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.
Bonnie & Clyde
kanye west Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yo Hip-Hop Is niggaz still talkin bout I can't rap Come On Now
Look for me Young K
Took Tupac beat and got paid
My favorite rapper is Makaveli, Nas and Jay-Z
Eminem, Mase, Biggie Smalls and me
Now if you was my girlfriend you don't need no guyfriend
Why the hell you lying who the hell you trying
Who the hell you know that threw away his throwbacks
When they suggested they was made by Majestic
My answers cost three-hundred-fifty ya naw mean
Doesn't even have got her number we ain't on the same team
You got the hat the jacket shoelaces to match
I got the gat ratching new cases to catch
I got my business manager erasing my debt
I mean my credit was so pathetic I couldn't get a debit
I fill out for a car but shit they always debt it
My girl come over try to help me shine
How you gonna help me get a car your credit worser than mine
But everytime I get a check you be first up in line
Told you bout gold-diggin bitch it's worser than lying
You better grow up before I blow up
Have weed rolled up when I show up
Matter fact we broke as f**k
Ain't nothing left to do except get tore up from the floor up
Shit that's how I knew you was my girlfriend
So I promise to never pick up smutts
In my Cadillac pick-up truck
They need to get they sit-ups up
They always be colder than you
A little richer a little thicker a litter older than you
Probably a little smarter so they can drop me some jewels
That I could drop back to you to get your ass back in college
So you can be where they at two years from now
But for now bartender two beers for now
The second one is for my girlfriend
(Jay-Z) All I need in this life of sin is me and my girlfriend me and my girlfriend
(B.K.) Down to ride til the very end is me and my boyfriend me and my boyfriend
I'm talkin bout when we was in Nissan's no Benz or such
We wasn't from Switzerland but we'll still go Dutch
Greater man could prob picture like there go us
No styles just good times like they're so nuts
We always thought if we had dough we could do so much
Like you ain't got to save the roach we can finish the Dutch
Like we ain't have to go coach told you i'll be paid soon
We ain't got to sit in this emergency aisle just to get leg room
We ain't got to go back to my room there's only one bedroom
That I call my lair
We was V.I.P. Very Imaginary Playaz
But you was my girlfriend yea yea yea you was my girlfriend
(Jay-Z) Holla, All I need in this life of sin is me and my girlfriend me and my girlfriend
(B.K.) Down to ride til the very end is me and my boyfriend me and my boyfriend
That's Right (Kanye)
(Jay-Z) All I need in this life of sin is me and my girlfriend me and my girlfriend
Look for me
(B.K.) Down to ride til the very end is me and my boyfriend me and my boyfriend
(Jay-Z) Yep!
In Kanye West's song Bonnie & Clyde, he speaks about his girlfriend and his desire to provide for her. The first verse begins with Hip-Hop critics still doubting his rap skills, but he asserts that he is talented. He also mentions his favorite rappers, including Tupac, Nas, and Jay-Z, as well as himself. Kanye's lyrics portray the struggles of managing his money and trying to erase his debt with the help of his business manager.
The second verse reflects on Kanye's relationship with his girlfriend. He emphasizes that she doesn't need any other man in her life and he is willing to protect her from anyone who tries to harm her. Kanye expresses his frustrations with her financial situation, but he is grateful for their relationship. He reminisces about their past when they didn't have a lot of money and had to split the bill at restaurants.
Overall, the song reflects on Kanye's journey to provide for his girlfriend and make a better life for them both. He highlights the importance of loyalty and the struggle to manage finances in the music industry.
Line by Line Meaning
Yo Hip-Hop Is niggaz still talkin bout I can't rap Come On Now
Kanye is tired of people saying he can't rap and thinks they need to move on from that tired argument.
Look for me Young K
Kanye is introducing himself as Young K.
Took Tupac beat and got paid
Kanye sampled a Tupac beat and profited from it.
My favorite rapper is Makaveli, Nas and Jay-Z
Kanye reveals that his top three favorite rappers are Makaveli (Tupac), Nas, and Jay-Z.
Eminem, Mase, Biggie Smalls and me
Kanye includes himself among the likes of Eminem, Mase, and Biggie Smalls as one of the greats.
Now if you was my girlfriend you don't need no guyfriend
Kanye believes that if you were his girlfriend, you wouldn't need anyone else in your life besides him.
He could get his head bust nigga ain't my friend
If someone were to try and get between Kanye and his girlfriend, they would suffer the consequences.
Why the hell you lying who the hell you trying
Kanye is questioning why someone would lie to him and what their true intentions are.
Who the hell you know that threw away his throwbacks
Kanye is questioning who would throw away their old clothes, particularly a certain brand called Throwbacks.
When they suggested they was made by Majestic
Kanye is referring to a brand called Majestic which was suggested to have made the Throwbacks he threw away.
My answers cost three-hundred-fifty ya naw mean
Kanye's replies are worth $350.
Doesn't even have got her number we ain't on the same team
Kanye's not even on the same team as someone he doesn't have the number for.
You got the hat the jacket shoelaces to match
Someone has a full matching outfit with hat, jacket, and shoelaces.
I got the gat ratching new cases to catch
Kanye has a gun and is ready to catch new cases (of any sort).
I got my business manager erasing my debt
Kanye's business manager is helping him eliminate his debt.
I mean my credit was so pathetic I couldn't get a debit
Kanye's credit was so bad that he couldn't even get a debit card.
I fill out for a car but shit they always debt it
Kanye tries to apply for a car but always gets denied because of his debt.
My girl come over try to help me shine
Kanye's girlfriend comes over to help him improve his situation.
How you gonna help me get a car your credit worser than mine
Kanye's girlfriend can't help him get a car because her credit is even worse than his.
But everytime I get a check you be first up in line
Whenever Kanye gets paid, his girlfriend is always the first to ask for money.
Told you bout gold-diggin bitch it's worser than lying
Kanye has warned his girlfriend about gold-diggers before and thinks it's even worse than lying.
You better grow up before I blow up
Kanye's girlfriend needs to mature before he becomes a big success.
Have weed rolled up when I show up
Kanye expects there to be weed ready for him when he arrives.
Matter fact we broke as f**k
Kanye and his girlfriend are very broke.
Ain't nothing left to do except get tore up from the floor up
Because they're so broke, there's no other option besides getting drunk/high.
Shit that's how I knew you was my girlfriend
Kanye realized his girlfriend was the real deal when they were both broke together.
So I promise to never pick up smutts
Kanye promises to never cheat on his girlfriend.
In my Cadillac pick-up truck
Kanye drives a Cadillac pick-up truck.
They need to get they sit-ups up
Some people need to work on their physical fitness.
They always be colder than you
Some people are colder (less friendly) than Kanye's girlfriend.
A little richer a little thicker a litter older than you
Some people are a little richer, a little thicker, and a little older than Kanye's girlfriend.
Probably a little smarter so they can drop me some jewels
These people are probably a little smarter and can give Kanye some advice.
That I could drop back to you to get your ass back in college
Kanye will pass on this advice to his girlfriend to motivate her to go back to college.
So you can be where they at two years from now
Kanye wants his girlfriend to go back to college so she can be where these other people are in two years.
But for now bartender two beers for now
For now, Kanye just wants two beers from the bartender.
That's Right (Kanye)
Kanye is agreeing with himself.
Look for me
Kanye is reminding people to look for him.
Yep!
Kanye is affirming what Jay-Z said earlier.
Contributed by Mason D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@jljordann922
Kanye fan for almost 2 decades and this doc making me find gems
@trappinsam
No cap I love jayz’s song but I had to check this out
@Elizabeth16225
Same!
@sharoonjamal8756
🤣🤣🤣 same lmfaooo
@baileycooper4823
Straight up 😂
@richpapi24
Why is this not on SoundCloud
@ceddyced90
He killed it
@ugsl5236
fr
@tylerlandis9558
“Matter of fact we’re broke as fuck” is one of my favorite lines of all time
@fuzzybuttish
imagine spittin this off the dome