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.

Last Night
Kanye West Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Last night I was walking through the harbor,
Where the fishing boats are lying on the shore,
The news had traveled fast and everyone went to be,
Where the mayor was making a speech,
And the crowd started cheering,
When he talked about the glory of it all,
And the boys coming home from the war;

Last night, they were dancing in the streets,
And making music in the alleyways and bars,
From a house down in the old town came the sound of guitars,
Margarita was waiting inside,
With her long black hair hanging down beneath the red light,
And she smiled, for the boys coming home from the war,
The boys coming home from the war;

And they said we were heroes, they said we were fine,
We were kings in command, we had God on our side,
And we said "nothing will make us change in any way,
Since yesterday, we're just the same,
Since yesterday, nothing has changed,
Since yesterday, we're just the same,"
But I can feel there's a new kind of hunger inside,
To be satisfied, I saw it there last night;

Last night I was walking through the shadows,
Far away from all the music and the girls,
When I saw a soldier waiting with a woman in black,
And they stood without any word,
Just staring at a photograph of someone, and she began to cry,
For a boy left behind in the war,
Some boy left behind in the war;

And they said we were heroes, they said we were fine,
We were kings in command, we had God on our side,
And we said "nothing will make us change in any way,
Since yesterday, we're just the same,
Since yesterday, nothing has changed,
Since yesterday, we're just the same,"

But I can feel there's this new kind of hunger inside,
To be satisfied, I saw it there last night

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Kanye West's song "Last Night" describe a town celebrating the return of soldiers from war. The first verse sets the scene of a harbor where everyone has gathered to hear the mayor speak. The mayor's speech highlights the "glory of it all" and the crowd cheers as they welcome the boys back home. The second verse continues with the celebration, describing people dancing and making music in the streets and bars. The song introduces a character named Margarita, who waits for the boys to come home from the war with her black hair hanging down beneath red light. The chorus repeats the theme of the soldiers being hailed as heroes and having nothing change since yesterday. The third verse takes a turn as the singer walks away from the festivities and sees a soldier with a woman in black staring at a photograph of someone he left behind in the war. The sorrowful scene shows that for some, the war never fully ends and that there is a new kind of hunger inside, beyond the glory of the homecoming.

Line by Line Meaning

Last night I was walking through the harbor,
I was reminiscing about the war and walking along the shore where the boats are anchored.

Where the fishing boats are lying on the shore,
I saw the boats that have returned from the war.

The news had traveled fast and everyone went to be,
The news about the soldiers returning from the war spread quickly and everyone was eager to hear about it.

Where the mayor was making a speech,
The mayor was delivering a speech about the soldiers who fought in the war.

And the crowd started cheering,
The audience was appreciative of the soldiers and cheered in their honor.

When he talked about the glory of it all,
The mayor praised the soldiers for their bravery and valor.

And the boys coming home from the war;
The soldiers were coming back home and the crowd was excited to see them.

Last night, they were dancing in the streets,
People were celebrating the return of the soldiers and dancing.

And making music in the alleyways and bars,
Music was being played in the bars and alleys in celebration of the soldiers.

From a house down in the old town came the sound of guitars,
Music was being played on guitars from an old house in town.

Margarita was waiting inside,
A woman named Margarita was waiting in the house.

With her long black hair hanging down beneath the red light,
Margarita had long black hair that was illuminated by the red light.

And she smiled, for the boys coming home from the war,
Margarita was happy for the soldiers that were returning home.

The boys coming home from the war;
The soldiers were returning home and Margarita was happy.

And they said we were heroes, they said we were fine,
People praised the soldiers for their bravery and courage.

We were kings in command, we had God on our side,
The soldiers were confident in their abilities and felt like they had divine intervention.

And we said "nothing will make us change in any way,
The soldiers were confident that nothing would change them.

Since yesterday, we're just the same,
They were still the same people as they were before the war.

Since yesterday, nothing has changed,
Nothing had changed for them since before the war.

Since yesterday, we're just the same,"
They were still the same people they were before the war ended.

But I can feel there's a new kind of hunger inside,
However, the soldiers were experiencing a new type of longing inside them.

To be satisfied, I saw it there last night;
The soldiers were seeking emotional fulfillment which the artist observed.

Last night I was walking through the shadows,
The singer was reminiscing about the war and walking through the dimly lit streets.

Far away from all the music and the girls,
The artist was distant from the celebrating crowds and music.

When I saw a soldier waiting with a woman in black,
The singer observed a soldier waiting with a woman dressed in black.

And they stood without any word,
The soldier and the woman did not say anything to each other.

Just staring at a photograph of someone, and she began to cry,
They were looking at a picture of someone and the woman began to cry.

For a boy left behind in the war,
The picture was of a boy who was left behind in the war.

Some boy left behind in the war;
The boy had been left behind in the war and the woman was emotional about it.

But I can feel there's this new kind of hunger inside,
The singer still sensed the emotional longing within the soldiers.

To be satisfied, I saw it there last night
The desire for emotional fulfillment was still present within the soldiers which the singer had witnessed the night before.

Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: CHRIS DE BURGH

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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