Thursday, February 26, 2009
Maaaan... Real talk. Kanye West is my favorite rapper.
He is definitely in the top 10 of my favorite artists period. No debate about it. You all remember the movie Brown Sugar when Sanaa Lathan's main question was "When did you fall in love with Hip Hop?" Well, personally I've enjoyed Hip Hop music since middle school when I began to write verses and dream about being an artist. But there has been no other single defining moment for Hip Hop and I comparable to the first time I heard Kanye's debut album College Dropout. That was when I fell in love with the artform, personality, swag, cockiness, and overall state of mind with Hip Hop. Until Kanye, all the artists I listened to, enjoyed, and emulated, I could never truthfully relate and identify with them or their lyrics.
For me, Kanye represented my assurance that there was a place in rap for someone like me. I never sold drugs, never could front as a thug, never disrespected women. I was raised in the church, my parents always made sure I was at the best educational institutions even at a young age. And back then I didnt even understand all the drug and crime references anyway lol. So as much as I tried to "lose myself in the music" according to Eminem, there was always a barrier between Hip Hop and I that kept me from fully feeling like I belonged.
But I'll never forget the effect that the Kan-man had on me. Sophomore year of high school in '04, I saw the "Through the Wire" music video on BET and I had no idea who Kanye West was. But I was so intruiged because I had never heard someone be so passionate, convincing, and emotional about every single word in their music. Sitting on the couch in my parents' living room with the television volume completely up, I could connect with everything he said, even with his "mouth wired shut" as he proclaimed in the middle of the video hahaha
The song stuck with me. I went to school humming the sped up Chaka Khan sample in my head. Everyday after class I'd rush home to catch the video on Rap City and again on 106 & Park.
It was rough, unrefined, and low budget... but it was real. For the first time Hip Hop was real to me.
I went to Tower Records (R.I.P.) the week College Dropout came out, and bought it with no hesitation. I never anticipated hearing an album so much. I waited til I got home, locked myself in my room to avoid distractions, popped the disc in my CD player, turned the volume completely up, and pressed play. I then opened the first page of the liner notes, just as the CD began
"Kanye, can I talk to you for a minute? Me and the other faculty members was wonderin could you do a lil somethin...a lil sumthin beautiful... somethin that the kids are doin... love when the hear it, thats gon start make em jumpin up and down and sharin candy and stuff. You think you could prollly do somethin for the kids for graduation to siiiing?"
And then it happened....
For the entire 71 minutes and 8 seconds of the album, I entered a state of complete bliss and altered consciousness. Song after song, my ears studied every single aspect of the tracks, from the way he flipped each soul sample, to his flow and how he didnt stack his vocals like most rappers. One track for each verse. It made his lyrics more meaningful and concise... more conversation... more personal. He was speaking directly to the listener. My eyes followed every word closely in the liner notes. I wanted to know everything he had to say. I studied the production credits, background vocalists, featured artists, and origin of the samples
Each song produced a new emotion that I didn't know existed with rap. Kanye was speaking to me. He was telling my story. This was my life. Each track was a chapter in a novel. The result was perfection.
His lyrics were more than than punch lines and slick metaphors.... they were witty and skillfully stated, ingenious and often comical, interpretations of all the thoughts and experiences I've had but never known how to express.
Just when I thought the album was nearing its end and there were no more surprises, "Last Call" played, which was the perfect conclusion to the greatest story ever told. His lyrics were as strong as ever on this song, and after his two verses stating why he didn't deserve to be overlooked, his thoughts extended beyond rhymes. For the first time while listening to the album, I set the liner notes down and listened to Kanye's 12 minute narrative of his road to Rocafella. I closed my eyes and imagined his words
Soon after, the CD stopped. The journey was over. But I was still on an all time high. I took a notebook out my backpack and wrote everything I felt. I wrote down my goals; I wrote lyrics; I wrote about how I felt. I didnt care what it was, I just wrote it. Kanye brought new meaning to the statement "Be yourself." I was no longer afraid to be me. I was finally proud to be the non-sagging MC. The educated rapper. The lower middle class, private school enrolled, hip hop artist. Haha it all made sense. Hip Hop is what you make it, and Kanye was the first artist to open my eyes to that.
My friends and I often debate about which Kanye album is the best (excluding 808's and Heartbreak because I don't believe it falls in the same category as his previous 3).
Here's my breakdown:
>Graduation solidified him as a global rap superstar ("Stadium Status" as he calls it)
>Late Registration was the album that expanded his fan base beyond Hip Hop.
>But College Dropout is what he used to prove himself and show everyone why he belonged in the music industry as an artist. It was his formal introduction to the world. It shows his journey from "tragedy to triumph" inspite all of his setbacks, haters, letdowns, obstacles, etc. You can hear his pain, struggles, determination, struggles, fantasies, flaws, dreams, love.... everything.
And the result is a classic album, and the most relevant album of my life.
Being an artist and songwriter, there are things that inspire me almost daily, from hearing an amazing song that a friend of mine records, or facing a difficult situation in my life that spawns the necessary emotions to compel me to write, or even discovering a truly talented artist that I was formerly unfamiliar with. But College Dropout was so much more than just inspiration. It was a defining moment in my growth as an artist. 5 years later, the feeling remains. I STILL get chills everytime I hear "Through The Wire". It brings back the state of mind I was at during that time. College Dropout represents my maturity and the phase in which I began on the path to discover my place musically. And for that, I'm forever grateful to Mr. West
I didnt write this to show that Im on Kanyes nuts or anything like that. I just wanted to share the most impactful and significant moment in Hip Hop for me. After hearing that album, I became determined that music was gonna be my main focus in life no matter what. There are no barriers. My dreams are limitless, my goals are infinite. Kanye dared to be different in music's most stereotyped genre, and for me, that was the influence I needed to begin my road "from tragedy to triumph"
The world aint ready for me, my music, what I represent, etc... But just wait lol. I'm comin anyway
dang this post is loooong....
PEACE
Labels: hip hop, kanye west
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