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.
Love U Betta
kanye west Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But why I love you, I'll never know
Ooh, I love you so
But why I love you, I'll never know
Ooh, I love you so
But why I love you, I'll never know
Ooh, I love you so
But why I love you, I'll never know
Picture, if you will, that the throne's burning
Rome's burning, and I'm sitting in the corner all alone, burning
Why does it always end up like this?
Something that we don't determine
Same people that I fought for, that I fight for, that I ride for
That I live for, that I die for
Be the reason that these niggas is alive for
And they want me dead, but I'm sorry, but I just can't die for you
But I can make 'em put their hands in the sky for you
We waiting for the fireworks like July 4th
Get fly more, get high more, cry boy, why for?
When the grief is over, beef is over
I'll be fly when Easter's over
I tried to teach niggas how to be kings
And all they ever wanted to be was soldiers
So when love is gone 'til blood is drawn
'Cause we no longer wear the same uniform
Fuck you, squares, the circle got smaller
The castle got bigger, the walls got taller
And truth be told, after all that said
Niggas still got love for you
Ooh, I love you so
But why I love you, I'll never know
Ooh, I love you so
But why I love you, I'll never know
Ooh, I love you so
But why I love you, I'll never know
Ooh, I love you so
But why I love you, I'll never know
Showed love to you niggas
You ripped out my heart and you stepped on it
I picked up the pieces 'fore you swept on it
Goddamn, this shit leaves a mess, don't it?
Shit feelin' like death, don't it?
Charge it to the game, whatever's left on it
I spent about a minute, maybe less on it
Fly, pelican, fly, turn the jets on it
But first I shall digress on it
Wasn't I a good king?
Maybe too much of a good thing, huh?
Didn't I spoil you? Me or the money, what you loyal to?
Huh, I gave you my loyalty
Made you royalty and royalties
Took care of these niggas' lawyer fees
And this is how niggas rewarded me, damn
Ooh, I love you so
But why I love you, I'll never know
Ooh, I love you so
But why I love you, I'll never know
Bussin' at me, b-b-b-bussin' at me
But I'm bulletproof, bitch, you can't get nothin' past me
Got body armor
A nigga gotta watch the throne
And I'm bussin' back
So niggas in a glass house should not throw stones
What do you do when the love turn to hate?
Gotta separate from these fuckin' fakes
Caesar didn't see it, so he ceased to exist
So the nigga that killed him had keys to his shit
Am I my brother's keeper?
Only if that nigga don't creep up
Got a pistol under my pillow
I've never been a deep sleeper
P-P-P-Paranoia, 'cause the nigga that said he'll
Blast for ya is now blastin' for ya
That's an assassin for ya
These niggas got a shot, they'll shoot
Please Lord, forgive him
For these niggas not know what they do, ooh
The lyrics to Kanye West's song "Love U Betta" are a declaration of the power of love in a world that is constantly putting pressure on people to conform and fit in. The song begins by acknowledging this pressure, with the line "We're under pressure, seven billion people in the world trying to fit in." Despite this, the singer declares that he is willing to take chances and face any hardships as long as he is loved by the person he is addressing. He states that he will be the person's "platinum, silver, [and] gold" and fight for their dreams every day.
The chorus repeats the phrase "as long as you love me," emphasizing the importance of love in the singer's life. He compares himself to a soldier and a music mogul, willing to do whatever it takes to support his love interest. The song takes a personal turn when the singer tells his love interest that she is his "hallelujah" and that he can't spell certain words without her. The two have a few issues, but the singer declares that he would rather work through them than start anew with someone else.
Overall, "Love U Betta" is a song about the power of love to overcome the pressures of the world and the hardships of life. It is a declaration of loyalty and commitment to a loved one, even through the toughest of times.
Line by Line Meaning
As long as you love me (love me, love me)
The singer values the love of their partner above all else and repeats this sentiment throughout the song.
We're under pressure,
The world is filled with billions of people, and it can be challenging to find one's place and feel accepted.
Seven billion people in the world trying to fit in
The world's population creates a competitive and stressful environment for people who feel they don't fit in.
Keep it together,
Despite the pressure, the artist encourages their partner to stay composed and maintain a positive attitude.
Smile on your face even though your heart is frowning
The artist recognizes that their partner may be struggling to stay happy despite feeling down inside.
But hey now, you know girl,
The singer addresses their partner in a casual and familiar way.
We both know it's a cruel world
The singer acknowledges that the world can be harsh and unforgiving.
But I will take my chances
Despite the challenges, the artist is willing to try their luck and take a risk for their partner.
We could be starving, we could be homeless, we could be broke
The artist emphasizes that material wealth is not as important as their partner's love and presence in their life.
I'll be your platinum, I'll be your silver, I'll be your gold
The artist promises to be valuable and precious to their partner, no matter what happens.
I'll be your soldier, fighting every second of the day for your dreams girl
The singer promises to be supportive and dedicated to helping their partner achieve their dreams.
I'll be your Hova, you can be my Destiny's Child on a scene girl
The artist compares himself to Jay-Z (also known as Hova) and his partner to Beyonce (of the group Destiny's Child), indicating that they make a strong, influential pair.
So don't stress, don't cry, we don't need no wings to fly
The singer advises their partner not to worry or be upset because they can succeed on their own without anyone else's help.
Just take my hand
The singer encourages their partner to trust and rely on them for support.
I don't know if this makes sense, but you're my hallelujah
The singer expresses their intense love and admiration for their partner, citing them as their personal savior and blessing.
Give me a time and place, and I'll rendezvous, and I'll fly you to it,
The artist is willing to go above and beyond to spend time with their partner, even if it requires effort and travel.
I'll beat ya there
The artist will hurry ahead and prepare everything for their partner, so they can arrive and enjoy the experience without any extra stress.
Girl you know I got you
The singer assures their partner that they will always take care of and support them.
Us, trust
The relationship between the singer and their partner is strong because they have faith and confidence in each other.
A couple of things I can't spell without you
The artist implies that their relationship is essential to them and they can't imagine their life without their partner.
Now we are on top of the world, 'cause that's just how we do
The artist and their partner are incredibly happy and feel like they are on top of the world because of their strong connection and relationship.
Used to tell me sky's the limit, now the sky's our point of view
The artist recalls how their partner used to tell them that anything was possible, and now they both share that optimistic perspective together.
Man now we stepping out like whoa (oh God)
The singer and their partner are confidently and boldly taking action in the world.
Camera's point and shoot,
People are noticing and documenting the artist and their partner's actions and behaviors.
Ask me what's my best side, I stand back and point at you, you
The singer believes that their partner is their best quality and is proud and happy to be with them.
You the one that I argue with, I feel like I need a new girl to be bothered,
The singer notes the normal difficulties and disagreements they face in their relationship but admits they wouldn't want to deal with them with anyone else.
But the grass ain't always greener on the other side,
The singer acknowledges that it's easy to be envious of other people's situations or relationships, but often things are not as good as they seem.
It's green where you water it
The artist likens their relationship to a plant, saying that it needs care and attention to grow and flourish.
I know we got issues baby true true true
The artist is aware that their relationship has problems and acknowledges them honestly.
But I'd rather work on this with you
Despite the difficulties, the singer wants to make their relationship work and is committed to their partner.
Than to go ahead and start with someone new
The singer would rather work on their relationship and stay with their partner than break up and try to start a new relationship with someone else.
Please don't go (love me, love me)
The artist pleads with their partner not to leave them and to continue to love and support them.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Kanye West, Mike Dean, Shawn Carter, Philippe Cerboneschi, Hubert Blanc Francard, Tony Camillo, Mary Sawyer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
joel kariid
This comes from such a classic era. Freestyles man....I know every verse to all of these.
DCNY
Facts
wondiefive
50 singing the hook, funny as hell. This a dope ass remix.
Vinicius Toledo
😂😂😂
Eli Cordero
Kanye killed it 🔥
Francesco Urso
Beat is so early 2000s R&B sound 🎹🔝
Francesco Urso
@Marat Nahimana YESSIRRRR 🖖🏻 🔝 🎹 🥁
Marat Nahimana
Neptunes 👀
Trey Guinn
Kanye and styles went in too hard
Lo
The nostalgia from this joint hit hard