Ye, born Kanye Omari West on June 8, 1977, is an American rapper, singer, s… Read Full Bio ↴Ye, born Kanye Omari West on June 8, 1977, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. He is one of the most prominent figures in hip hop, known for his diverse musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After dropping out of college to pursue a career in music, West began producing for regional artists in the Chicago area. As an in-house producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, he co-produced albums including Jay-Z's The Blueprint (2001) before signing with the label as a recording artist. West's debut studio album, The College Dropout (2004), received critical acclaim and produced the Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "Slow Jamz." He topped the chart four other times with the singles "Gold Digger" (2005), "Stronger" (2007), "E.T." (2011, as a featured artist), and "Carnival" (2024).

West's second and third studio albums, Late Registration (2005) and Graduation (2007), both debuted at the top of the Billboard 200, with the latter becoming his most commercially successful to date. Three of his subsequent albums—808s & Heartbreak (2008), My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010), and The Life of Pablo (2016)—were certified triple platinum, while Yeezus (2013) was certified double platinum. Although not as well-received critically as his previous works, Ye (2018), Jesus Is King (2019), and Donda (2021) continued West's streak of consecutive number-one debuts on the Billboard 200. West has also released collaborative albums including Watch the Throne (2011) with Jay-Z, Kids See Ghosts (2018) with Kid Cudi, and Vultures 1 and Vultures 2 (2024) with Ty Dolla Sign. In fashion design, he has collaborated with Nike, Inc., Louis Vuitton, and Gap Inc. on clothing and footwear, and led the Yeezy collaboration with Adidas.

One of the world's best-selling music artists with 160 million records sold, West has won 24 Grammy Awards, the joint 11th-most of all time and the most awarded for any hip hop artist along with Jay-Z. His other accolades include a Billboard Artist Achievement Award, a joint-record three Brit Awards for Best International Male Solo Artist, and the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. West holds the joint record with Bob Dylan for most albums (four) topping the annual Pazz & Jop critic poll. Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2005 and 2015. West's first six solo albums were included on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list in 2020, with the same publication naming him one of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.

West's outspoken views have received significant media coverage. He has been a frequent source of controversy due to his conduct on social media, at award shows, and in public settings, as well as his comments on the music and fashion industries, U.S. politics, race, and slavery. His Christian faith, high-profile marriage to Kim Kardashian, and mental health have also been topics of media attention. In 2020, West launched an unsuccessful independent presidential campaign that advocated for a consistent life ethic. In October 2022, he was widely condemned and lost many sponsors and partnerships, including his collaborations with Adidas, Gap, and Balenciaga, after making a series of antisemitic statements, including denying the Holocaust.

Bring Me Down )
Kanye West Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I always knew that one day, they'd try to bring me down
Way down, way down
One day, they'd tried to bring me down
Always knew that one day, they'd try to bring me down
Way down, they'd try to bring me down

We gon' to mass today, we have to pray
Besides what the pastor say, I have to say

Since Pac passed away
Most you rappers don't even deserve a track from me
You see, if you ever wanted to ever be anything
There'd always be somebody that shoot down any dream
There'll always be haters, that's the way it is
Hater niggas marry hater bitches and have hater kids
But they gon' have to take my life 'fore they take my drive
'Cause when I was barely livin', that's what kept me alive
Just the thought that maybe it could be better than what we at at this time
Make it out of this grind, 'fore I'm out of my mind
And get some leeway on the he say, she say
Your girl don't like me, how long has she been gay?
Spanish girls say "Yo, no hablo inglés"
And everybody want to run to me for their single
It's funny how these wack niggas need my help
Wasn't around when I couldn't feed myself
Dawg, if I was you, I wouldn't feel myself
Dawg, if I was you, I'd kill myself
Made a mil' myself and I'm still myself
And I'mma look in the mirror if I need some help
Y'all don't from the heart, y'all all frontin'
Everybody feel a way about K but at least y'all feel something

Why you come here
I bet it only it was forget to get you
What kind of dream we found

See I'm often at your cross ways
Forgetting it was that Heaven let ya
They'd tried to bring me down

I always knew that one day, they'd try to bring me down
Way down, way down
Always knew that one day, they'd tried to bring me down
Way down, they'd try to bring me down
Always knew that one day, they'd try to bring me down
Way down, they'd try to bring me down, down down, down down, no no no

Overall Meaning

In the song "Bring Me Down," Kanye West speaks directly to his haters and critics, acknowledging that he always knew that one day they would try to bring him down. He references his motivation and persevering attitude throughout the years, even when he couldn't feed himself. He talks about his confidence and sense of self, using his success as motivation to continue to believe in himself, even when others doubt him.

The first verse reflects on the struggles he faced in the early days of his career and how he uses his experiences to motivate himself to keep pushing forward. He acknowledges the haters he has accumulated over his time in the spotlight, recognizing the negativity they bring but refusing to let them get in the way of his goals. He also acknowledges the impact of rapper Tupac's death and how it influenced his mindset throughout his career.

The second verse speaks more directly to his haters, reminding them that they will never be able to take away his drive and determination. He also references the jealousy and envy that some people have towards him, describing how they will settle for mediocre success while he continues to push for greatness. He further elaborates on the criticism from those around him, highlighting the sense of satisfaction he gets from knowing that his haters feel something about him, even if it's negative.

Overall, "Bring Me Down" is a song about resilience, motivation, and self-confidence. Kanye West acknowledges the negativity and criticism he's faced throughout his career while using it as fuel to continue to succeed.

Line by Line Meaning

I always knew that one day, they'd try to bring me down
I've always known that someday, people will try to bring me down

Way down, way down
Really far down, almost to the bottom

We gon' to mass today, we have to pray
We're going to church today, we need to pray

Besides what the pastor say, I have to say
In addition to what the pastor says, I have something to say

Since Pac passed away
Since Tupac died

Most you rappers don't even deserve a track from me
Most of the rappers out there don't even deserve to be on the same track as me

You see, if you ever wanted to ever be anything
You know, if you ever wanted to achieve anything in life

There'd always be somebody that shoot down any dream
There will always be someone who tries to crush your dreams

There'll always be haters, that's the way it is
There will always be people who hate on you, that's just how it is

Hater niggas marry hater bitches and have hater kids
Hateful people end up marrying other hateful people and have hateful children

But they gon' have to take my life 'fore they take my drive
But they'll have to kill me before they take away my ambition

'Cause when I was barely livin', that's what kept me alive
Because when I was struggling to survive, my drive is what kept me going

Just the thought that maybe it could be better than what we at at this time
Just the idea that things could be better than they are now

Make it out of this grind, 'fore I'm out of my mind
I need to succeed and get out of this tough situation before I go crazy

And get some leeway on the he say, she say
And get some room to breathe from all the gossip and rumors

Your girl don't like me, how long has she been gay?
Your girlfriend doesn't like me, maybe she's gay?

Spanish girls say "Yo, no hablo inglés"
Spanish girls say "I don't speak English"

And everybody want to run to me for their single
Everyone wants me to feature on their song

It's funny how these wack niggas need my help
It's ironic how these bad rappers need my assistance

Wasn't around when I couldn't feed myself
They weren't there when I was struggling to provide for myself

Dawg, if I was you, I wouldn't feel myself
If I were you, I wouldn't be so arrogant

Dawg, if I was you, I'd kill myself
If I were you, I would be so ashamed that I would want to die

Made a mil' myself and I'm still myself
I made a million dollars and I'm still the same person

And I'mma look in the mirror if I need some help
And if I need to reassess myself, I'll look in the mirror

Y'all don't from the heart, y'all all frontin'
You guys aren't sincere or genuine, you're just putting up a front

Everybody feel a way about K but at least y'all feel something
Everyone has an opinion about Kanye, but at least they feel something

Why you come here
Why did you come here?

I bet it only it was forget to get you
I'm willing to bet that you only came to be forgotten

What kind of dream we found
What kind of dream have we discovered?

See I'm often at your cross ways
I often find myself at a crossroads with you

Forgetting it was that Heaven let ya
Forgetting that God allowed you to be here

They'd tried to bring me down
They tried to bring me down

I always knew that one day, they'd try to bring me down
I always knew that, one day, people would try to bring me down

Way down, way down
Really far down, almost to the bottom

Always knew that one day, they'd tried to bring me down
I always knew that, one day, people would try to bring me down

Way down, they'd try to bring me down
Really far down, they would try to bring me down

Lyrics © Ultra Tunes, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Kanye West, Jon Brion, Antony Williams

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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