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.
What You Do To Me
Kanye West Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You just got to be real with me
Is you cheating on me?
Nigga, there you go with that shit again
Baby, you know how I feel about you
I'm trying to make this work
My guys keeping coming to me
How this making me look?
Buying you them rings
Them leathers; getting your hair done every week
Gotta let me know somethin'
Look, if you don't trust me
Why the fuck is you with me?
Coming at me on some Jay-Z shit
Who you with?
Calling my cell, leaving crazy voicemails
Figured you can get me if you called my girl, Nikki
But she was with me, and I was home at seven fifty
But that was when he got technical with it
Talkin 'bout he called my house at seven fifty-nine
I don't keep up with the time
What the fuck?
You think I'm lyin'?
It all comes down to you trust me or you won't
The bottom line is you love me or you don't
And do you need me baby?
Yeah, you know I do
So you believe me, baby?
Yeah, for sure I do
Then he gave me a hug, jumped in the trunk, and went to work
He managed to leave without getting his feelings hurt
So I sat back, flamed up the weed, and thought up
Who the hell done run their mouth and almost got me caught up?
I said: "Boy, don't you know what you do to me?"
He said: "But I don't usually."
I said: "Boy, don't you know what you do to me?"
He said: "You know I don't usually"
I said: "Boy, don't you know what you do to me?"
I be hatin' when you actin' brand new to me
Look, you can't be tellin' people that you doin' me
You gotta keep this, here, between you and me
Look, I feel bad about the fact that you gotta creep with me
When your man be around, you don't speak to me
When my girl be around, I see you peepin' me
When they both ain't around, you be freakin' me
We used to do it secretly
Now you all talk
You tellin' everybody like you want to get caught
I think my girl catchin' on
'Cause my story keep changin' up
You gotta stop callin' up my crib and hangin' up
Truthfully, if you tellin' people that you doin' me
Then you tellin' me that you don't even want to screw with me
And that's a shame
I can't even do my thang
You get dick, and you go temporarily insane
You think it's a game, but I don't want to play no more
You want to stay, but you can't stay no more
You want to be with K, but that ain't okay no more
You got somethin' to say, but you ain't gotta say no more
I said: "Girl, don't you know what you do to me?"
She said: "But I don't usually."
I said: "Girl, don't you know what you do to me?"
She said: "You know I don't usually."
I said: "Girl, don't you know what you do to me?"
I be hatin' when you actin' brand new to me
I'm a tell your ass now, baby, truthfully
I ain't told nobody that you doin' me
It seem like fine hos is hard to find mostly
The type of girls that give you their whereabouts supposedly
And when you check, they ain't never where they're supposed to be
I learned my lesson; now I only fuck hos that's close to me
Don't get me wrong; you still gotta live close to me
This ain't a song I made for ugly hos to start approachin' me
You know how this go; I diss hos
I'm very mean now
My roley face green now
I bring your self esteem down
I knew since the day I met you if I would fuck you or not
So later on I asked my girl how many bitches you got
I never loved you a lot, but then this nigga got turned out
He told his boy that told his boy, and now the word's out
My man approachin' me with rumors that he heard about
But dude a lame
He probably asked you can he work it out?
I swear, y'all, betta keep the game on 'em
Yeah, y'all, now watch me change on 'em
Rule one: never tell your nigga who you fucked
And always smile back if he tell you he in love
Rule two: most men try to control you
Take my advice, 'cause it's so true what women go through
And rule three: you thinkin' he don't cheat and he committed?
He still get invitations from the last girl he been with
Bet his ho be mad; I bet she tell you that he hit it
Just check inside his pocket; find another bitches digits
I said: "Boy, don't you know what you do to me?"
He said: "But I don't usually."
I said: "Boy, don't you know what you do to me?"
He said: "You know I don't usually."
I said: "Boy, don't you know what you do to me?"
I be hatin' when you actin' brand new to me
I'm a tell your ass now, baby, truthfully
I swear to God, baby, it should be you and me
Yeah, you know what I'm sayin'
These girls out here be thinkin' they caught up and shit
Fuck that; spend that nigga, yo; you know what I'm sayin'
You catch yourself up; you go to him
Let that nigga come to you with no type of evidence
You ain't got shit on you
I'm a do my thing
Word up, uh
Pimp on, baby
The lyrics to Kanye West's song "What You Do To Me" depict a couple who is struggling with trust issues. The lyrics begin with the female confronting the male, asking him if he is cheating on her. The male responds to her by saying that he loves her but wants her to be real with him. He is confronted with the fact that his guys have been telling him that they are seeing her with other men, and this troubles him. The woman reassures him that she wants to make the relationship work, but the two continue to argue back and forth as they struggle with the trust issues they share.
As the song progresses, it becomes clear that both parties are struggling with fidelity issues. There are allegations being made about both parties sleeping with other people, and the trust issues they share appear to be driven by this. There is an underlying sense of desperation in the song, as both parties seem to want the relationship to work despite the challenges they are facing. Ultimately, the song is a reflection on the difficulties that can arise in any relationship where trust is lacking.
Line by Line Meaning
Man, you know I love you right?
The singer expresses his love for the person he is talking to and sets the tone for the conversation that follows.
You just got to be real with me
The singer asks the person to be honest with him in their relationship.
Is you cheating on me?
The singer asks directly if the other person is cheating on him.
Nigga, there you go with that shit again
The other person is annoyed by the artist's questions and defensiveness, which has occurred before.
Baby, you know how I feel about you
The artist tries to reassure the other person that he cares about them.
I'm trying to make this work
The singer puts in effort to make the relationship work, despite the tension.
My guys keeping coming to me / Telling me they seeing you and stuff
The singer's friends are reporting sightings of the other person with someone else, causing insecurity in the singer.
How this making me look?
The artist asks how they appear to others when their partner may be cheating on them.
Buying you them rings / Them leathers; getting your hair done every week / Gotta let me know somethin'
The artist expresses that he has spent money on the other person and wants transparency about their commitment to the relationship.
Look, if you don't trust me / Why the fuck is you with me?
The artist questions why the other person is in the relationship if they don't trust him.
Coming at me on some Jay-Z shit / Who you with?
The singer compares the other person's questioning to Jay-Z's famous line 'Who you wit?' and continues to demand accountability.
Calling my cell, leaving crazy voicemails / Figured you can get me if you called my girl, Nikki / But she was with me, and I was home at seven fifty / But that was when he got technical with it / Talkin 'bout he called my house at seven fifty-nine / I don't keep up with the time / What the fuck? / You think I'm lyin'?
The artist recounts a story where the other person left angry voicemails and tried to catch him in a lie by calling his house at specific times. The artist feels frustrated and doesn't understand why the other person doesn't trust him.
It all comes down to you trust me or you won't / The bottom line is you love me or you don't
The singer distills their relationship issues to a trust and love problem, asking the other person to be honest about their feelings.
And do you need me baby? / Yeah, you know I do / So you believe me, baby? / Yeah, for sure I do
The singer and the other person confirm that they need and believe in each other.
Then he gave me a hug, jumped in the trunk, and went to work / He managed to leave without getting his feelings hurt / So I sat back, flamed up the weed, and thought up / Who the hell done run their mouth and almost got me caught up?
The singer describes how their conversation ended and reflects on who may have gossiped about their relationship.
I said: "Boy, don't you know what you do to me?" / He said: "But I don't usually." / He said: "You know I don't usually"
The artist and the other person repeat lines from earlier in the song, acknowledging their trust issues and asking for honesty.
I be hatin' when you actin' brand new to me / Look, you can't be tellin' people that you doin' me / You gotta keep this, here, between you and me / Look, I feel bad about the fact that you gotta creep with me
The artist expresses frustration that the other person might be telling people about their relationship and reminds them to keep it private. He also feels guilty about their secretive relationship and the effect it may be having on them.
When your man be around, you don't speak to me / When my girl be around, I see you peepin' me / When they both ain't around, you be freakin' me / We used to do it secretly / Now you all talk
The singer describes how the other person behaves around them depending on who else is present and expresses annoyance that their relationship is no longer secret.
You tellin' everybody like you want to get caught / I think my girl catchin' on / 'Cause my story keep changin' up / You gotta stop callin' up my crib and hangin' up
The singer accuses the other person of telling others about their relationship on purpose and is worried that his girlfriend is catching on and that it's affecting his stories.
Truthfully, if you tellin' people that you doin' me / Then you tellin' me that you don't even want to screw with me / And that's a shame / I can't even do my thang / You get dick, and you go temporarily insane / You think it's a game, but I don't want to play no more / You want to stay, but you can't stay no more / You want to be with K, but that ain't okay no more / You got somethin' to say, but you ain't gotta say no more
The artist is hurt that the other person might not want to have sex with him because they are telling people about their relationship. He expresses that he has had enough of the stress and games in their relationship and that he is ready to move on.
I said: "Girl, don't you know what you do to me?" / She said: "But I don't usually." / She said: "You know I don't usually."
The artist and the other person repeat lines from earlier in the song, acknowledging their trust issues and asking for honesty.
I'm a tell your ass now, baby, truthfully / I ain't told nobody that you doin' me / It seem like fine hos is hard to find mostly / The type of girls that give you their whereabouts supposedly / And when you check, they ain't never where they're supposed to be / I learned my lesson; now I only fuck hos that's close to me / Don't get me wrong; you still gotta live close to me / This ain't a song I made for ugly hos to start approachin' me / You know how this go; I diss hos / I'm very mean now / My roley face green now / I bring your self esteem down / I knew since the day I met you if I would fuck you or not / So later on I asked my girl how many bitches you got / I never loved you a lot, but then this nigga got turned out / He told his boy that told his boy, and now the word's out / My man approachin' me with rumors that he heard about / But dude a lame / He probably asked you can he work it out? / I swear, y'all, betta keep the game on 'em / Yeah, y'all, now watch me change on 'em
The artist admits that he has not told anyone about their relationship and that he only likes to be with women who are nearby. He brags about his abilities with women and insults the other person for not being attractive enough and causing drama in his life. He also describes how he found out information about the other person from his girlfriend and how rumors about their relationship are starting to spread.
Rule one: never tell your nigga who you fucked / And always smile back if he tell you he in love / Rule two: most men try to control you / Take my advice, 'cause it's so true what women go through / And rule three: you thinkin' he don't cheat and he committed? / He still get invitations from the last girl he been with / Bet his ho be mad; I bet she tell you that he hit it / Just check inside his pocket; find another bitches digits
The singer gives advice to women on how to handle their relationships and exposes the hypocrisy of men who pretend to be committed but still cheat. He suggests that women check their man's pockets for evidence of cheating and that they should never reveal who they have slept with to their partner.
He said: "You know I don't usually."
The other person repeats a line from earlier in the song, acknowledging their trust issues and asking for honesty.
I swear to God, baby, it should be you and me / Yeah, you know what I'm sayin' / These girls out here be thinkin' they caught up and shit / Fuck that; spend that nigga, yo; you know what I'm sayin' / You catch yourself up; you go to him / Let that nigga come to you with no type of evidence / You ain't got shit on you / I'm a do my thing / Word up, uh / Pimp on, baby
The singer declares that he and the other person should be together and suggests that women who try to manipulate their relationships will not be successful. He encourages the other person to let the other man chase her without providing any evidence of wrongdoing. The singer reaffirms his intent to do what he wants and finishes with a boastful comment.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: KANYE OMARI WEST
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@blaqdiemenz
I used to have this album.. If this album came out today it would gone platinum production by Kanye and no I'd crazy.. Btw can someone post the entire album
@SirHcDWC
Music is different today. New beats with the same lyrics.. it won't apply to the "times" it wont sell.
@jayskicksnfits9372
It's *No I.D.*
@thomasnelson5758
@Jay Coleman Nope it's Kanyeezy
@goldenserenity2385
Auto correct probably
@angelalewis4310
I still have this CD..This song brought back memories!
@Thashining
Gawd damn! I bought this record in back in the day! They don't make music like this anymore!
@123Teemon
Lawrence Land Kanye West-Ye Album.
@Cubanlinx63
When Kanye and Shawna were in the studio together for "Stand Up" they probably laughed about how far they came.
@cactusjac1535
Can you link the song