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.

Sin City
Kanye West Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

10 a.m. it's west side bitch
She see the glasses, so obvious
Run from home, after tonight we up out of here
Don't go home 'cause they just ran me up out of there
All of those drunken nights then fuckin' every night
She run her mouth, but can't eat right
Don't read between the line and figure out how to be white
She smelled the line, baby you know you don't need white

Now look what we did now, the cops behind us
Ran that red light, did you have to be mindless? SMH,
We all know that cocaine killed Abel
From the scholar letters devour this
She stepped into hell, 'cause winter got cold
Don't look in her eyes, you might see straight to her soul
Don't say yes to that good, cause you'll never know
'Cause we lost in the city where sin is no biggy

I'm here with open arms and I got her
Here is where her heart belongs, her heart belongs with me
Here is where her heart
I'm here and I won't go without her
This is where her heart belongs it should be here with me
Here is where her heart

I beg for mercy today
They won't take me away
Take me away from you
Don't know what I would do
Don't let us die in vain
Don't let them see our pain
Wash these demons away
Wash these demons away

You are all unwelcome to Sin City
Yet the population still increases its density
And that increases its intensity
Which increases the propensity
To complicate your simplicity
No matter your ethnicity
All for the sake of publicity, in this city

Huh, bad bitches with ass shots
Use a house as a stash spot
Lexus coupe with the rag-top
I'm in the loop, warm tie like a ascot
I used to run with the have-nots
Kept the ave' hot just so we could have knots
A lot of niggas see they dreams in a glass pot
Until the judge throw you in that box and watch your ass rot
We broke all the commandments
Authentic, I'm hand-stitched
Come spend a day in my Hamlet
My city lost, some say it's Atlantis
I went to Cannes with a tan bitch, Francis
She rode the broom on the beach, that's a sand witch
So I ate her like it, haters hate to like it
Sex, drugs, and playin' dices, those are our favorite vices
But this life'll take a toll on ya
Well I guess you gotta pay the prices
I know who Christ is
And he never hung with the Saints it makes no sense to save the righteous
By the age ten, we were caged in
Now they raise men in the state pen
Fake friends, forgive 'em for they sins
God bless the city, amen

I'm here with open arms and I got her
Here is where her heart belongs her heart belongs with me
Here is where her heart
I'm here and I won't go without her
This is where her heart belongs it should be here with me

And now I'm one of the residents
They walk with none of the repercuss', but all of the decadence
And all the fuckin' debauchery
Adult film star, somebody's fuckin' watchin' me
I always feel like, I'm almost Phil like
'Cause I could feel it in the air tonight
I did some wrongs I wouldn't dare to right
And wrote some songs I wouldn't dare recite

But I am willing to share tonight
In the city that is as unfair as life

Overall Meaning

The song Sin City by Kanye West featuring John Legend is a reflection on the city life where sins are no big deal. The song expresses the struggles one faces for survival in the city as well as the addictive nature of the vices and the never-ending need for more. The lyrics express the desire to find someone to belong to and a place to call home, even in the midst of chaos.

The song starts with a conversation between two people wherein one is worried about the cops who are following them. It then goes on to describe the addiction and the temptation of using cocaine, and how it has taken countless lives. The song talks about the struggles of living in the city, where the population increases every day, and life becomes more complicated. It also talks about the sad reality of the justice system, where innocent people are put in jail, and the guilty roam free.

In the chorus, the singer invites the girl to find refuge in his arms, and he promises to protect her even if it means fighting the demons within themselves. The song then goes on to express the singer's desires to share his experiences with others and to shed light on the unfairness of life in the city.

Line by Line Meaning

10 a.m. it's west side bitch
It's 10 a.m. on the west side, bitch

She see the glasses, so obvious
She notices the glasses, so it's clear

Run from home, after tonight we up out of here
Escaping from home, we're leaving tonight

Don't go home 'cause they just ran me up out of there
Cannot go back home, got kicked out of there

All of those drunken nights then fuckin' every night
Spending drunken nights then having sex every night

She run her mouth, but can’t eat right
She talks too much, but cannot eat correctly

Don't read between the line and figure out how to be white
Don't try to interpret and be white

She smelled the line, baby you know you don't need white
She sniffed the drug, you don't need cocaine

Now look what we did now, the cops behind us
The cops are chasing us, look at what we did

Ran that red light, did you have to be mindless? SMH,
We ran the red light, did you have to be careless? Shaking my head,

We all know that cocaine killed Abel
We know that cocaine killed Abel (referring to the biblical story of Cain and Abel)

From the scholar letters devour this
Read and absorb the scholarly letters

She stepped into hell, 'cause winter got cold
She entered a bad situation because winter got cold

Don't look in her eyes, you might see straight to her soul
Avoid looking into her eyes, you might see her true intentions

Don't say yes to that good, cause you'll never know
Don't agree to something good, you'll never truly know

'Cause we lost in the city where sin is no biggy
Because we're lost in the city where sin is not a big deal

I'm here with open arms and I got her
I'm here with open arms and I have her

Here is where her heart belongs, her heart belongs with me
This is where her heart belongs, with me

I'm here and I won't go without her
I'm here and I won't leave without her

This is where her heart belongs it should be here with me
This is where her heart belongs, it should be with me

I beg for mercy today
I plead for mercy today

They won't take me away
They won't take me away

Take me away from you
Take me away from you

Don't know what I would do
I don't know what I would do

Don't let us die in vain
Don't let us die without reason

Don't let them see our pain
Don't let them see our suffering

Wash these demons away
Wash away these demons

You are all unwelcome to Sin City
You are all not welcome to Sin City

Yet the population still increases its density
Yet the population is still increasing its density

And that increases its intensity
And that increases its strength

Which increases the propensity
Which increases the likelihood

To complicate your simplicity
To make your simplicity more complicated

No matter your ethnicity
Regardless of your ethnicity

All for the sake of publicity, in this city
All for the sake of publicity, in this city

Huh, bad bitches with ass shots
Bad women with butt enhancements

Use a house as a stash spot
Use a house as a hiding place

Lexus coupe with the rag-top
Convertible Lexus coup

I'm in the loop, warm tie like a ascot
I'm in the know, wearing a warm tie like an ascot

I used to run with the have-nots
I used to associate with the less privileged

Kept the ave' hot just so we could have knots
Kept the avenue busy so we could have money

A lot of niggas see they dreams in a glass pot
Many people see their dreams in drugs

Until the judge throw you in that box and watch your ass rot
Until the judge puts you in jail and you waste away

We broke all the commandments
We broke all the rules

Authentic, I'm hand-stitched
Genuine, made with care

Come spend a day in my Hamlet
Come spend a day in my town

My city lost, some say it's Atlantis
My city is lost, some say it's like Atlantis

I went to Cannes with a tan bitch, Francis
I went to Cannes with a woman named Francis who has a tan

She rode the broom on the beach, that's a sand witch
She rode a broom on the beach, thus, she's a witch made of sand

So I ate her like it, haters hate to like it
So I enjoyed it, and haters can't help but respect it

Sex, drugs, and playin' dices, those are our favorite vices
Sex, drugs, and gambling are our favorite bad habits

But this life'll take a toll on ya
But this lifestyle will eventually harm you

Well I guess you gotta pay the prices
Well, I guess you have to face the consequences

I know who Christ is
I know who Christ is

And he never hung with the Saints it makes no sense to save the righteous
And he never associated with the Saints, so why prioritize saving the good people

By the age ten, we were caged in
By the age of ten, we were trapped

Now they raise men in the state pen
Now they raise men in prison

Fake friends, forgive 'em for they sins
Fake friends, forgive them for their sins

God bless the city, amen
God bless the city, amen

And now I'm one of the residents
And now I'm one of the inhabitants

They walk with none of the repercuss', but all of the decadence
They walk with no consequences, but with all the extravagance

And all the fuckin' debauchery
And all the damn excess and corruption

Adult film star, somebody's fuckin' watchin' me
An adult movie star, someone is always watching me

I always feel like, I'm almost Phil like
I always feel like I'm almost filled up

'Cause I could feel it in the air tonight
Because I can sense that something is about to happen

I did some wrongs I wouldn't dare to right
I did some bad deeds that I wouldn't attempt to correct

And wrote some songs I wouldn't dare recite
I've written some songs that I wouldn't dare to perform

But I am willing to share tonight
However, I am willing to reveal tonight

In the city that is as unfair as life
In this city that is as unjust as life

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CHE SMITH, CYDEL CHARLES YOUNG, JOSEPH YOUNG III, MALIK YUSEF EL SHABBAZ JONES, TEYANA MESHAY TAYLOR, TRAVIS SCOTT

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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