West began making beats and rapping in the early 90s in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois, when he formed the rap group Go Getters with Chicago natives GLC and Really Doe. He later gained nationwide popularity through his work in New York, where he began producing tracks for artists such as Jay-Z, Twista, Mase, Talib Kweli and Alicia Keys.
West's style of production often utilizes pitched-up vocal samples, usually from soul songs, with his drums and instruments. The first major label song he produced was The Truth by Beanie Sigel, and his first major release featuring his trademark vocal sampling style was This Can’t Be Life, a track from Jay-Z’s The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. West said he sped up the drum beat of Dr. Dre’s Xxplosive to use as a replacement for his drums on This Can’t Be Life.
West has said that Wu-Tang Clan producer RZA influenced him in his style, and has said on numerous occasions that Wu-Tang rappers Ghostface Killah and Ol’ Dirty Bastard were some of his all-time favorites. Said Kanye West: “Wu-Tang? Me and my friends talk about this all the time… We think Wu-Tang had one of the biggest impacts as far as a movement. From slang to style of dress, skits, the samples. Similar to the [production] style I use, RZA has been doing that.”
In 2004 (after being pushed aside by many record companies who felt he wasn't a marketable hip-hop artist), he managed to release his debut solo album, The College Dropout on Roc-A-Fella Records. The album received critical acclaim, including 10 Grammy nominations and the awards for Album of the Year and Best Rap Album, as well as defining the style for which West would become known: "wordplay" and heavy sampling of the 70s soul and RnB tracks.
Not content to rest on his laurels, West invested two million dollars and hired a string orchestra to help with his latest effort, Late Registration (2005). West collaborated with Jon Brion to help develop the sound of the album, despite his lack of experience in hip hop production. The album received widespread acclaim like its predecessor and again claimed the Best Rap Album award at the Grammys.
West was no stranger to controversy, such as storming out at the 2004 American Music Awards after not receiving Best New Artist, but just days after the release of his second studio album, West began embroiled in a major controversy after going off-script during Hurricane Katrina broadcast, proclaiming "George Bush doesn't care about black people", which Bush claimed was "one the most disgusting moments of my presidency". In January 2006, West posed on the cover of Rolling Stone wearing a crown of thorns, once again attracting controversy.
For his third release, West was keen to produce songs that could be used more effectively when performing in arenas. For Graduation, the third and ultimately final entry into his 'Dropout Bear' series, West drew musical inspiration from The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash. In the lead up to the album he became involved in a friendly rivalry with 50 Cent over which of the two artists' upcoming albums would sell more, as they were both released on the same day. West ultimately sold 957,000 copies in the first week of release, outselling Curtis by a large margin. The albums lead single "Stronger" sampled Daft Punk, and was West's third number one on Billboard 200. Many proclaim West's 'victory' over 50 Cent to be the 'death' of gangster rap as the dominant hip hop subgenre.
Following the death of his mother, Donda West, and the end of his engagement to long term partner Alexis Phifer, West abandoned his initial plan to release a fourth album entitled Good Ass Job, and shocked his fans by releasing 808s and Heartbreak, which was full of autotune singing, extensive use of the TR-808 drum machine, themes of love, loss and loneliness and very little rapping. It received slightly more mixed reviews than his previous efforts, but many critics cite 808s and Heartbreak as the catalyst for a new wave of rappers, most prominently Drake, due to its themes which were uncommon in mainstream hip-hop.
West's grief seemed to lead to a spiral out of control which culminated in him storming on stage at the 2009 VMAs to interrupt Taylor Swift's award acceptance speech to proclaim that Beyoncé deserved the award instead, in a move that is infamous in pop culture and was vilified by the entire world in the aftermath. West disappeared from the public eye following this, and his upcoming tour with Lady Gaga was cancelled. The disgraced West, who was described as a 'jackass' by President Obama, seemed to have much work to do to return to the his former glory, but he was about to embark on what some critics consider to be the best run of his career.
West holed up in Hawaii for a few months and worked tirelessly to produce what many consider to be his magnum opus. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, West's fifth studio album, was released in November 2010 to rave reviews from critics, which solidified his comeback. In stark contrast to his previous effort, which featured a minimalist sound, Dark Fantasy adopts a maximalist philosophy and deals with themes of celebrity and excess. The record included the international hit All of the Lights, and Billboard hits Power, Monster, and Runaway, the latter of which accompanied a 35-minute film of the same name. During this time, West initiated the free music program G.O.O.D. Fridays through his website, offering a free download of previously unreleased songs each Friday of the week, a portion of which were included on the album. Dark Fantasy went on to go platinum in the United States, but its omission as a contender for Album of the Year at the 54th Grammy Awards was viewed as a "snub" by several media outlets.
Following a headlining set at Coachella 2011 that was described by The Hollywood Reporter as "one of greatest hip-hop sets of all time," West released the collaborative album Watch the Throne with Jay-Z. By employing a sales strategy that released the album digitally weeks before its physical counterpart, Watch the Throne became one of the few major label albums in the Internet age to avoid a leak. Niggas in Paris became the record's highest charting single, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2012, West released the compilation album Cruel Summer, a collection of tracks by artists from West's record label GOOD Music. Cruel Summer produced four singles, two of which charted within the top twenty of the Hot 100: Mercy and Clique. West also directed a film of the same name that premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival in custom pyramid-shaped screening pavilion featuring seven screens.
Sessions for West's sixth solo effort begin to take shape in early 2013 in his own personal loft's living room at a Paris hotel. Determined to "undermine the commercial," he once again brought together close collaborators and attempted to incorporate Chicago drill, dancehall, acid house, and industrial music. Primarily inspired by architecture, West's perfectionist tendencies led him to contact producer Rick Rubin fifteen days shy of its due date to strip down the record's sound in favor of a more minimalist approach. Initial promotion of his sixth album included worldwide video projections of the album's music and live television performances.
Yeezus, West's sixth album, was released June 18, 2013 to rave reviews from critics. It became the rapper's sixth consecutive number one debut. Def Jam issued "Black Skinhead" to radio in July 2013 as the album's lead single. On September 6, 2013, Kanye West announced he would be headlining his first solo tour in five years, to support Yeezus, with fellow American rapper Kendrick Lamar, accompanying him along the way.
In November 2013, West stated that he was working on and recording his next studio album. The album was to be produced by Rick Rubin and Q-Tip.. Kanye released a single entitled "Only One", on December 31, 2014 featuring Paul McCartney, as well as collaborating with McCartney on the Rihanna track " FourFiveSeconds", released in January 2015. West appeared on the SNL 40th Anniversary Special on February 15th 2015 to debut a new song Wolves, featuring Sia Furler and Vic Mensa. Another single, entitled "All Day" was released on March 2, 2015, again featuring McCartney as well as Theophilus London, Allan Kingdom. In June of the same year, Kanye headlined the Glastonbury Festival in the UK, which garnered much outrage including a petition with 135,000 signatures against his appearance, leading to West declaring he was "the greatest living rock star on the planet" towards the end of his set, and the performance receiving a mixed reaction among fans and critics, due to its controversy. In September 2015, West performed {album artist kanye west]808s and Heartbreak in its entirety at the Hollywood Bowl over two nights, which received rave reviews a featured a 60 person orchestra, guests such as Kid Cudi and Mr Hudson, and over 70 dancers. West released "Facts" at the turn of the new year.
West had originally stated that his upcoming album would be called 'So Help Me God' before changing the title to 'SWISH' and announcing that it would be released on February 11th. In January 2016 he released "Real Friends" and "No More Parties in LA", featuring Kendrick Lamar. As well as renaming the album once again to "Waves", West became involved in several twitter controversies in the lead up to the album, including with rapper Wiz Khalifa after he suggested that West had stolen the idea of the wave from other artists and seemingly dissed Kim Kardashian, which later turned out to be a misunderstanding over the use of "KK". West again changed the name of the album just days before it's release, this time to "{album artist=kanye west]The Life of Pablo", and debuted it at Madison Square Garden on February 11, but delayed it's release for a few days. On February 14, West released the album are a performance on SNL. West initially claimed the album was to be a Tidal exclusive, but it was later released on other streaming platforms, although it is yet to receive a physical release. West continued to tinker with the mixing and production of the album even after it was released, and it was updated several times, including the final song "Saint Pablo" in June 2016. West had also made public his plans to release an album in the summer of 2016, entitled "Turbo Grafx 16", based on the 1990s games console, which never surfaced, although he did release a single thought to be from the upcoming G.O.O.D. Music album "Cruel Winter", called Champions. In the same month, a video for "Famous" was released, including nude wax figures of celebrities such as West, Kim Kardashian, Taylor Swift, Donald Trump, Chris Brown, Rihanna, Bill Cosby and George W. Bush.
In August 2016, West embarked on the ambitious Saint Pablo Tour, which included a mobile stage suspended from the ceiling. After the violent robbery of Kim's jewellery in Paris in October, West had to end a show early and postpone shows following it. In the following performances, West cancelled shows early and went on long winded rants against fellow artists such as Jay Z and Beyoncé among others, as well as making controversial political statements including implying his support for Donald Trump. On November 21st 2016, West cancelled the rest of the tour and was hospitalised due to sleep deprivation and extreme dehydration. Following this, West disappeared from social media, and only resurfaced 11 months later with a series of tweets which included many philosophical thoughts and the announcements two albums in June 2018, a solo album which would include 7 tracks on June 1, and a collaboration with Kid Cudi to be released on June 8.
On August 29th, 2021, Kanye released his 10th highly anticipated studio release Donda via GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings after a series of three listening parties.
Personal life:
West was born in Atlanta, Georgia. When he was three years old (as mentioned in Hey Mama) his parents divorced, and he moved with his mother to Chicago, Illinois. His father, Ray West, was a former Black Panther; one of the first black photojournalists at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution; and is now a Christian counselor. Kanye’s late mother, Dr. Donda West, worked as a Professor of English at Clark Atlanta University, and the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University before retiring to serve as Kanye’s manager. He was later raised in an upper middle class background, attending Polaris High School in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois after living in Chicago.
After attending The American Academy of Art, a Chicago art school, West attended Chicago State University but eventually dropped out due to poor grades and to continue working on his music career. While attending school, West produced for local artists, including on rapper Grav’s debut album Down to Earth. He later gained fame by producing hit singles for major hip hop/R&B artists, including Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Cam’ron, Paul Wall, Common, Mobb Deep, Jermaine Dupri, Scarface, The Game, Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson and John Legend among others. He also “ghost-produced” for his once mentor Deric Angelettie according to his song Last Call and the credits of Nas’ Poppa Was a Playa.
West was married to Kim Kardashian. Together they had four children: daughters named North (*2013) and Chicago (*2018); and sons named Saint (*2015) and Psalm (*2019). In 2021, Kardashian filed for divorce.
In 2020, West launched an unsuccessful independent presidential campaign that primarily advocated for a consistent life ethic. In 2022, he faced backlash and lost a number of sponsors and partnerships—including his collaborations with Adidas, Gap, and Balenciaga—after making antisemitic statements.
Self Concious
Kanye West Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A way that all, all falls down
I tell you oh, it all falls down
A way that all, all falls down
I tell you oh, it all falls down
Kanye West:
Man i promise she's so self conscious she has no idea what she's doing in college that major that she majored in don't make no money but she wont drop out her parents will look at her funny. Now tell me that aint insecurrr. The concept of school seems so securrr. Sophmore three yurrs aint picked a carurr. She like fuck it I'll just stay down hurr and do hair cause that's enough money to buy her a few pairs of airs cause her baby daddy don't really care. she's so precious with the peer pressure, couldnt afford a car so she named her daughter alexus. She had hair so long that it looked like weave then she cut it all off now she look like eve. And she be dealing with some issues that you can't believe single black female addicted to retail.and well
Chorus:
Kanye west:
Man i promise im so self conscious that's why you always see me with at least one of my watches rollies and poshers done drove me crazy i can't even pronounce nothing pass that ver-say-see. Then i spent 400 bucks on this just to be like nigga you aint up on this. And i can't even go to the grocery store without some ones that's clean and a shirt with a team it seems we living the american dream. But people highest up got the lowest self esteem. The prettiest people do the ugliest things for the road to riches and diamond rings. We shine because they hate us, floss cause they degrade us, we trying to buy back our 40 acres. And for that paper look how low we'll stoop even if you in a benz you still a nigga in a coupe.
Chorus:
Kanye West:
I say fuck the police that's how i treat em. We buy our way out of jail but we can't buy freedom. We'll buy a lot of clothes when we don't really need em things we buy to cover up what's inside. Cause they make us hate ourself and love they wealth that's why shortys hollering "where the ballas at". Drug dealer buy jordans crackhead buy crack and a white man get paid off of all of that. But i aint even gonna act holyer than thou just fuck it, i went to jacob with 25 thou before i had a house and i'd do it again cause i wanna be on 106th and park pushing a benz. I wanna act ballerific like it's all terrific i got a couple past due bills wont get specific. Got a problem with spendin before i get it. We all self conscious im just the first to admit it.
Chorus:
Till fades out
The lyrics to Kanye West's "Self-Conscious" are an insightful commentary on society's obsession with wealth and status, and the insecurity that underlies this obsession. The song starts with the chorus sung by Syleena Johnson, "A way that all, all falls down, I tell you oh, it all falls down," which suggests that our pursuit of material things will ultimately lead to our downfall. Kanye West's verses explore this theme further, starting with the story of a young woman who is so insecure that she stays in college despite her major not leading to much money, simply because dropping out would make her parents look down on her. This line highlights the pressure that young people face to conform to society's expectations, even if it means sacrificing their own dreams and desires.
The song continues to draw attention to the issue of self-consciousness, with Kanye West acknowledging his own insecurities, such as his obsession with expensive watches and designer clothing. He also criticizes the way that society values wealth and status above all else, with the "prettiest people" doing the "ugliest things" to achieve success. By the end of the song, Kanye West has come to the conclusion that we are all self-conscious in some way, but he is the first to admit it. This line suggests that by acknowledging our own insecurities, we can begin to work through them and move towards a more fulfilling and authentic life.
Line by Line Meaning
A way that all, all falls down
The flawed nature of society will always bring about its destruction
I tell you oh, it all falls down
I'm warning you that society is fragile and flawed and will inevitably collapse
Man i promise she's so self conscious she has no idea what she's doing in college
She lacks confidence in herself and her ability to excel academically
that major that she majored in don't make no money but she wont drop out
Her major is not lucrative, but she doesn't have the self-assuredness to change course
her parents will look at her funny. Now tell me that aint insecurrr.
Her fear of losing the approval of her parents is driving her insecurity
The concept of school seems so securrr.
The structure and routine of education provides her with a sense of safety
Sophmore three yurrs aint picked a carurr.
Despite being in her third year of college, she hasn't chosen a career path
She like fuck it I'll just stay down hurr and do hair
She's settled for a career path that's easy and reliable, even if it's not fulfilling
cause that's enough money to buy her a few pairs of airs
She's content with a basic income that will allow her to buy a few luxuries
cause her baby daddy don't really care.
She's struggling to provide for her child because her partner is absent and uninvolved
she's so precious with the peer pressure,
She's sensitive to the opinions of others and feels pressure to conform
couldnt afford a car so she named her daughter alexus.
She lacks the resources to afford a car, so she gave her daughter a luxurious name
She had hair so long that it looked like weave then she cut it all off now she look like eve.
She changed her appearance drastically and challenged societal beauty standards
And she be dealing with some issues that you can't believe single black female addicted to retail.
She's struggling with personal issues that others might not comprehend, and has become addicted to shopping to cope
Man i promise im so self conscious that's why you always see me with at least one of my watches
I lack confidence and am trying to compensate by flaunting my wealth
poshers done drove me crazy i can't even pronounce nothing pass that ver-say-see.
Luxury brands have become so important to me that I can't even pronounce them correctly
And i can't even go to the grocery store without some ones that's clean and a shirt with a team
I'm so image-conscious that I can't even run errands without looking immaculate
it seems we living the american dream. But people highest up got the lowest self esteem.
We're pursuing the illusion of the American Dream, but even those with wealth and power are plagued by self-doubt
The prettiest people do the ugliest things for the road to riches and diamond rings.
People will sacrifice their integrity and do immoral things to attain wealth and status
We shine because they hate us, floss cause they degrade us, we trying to buy back our 40 acres.
We use material goods to assert our worth in a society that has traditionally oppressed us
And for that paper look how low we'll stoop even if you in a benz you still a nigga in a coupe.
We'll do whatever it takes to acquire wealth, even if it means putting ourselves in danger or using inappropriate language.
I say fuck the police that's how i treat em.
I have a negative and angry attitude towards law enforcement
We buy our way out of jail but we can't buy freedom.
We use wealth to evade consequences, but it cannot erase systemic injustices
things we buy to cover up what's inside.
Material possessions serve as a mask to hide our insecurities and inner struggles
Cause they make us hate ourself and love they wealth that's why shortys hollering 'where the ballas at'.
Society shapes us to hate ourselves and admire those with material wealth, which is why people are always searching for the rich and famous.
Drug dealer buy jordans crackhead buy crack and a white man get paid off of all of that.
The drug trade perpetuates systemic inequality and benefits the wealthy, white individuals who profit from it
But i aint even gonna act holyer than thou just fuck it,
I'm not pretending to be morally superior to others
I went to jacob with 25 thou before i had a house and i'd do it again cause i wanna be on 106th and park pushing a benz.
I spent a large sum of money on jewelry before buying a house because I wanted to project a wealthy image and appear on a popular TV show
I wanna act ballerific like it's all terrific
I want to flaunt my wealth and project an image of success regardless of the reality of my situation
i got a couple past due bills wont get specific.
I have financial responsibilities that I haven't met, but I won't say what they are
Got a problem with spendin before i get it.
I have a habit of overspending and living beyond my means
We all self conscious im just the first to admit it.
All of us are insecure in some way, but I'm the first to acknowledge it openly
Contributed by Carson J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@saqib7965
Being creative and not being scared on taking risks making hit records that also have that classic feel to them and on top of that..having a real message is what makes kanye west a genius. Not many artist in music history have 10 classic albums 7 of his own and 3 as a producer for the rappers albums below..
Jay z - the blueprint
Common - Be
Pusha T - Daytona
kanye has 84 platinum songs out of 184 songs
75 Grammy nominations.. the 4th most ever kanye won 24 Grammy's in total.
Classics 🎖
Mainstream success 🎖
Critically acclaimed 🎖
All huge achievements it's super rare and kanye has influenced pretty much everyone we listen to. You can hate the man but you can't deny his one of a kind legendary career.
@YahwehYireh
Watching his documentary really is a eye opener, seeing him believe so much in himself when others doubted him is truly inspiring.
@EasyWayMel
YURRRRR SHIT crazy shit makes me feel like fighting for something. Kanye West is a fucking genius.
@courtneyhartwell3461
Just finished it myself. What a great documentary. I cannot wait for the next two episodes.
@hsgny2305
Exactly
@rdupiton9592
He gave us everything he had in him and it’s like we shunned him almost, look what he turned to and he gets ALL the attention. Who’s really to blame?
@rafaelorozco7427
@Courtney Hartwell it’s not over there 2 more episodes coming up
@RylanForever
Can we appreciate how when he goes into the bathroom the acoustics change to give him an echo
@FKiMusic
best part
@oldahhha2127
You said it
@bejentle7774
The little details matters. Kanye the genuis