Kanye's Vanity vol. The Politics of Black Self-Love

DipsetGeneral said:
"Yeezus" is for the open minded. It's an experimental album. In my honest opinion, Ye' has been the best artist in music since 07'. Yes he's a genius with the way he creates song structure, samples soul music, and laces thought provoking lyrics on top of all that. Can't wait till' the next project.
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Gotta disagree

Kanye tried to pull some kind of David Bowie move and it seems only his stanbase are the ones screaming "classic", "epic", etc

I'm very open minded, I despise Kanye the person but enjoy a majority of his music, this album is not a good album.

I always find it funny how the majority of NT turned on Drake but I guarantee that if Kanye made Take Care y'all would be saying how great it is.

I've never seen an artist slurped as much as Kanye on this board.
 
^^^repped dude that's prob the truest statement in all my yrs on nt...I well never forget all the hype nt gave drake 5 yrs ago
 
I am biased, because Late Registration and BE were the first 2 albums I bought with my own money when I was 12. I will always be a fan.

But I still think that down the road, all of his albums will be recognized as classics and he will be the one everybody remembers for experimenting so much in hip-hop/rap, not only the genre but the culture as well.
 

Beautiful. I never knew that about the GAP Band, and I appreciate you for showing me. Your posts are appreciated.

Honestly, I think it's a waste of time trying to explain some of this stuff to some people more than once or twice. I'm just glad I understand for more reasons than to enjoy Kanye's music. It's deeper than that.

"I'm aware I'm a king. Back out the tomb, *****!"

What kings are commonly known to be put in tombs?
 
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pretty spot on album review lol

http://www.okayplayer.com/news/kanye-west-yeezus-review-by-big-ghost.html

my 2 favorite song reviews......

“On Sight” – Imma keep it all the way real wit yall…the way this **** started had me wishin for the days of unnecessary Mr West skits… maybe even Nicki Minaj recitin some ******** *** limerick in a British accent or whatever… Soon as I heard the electro ***** start up I knew what the **** was bout to happen… This **** like BLOOP BLUHHH BLEEP BLOOP BLUHHH BLEEP BLOOP BLUHHH BLEEP BLOOP BLUHHH BLEEP BLOOP BLUHHH BLEEP TICK TICK TICK TICK TICK TICK TICK TICK TICK TICK TICK TICK TICK TICK TICK BLOOP BLUHH BLEEP BLOOP BLUHHH BLEEP…soundin like he made a beat n threw the Atari filter on that **** when it was done. The hook like BLUH BLUH BLUH ON SIGHT BLUH BLUH BLUH ON SIGHT… I kno it aint paintin a vivid picture for yall mutha****as who aint heard the **** yet but trust me…**** is accurate. Took me bout 200 listens before I saw any value in this ****. It aint my favorite track or nothin but I aint mad at it really. Probably be kinda dope at a show…….in the middle of a desert…….on Mars……wit Chinese acrobats shootin outta cannons from one side of the stage to the other n this **** blastin out some big *** speakers at 70 billion gigahertz n whatever..Ionno…

“Bound 2″ - This **** is magnificent yo. Word is No ID, Rick Rubin n Heatmakerz helped make this magic happen…I mean you already kno this bout to be a problem son. I aint gon go into too much detail other than the fact that if you aint feelin this then **** you dont read my **** b. This is magnificence in its purest form. Yeah I mean…it aint musically “PUSHIN THE BOUNDARIES” of whats possible in hip hop like “Black Skinhead” n “New Slaves” but its ENJOYABLE **** you can listen to n ENJOY…right now n not after the **** grows on you. It aint gon challenge you or open up new portals n ya mind that allow you to travel to other dimensions that exist inside of some **** like a leaf or a seashell that you can only see after you align ya chakras n meditate at the top of a hill at 4am ey’day of ya life or whatever. But you can play that **** n ENJOY it. Yeah the lyrics aint exactly some groundbreakin **** neither…its jus more of that simple *** post-Late Registration **** Kanye be doin that 17 yr old mutha****as wit no life goals or intentions of havin careers be goin ape**** over. But ya kno what…you can listen to this **** mornin or night n still ENJOY it.

yep pretty much hahaha
 
ATLien Seeko said:

Beautiful. I never knew that about the GAP Band, and I appreciate you for showing me. Your posts are appreciated.

Honestly, I think it's a waste of time trying to explain some of this stuff to some people more than once or twice. I'm just glad I understand for more reasons than to enjoy Kanye's music. It's deeper than that.

"I'm aware I'm a king. Back out the tomb, *****!"

What kings are commonly known to be put in tombs?
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I'll take King Tut for 500
 
JaysRcrak said:
That is the point. I loved College Dropout. But you have to go all the way back to the "old Kanye" to get that those types of messages. And over time there has been less and less of these types of messages in his music.

What has he talked about recently that is on that level? And dont say "New Slaves," because he barely touched on some issues in the first verse and the whole second verse went off on yet another Kanye tangent, and had little to nothing to do with the first verse.
Plus anybody can the things that he said in that first verse. And it HAS been said by other artists.

If you are going to do a song like "new slaves" then why not really give people something that isnt common knowledge. Something that will open up their mind to thinking about what problems we still face as a people.

It is obvious that if you are broke, these stores aint gone F with you as much as they would, if you had a whole bunch of money. And when you do have that money, that they want to seperate you from it. There is NOTHING new, exciting, mind-blowing, educational, or inforamtive about those lines.

Also the GAP band gets much respect. But I dont neccesarily transfer any of that respect to Kanye because he featured Charlie Wilson on a song.
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The reason I brought up Charlie Wilson is because like I said he's Kanye's mentor and collaborator since 808s I think it was. He helped on MBDTF behind the scenes.

I also previously noted that "lyricists" like Lupe, Mos Def and Cyhi (yes Cyhi) helped with this album so those plus Chalie who I proved has a history of putting deeper meanings in songs you would have to think there has to be more going on than whats being heard on the surface?



To answer your question about what has he done since CD

Like I said Im not the biggest Kanye fan so I cant just quote lyrics but off the top I can name a few

Crack Musik was pretty in your face....

He made a song about conflict diamonds on the same album....And then made a remix....

On MBDTF he touches on a couple of situations.....You might need to relisten to the first verse on "Gorgeous"

Power is literally about him feeling that the powers to be crucified him for having too much power as a black man...

Maybe Im reaching tho?​

View media item 465539
The Who will survive in America outro was dope

Murder to Excellence is an underrated song about how blacks can achieve....

He references the problems in Chicago more than most rappers I've heard recently

He also sorta did this​




Who else has done anything like this since?

I would say Kanye has done his fair share of shining a light on black social issues. Especially for someone who is at the hieght of fame. Can you name anybody else with his influence that has done/said as much?

Hate or love the whole 300 movement but Kanye put them dudes on...He put King L on his album... He's throwing Pusha Tall kinds of alleys....He let Cudi go with no issues...

From a distance I can really say this ***** Kanye is really helping ******
 
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Kanye has surpassed Tupac. I'm being dead serious.

I'm not talking musical talent, moreso his image in the hiphop game.
 
I also thought "Power" was about him questioning his faith, (As I look down at my diamond encrusted piece and think no one man should have all that power) and then at the end of Power when the song chants "This will be a beautiful death, I'm jumping out the window, letting everything go." Obviously represents when he was contemplating suicide.

Than you have the All of the Lights interlude. The music is kind of somber, sounds like it COULD be played at a funeral.

Than you get into All Of The Lights... "I'm on my way, headed up the stairs...." Like he was on his way heading up to heaven, and then realized he can't go yet. The word "Lights" represents all of the truth that is being hidden in the world.

Then you get to Monster, which starts with Justin Vernon "I shoot the lights out, hide til it's bright out." More Lights references, and this is Kanye's song where he starts to transform into that monster, literally.

Maybe I'm looking into it too much, but there were SOOOOO many references to lights on MBDTF. Lost in the World "Run from the lights..." On Gorgeous "I need more drinks and less lights." And let's not forget on "Hell of a Life" "How could you say they live they're life wrong, when you never f*** with the lights on." Has a much deeper meaning than just people getting it on with the lights off.

I could go more into the concept of the album, but people will just say I'm a Kanye stan. But for the most part, MBDTF plays out front to back like a concept album, it tells a story, and has a deeper meaning behind it.

And people say MBDTF is a bad album... :smh:
 
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calibeebee said:
pretty spot on album review lol

http://www.okayplayer.com/news/kanye-west-yeezus-review-by-big-ghost.html

my 2 favorite song reviews......

On Sight” – Took me bout 200 listens before I saw any value in this ****. It aint my favorite track or nothin but I aint mad at it really. Probably be kinda dope at a show…….in the middle of a desert…….on Mars……wit Chinese acrobats shootin outta cannons from one side of the stage to the other n this **** blastin out some big *** speakers at 70 billion gigahertz n whatever..Ionno…

yep pretty much hahaha
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This is soooooo spot on :rofl: :rofl: and the latter part sounds like something that comes from the "if you don't listen to 37 genres, then you you you just wo wo won't understand" crowd
 
Cragmatic said:
I also thought "Power" was about him questioning his faith, (As I look down at my diamond encrusted piece and think no one man should have all that power) and then at the end of Power when the song chants "This will be a beautiful death, I'm jumping out the window, letting everything go." Obviously represents when he was contemplating suicide.

Than you have the All of the Lights interlude. The music is kind of somber, sounds like it COULD be played at a funeral.

Than you get into All Of The Lights... "I'm on my way, headed up the stairs...." Like he was on his way heading up to heaven, and then realized he can't go yet. The word "Lights" represents all of the truth that is being hidden in the world.

Then you get to Monster, which starts with Justin Vernon "I shoot the lights out, hide til it's bright out." More Lights references, and this is Kanye's song where he starts to transform into that monster, literally.

Maybe I'm looking into it too much, but there were SOOOOO many references to lights on MBDTF. Lost in the World "Run from the lights..." On Gorgeous "I need more drinks and less lights." And let's not forget on "Hell of a Life" "How could you say they live they're life wrong, when you never f*** with the lights on." Has a much deeper meaning than just people getting it on with the lights off.

I could go more into the concept of the album, but people will just say I'm a Kanye stan. But for the most part, MBDTF plays out front to back like a concept album, it tells a story, and has a deeper meaning behind it.

And people say MBDTF is a bad album... :smh:
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:smokin

Yup I said a lot of this in the album thread.

Its clearly a throwback to those classic albums that have deeper themes and feelings to it but never referenced lyrically

The music as a whole paints the picture not just the lyrics

A lot of people have compared Yeezus and MBDTF to the progressive sound of the 70s....that Pink Floyd way of making albums....hell he sampled King Crimson on Power so he obviously wanted that sound

I think Rolling Stones wrote an article saying Kanye is our Pink Floyd I dont agree with it but I get the reference because of the way his last 2 LPs were done.
 
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cartune said:
You missed College Droupout it was a pretty good album. There was a lot of black social issues being discussed on that album alone

To the whole "why be secretive?" hidden meanings have always been a part of art.

Charlie Wilson Kanye's mentor and collaborator previously of the GAP Band

GAP Band being the Greenwood, Archer and Pine Street Band....which was known as "Black Wallstreet"

"The Black Wall Street"

During the oil boom of the 1910s, the area of northeast Oklahoma around Tulsa flourished, including the Greenwood neighborhood, which came to be known as "the Negro Wall Street" (now commonly referred to as "the Black Wall Street")[3] The area was home to several prominent black businessmen, many of them multimillionaires. Greenwood boasted a variety of thriving businesses that were very successful up until the Tulsa Race Riot. Not only did African Americans want to contribute to the success of their own shops, but also the racial segregation laws prevented them from shopping anywhere other than Greenwood.[4] Following the riots, the area was rebuilt and thrived until the 1960s when desegregation allowed blacks to shop in areas that were restricted before.

Attack by air
Numerous witness accounts described airplanes carrying white assailants, who fired rifles and dropped firebombs on buildings, homes, and fleeing families.

The Tulsa Race Riot was a large-scale, racially motivated conflict on May 31 and June 1, 1921, in which whites attacked the black community of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It resulted in the Greenwood District, also known as 'the Black Wall Street'[1] and the wealthiest black community in the United States, being burned to the ground.


These events influenced this "pop song" you thought was about love




Like I said most of this stuff is just going over people's heads because they dont know

And The GAP Band dropped a lot of science in their music some of it was up front and some of it was like the example above.

Im not even trying to get deep but I guess its just in "us" Slave hymns have coded messages...and secret meanings wasnt no rapgenius.com back then :nerd:



And the Donda West disrespect I wont even get into...but if you're going to dismiss her work because she wanted plastic surgery you will have to dismiss Afeni's for being a crackhead too right?

If you're going dismiss Kanye's "black" lyrics because of his not so progressive lines...then you'll have to dismiss Pac's Changes, etc. since some of his lyrics also helped influenced the violent culture in urban america.
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...I appreciate the history lesson. but it still doesn't answer anything.
WHY BE SO SECRETIVE...when you're also doing something purposely to get a response. It doesn't make sense. GAP band didnt say that they're God and then drop subliminals. And on top of ALL that. Kanye is not gap band, so what was the point of that?
Now Charlie Wilson is a mentor?

Jay-z is also his "big brother"....and?

do you feel Kanye is just like Jay-z OR Charlie Wilson?

It still feels like dropping a lot of "I know Kanye so well" references than anything of a real explanation.

As for Pac...yes that's exactly how I feel about him. THUG LIFE tatted on your belly, spitting on reporters, but yet Brenda got a Baby, Changes, Rose from Concrete and many "nice" tracks, etc...thus I'm not a real fan of pac. He could write very well, yes, but he at times was pretty contradictory. His mother being a crack addict does not dismiss her work but she didn't dive into the limelight and flaunt what her son had gotten.
On top of that, I'm not dismissing Donda West neither...you don't know her just like I don't. Disrespect?? Who is she to me...please. I have no beef with her, but seriously she hasnt changed MY life or birthed me. (Or you btw)
When someone builds a house for Habitat for Humanity, are they now automatically a saint for the rest of their lives? (yes I'm exaggerating, but you get what I mean). People get rich, it happens.

But lets look at Lupe Fiasco. He OPENLY says all these dark "forbidden" political, reactive things, as well as dropping some subliminals, and with that has openly embraced "who he is" and seems to be staying within that lane. He's on the extreme side at times but he doesn't have Kanye's celebrity and neither do the Roots, Mos Def, Talib Kweli etc, but they can openly rap and discuss these things.

Why does Kanye get a pass and when he tries to be "conscious" its all because EVERYONE ELSE JUST DOESN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT HES DOING...BUT I CANT EXPLAIN IT BECAUSE YOU JUST HAVE TO BE THERE...wherever there is.

I dunno how this isn't clear. Just please everyone admit that we don't really know what he's doing, only he does and until he breaks it down then we take it for what it is: Not his best effort lyrically and overall.
 
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