then you can't tell me nothing right
There's just nobody with the amount of money that Kanye has, and the brash personality that Kanye has to pull this off. But Kanye pulls it off with aplomb, as he should. He also shows a hint of vulnerability:
The drama, people suing me,
I'm on T.V. talking like it's just you and me.
I'm just saying how I feel man,
I ain't one of the Cosby's I ain't go to Hill man
I guess the money should've changed him,
I guess I should've forgot where I came from
But you can't tell Kanye nothing, especially after hearing this.
2. "Monster"
Barring Rick Ross, the rappers here show that they can be amazing if they try. It's a rare Kanye song that doesn't include samples, but it has a charging influx of star power that screams "I don't need a sample". And when Nicki, Jay and Kanye let loose, you just have to sit back and enjoy. My God, this song is amazing. But not as amazing as my #1 pick, which is...
1. "Diamonds From Sierra Leone"
"Monster" didn't need a sample, but "Diamonds" needs the sample to bring it all together. Not that this is a knock at the song. Rather, I simply mean to highlight Kanye's intelligence as an artist and rapper. Not only is this my very favourite Kanye West production, but Kanye comes full force with his lyrics here.
After debris settles and the dust get swept off
Big K pick up where young Hov left off
Right when magazines wrote Kanye West off
It's the quintessential Kanye West song, detailing the critcism he's taken and blowing his arrogance to full force. And I love it. Kanye West, man. Questionable personality, freakin' genius musician.
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