Posted on September 13, 2007
“Good morning/On this day we become legendary.”
Record sales will decide who becomes the legend at the end of this battle, but Kanye West has a decent shot at living up to the lyrics of the first song on his album, Graduation, released, Sept.11, the same day as 50 Cent’s latest album, Curtis.
While West can be predictable at times, spitting lyrics about his fresh style and rapping a song entitled “Champion” without a hint of embarrassment at his lack of modesty, he can pull it off. The album is diverse, catchy and features guest appearances from the likes of Mos Def, T-Pain and Chris Martin of Coldplay.
West also manages to deliver his well-known arrogance in the best possible and admittedly clever ways, such as the lyrics in “Everything I Got” demonstrate: “And I’m back to tear it up/Haters start your engines up/I hear ‘em gearin’ up/People talk so much s*** about me at barbershops/They forget to get their haircut.”
But there’s more to the album than West singing about what he knows best (how great West is), as there are even a few unexpected moments of modesty and self-reflection throughout the album.
Kanye sings, “Now everything I’m not, made me everything I am…I’ll never be picture-perfect Beyonce/Be light as Albi or black as Chonce/Remember him from blackish/He was as black as the street was/I’ll never be as laid back as his beat was.”
The album also features party-starters like the already huge “Stronger,” a jam too big for computer speakers, the surprisingly addicting “Flashing Lights,” and the war-themed choral tune “The Glory,” a song somewhat reminiscent of The College Dropout’s “Never Let Me Down.”
While West is has been bashed by critics for his self-centered attitude, his diversity in lyrics concerning himself on one end of the spectrum and issues like those approached in “Diamonds from Sierra Leone,” “Jesus Walks,” and now “The Glory,” on the other hand at the very least make him an interesting artist and add another dimension to his music.
While other artists recycle the same themes and even the same lyrics about snapping fingers, girls on poles, sex, drugs and money, West typically tends to deliver more. This is not to say he completely avoids lyrics like, “Welcome to the good life/Where we like the girls who ain’t on TV/Cause they got more a** than the models/The good life, so keep it coming with the bottles,” but at least their delivery is more interesting and not surrounded by 12 other songs harping on the same theme.
West is never boring and is always reinventing himself and his music. So to answer your own question Kanye, “Do anybody make real s*** anymore?”
Yes. You do.
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