Kanye West turned 43 a couple weeks ago which prompted me to go through a few of my favorite songs from him. I expected this to take a few minutes but minutes turned into hours, hours into days, and after a couple weeks I realized I wanted nothing more than to write something fun about Mr. West. So basically this is all a very long-winded way of me asking you this: What are Kanye’s best songs? At first I considered ranking his top 43 tracks but that’s way too many songs and 43 is one of the ugliest numbers. I narrowed it down to 25 (a much sexier number) before I realized this: Lists are stupid. I mean what would really separate the 25th and 24th entries? Or even the 25th and 14th? Would any ranking even matter besides #1? Not really, which is why we’re splitting this up into tiers with one song being awarded the title of Kanye’s Best. I promise you this is somehow a lot less stupid than a list.
Kanye East
The East is furthest from the West so this is the lowest tier. Don’t think about it too hard.
Honorable Mentions
Ultralight Beam (More of a Chance song than a Kanye one at this point)
Everything I Am (“Played a big role in Chicago like Queen Latifah,” is a fun line. Queen Latifah was in a movie called Chicago. She played a big role. It makes a lot of sense when you think about it)
Stronger (Every workout playlist is actually legally obligated to feature this song, it’s like auditory steroids. No joke, the first time I heard it I lifted an entire CVN-72 aircraft carrier over my head)
See You in My Nightmares (Lil Wayne inexplicably rhymes “you” with “more” and I think about it every day)
Family Business (Kanye admits to being a bed-wetter)
Gold Digger (I do not like this song but I just know someone’s going to read this thing and get on me about how I left Gold Digger out so here it is, it’s an honorable mention, which is a title devoid of all worth)
Guilt Trip (Fun fact: Kanye added Kid Cudi’s hook to this song without him knowing because they were fighting at the time. Can you imagine being Cudi listening to Yeezus for the first time and all of a sudden you hear “if you loved me so much then why’d you let me gooooo” and it’s you?)
Wolves (“You left your fridge open somebody just took a sandwich,” is simultaneously a terrible line and also very profound)
Get Em High (This one would be much higher on the list if it weren’t for Common’s “Real rappers is hard to find...like a remote” line. I guess he sort of redeems it as it flows into the next line, “Control, rap is out of,” but it’s clunky to say the least.)
Blame Game (The last verse from Kanye might be my favorite example of his singing but it’s an immediate skip after that to bypass the bloated Chris Rock stand-up segment)
Slow Jamz (This is undoubtedly a Twista song. If you attempt to rap his verse your entire jaw melts off your face.)
Jesus Walks (Patiently waiting for the day I hear this song in church)
Love Lockdown (I don’t have anything special to say about this one, it’s just a good song)
Kanye North
Geographically, North and South are the same distance away from the West. That being said, this is the next tier because Kanye North is a worse name than Kanye South.
Good Life
“Imma get on this TV momma/ Imma, Imma put sh*t down”
One of Kanye’s best feel good songs. As soon as you hear that iconic “Like we always do at this time” followed by the comforting sounds of 2007 T-Pain’s autotune you’re transported back to a much simpler time. Back when Kanye just wanted to get on TV for his mom and wear stunner shades, not when he was dressing in Roblox costumes and MAGA hats running around yelling about how slavery was a choice. :(
Through The Wire
“Somebody ordered pancakes, I just sip the sizzurp”
Fun Fact #1 - Kanye West fractured his jaw in a car crash back in 2002 which led to him having his jaw wired shut for six weeks (I imagine this fact is only fun if you are not Kanye West).
Fun Fact #2 - Kanye still recorded this song through the wires (ohhhhhhhh) but came back and re-recorded it once they were off.
Fun Fact #3- Want me to ruin this song for you forever? The chorus isn’t actually saying “through the wire” but rather “through the fire” which was the title of a love song by Chaka Khan. Kanye pitched up the sample and included it to highlight his love for rapping.
Heard ‘Em Say
“From the Chi like Tim, it’s a harder way”
The only thing keeping this song from being in a higher tier is how little Kanye we actually get on it. With just two quick verses from him, you might think Adam Levine is the real highlight of this track. You’d be wrong though. You can’t outshine someone who drops that Tim Hardaway (NBA all-star and Chicago native) line right from the jump. When you think about it within the context of the song, which is about the difficulties of life, I think it’s one of his most underrated bars.
Welcome to Heartbreak
“He said his daughter got a brand new report card, and all I got was a brand new sports car”
For most people it’s brand new sports car > daughter’s brand new report card but not for Kanye West. This track sets the tone for 808’s and Heartbreaks perfectly as Kanye describes his struggle with balancing fame as well as a normal life (“Chased the good life my whole life long/Look back on my life and my life gone/Where did I go wrong?”) This song also marks the first collaboration between Kanye and Kid Cudi, who would go on to become an all-time rap duo.
Black Skinhead
“They see a black man with a white woman at the top floor they gone come to kill King Kong”
This is another great tone-setting song, this time for Yeezus. The Daft Punk production (specifically the brain-rattling drums, the first sound I hear when I think of Yeezus) supports the rebellious lyrics perfectly, making for an iconic song that marked a shift in eras for Kanye. I love it, but there’s one glaring issue that forces me to keep this song in a lower tier: What’s up with the, “I keep it 300, like the Romans” line? The 300 (you’ve seen the movie) were Spartans, not Romans (Kanye may have just seen the trailer). You’d think someone would have told him about something so obvious but I could definitely see him choosing not to believe anyone else.
Kanye South
I admit this concept may have gotten away from me a bit
We Don’t Care
“We wasn’t supposed to make it past 25/Jokes on you we still alive”
I wish I could have experienced this song when it first came out. Technically, I could have but I wasn’t as big of a rap fan as a 5-year-old as I am now. I can just imagine hearing this for the first time though, having no idea who Kanye West was (this is chronologically the first song in his discography). Hearing Intro play with a funky voice asking Kanye to play something for the kids before he opens with a sing-songy hook (backed by a kids choir) about dealing drugs must’ve been a great introduction to him as an artist. I imagine the iconic line I included above would’ve been like an earworm, sticking with listeners and forcing them to keep thinking of this new guy named Kanye. The song is a perfect attention-grabber.
Amazing
“No matter what you’ll never take that from me/My reign is as far as your eyes can see”
I like to imagine Amazing as Kanye taking a moment to tell us a little bit about himself. It’s a very descriptive song so let’s break down everything that he tells us. In it, we learn that Kanye is: the reason everybody’s fired up this evening, exhausted, barely breathing, holding on to what he believes in, a monster, a killer, a problem that’ll never ever be solved, a maven (a maven is someone that’s a master of something, it’s also a word that no one else in history has every used), the only thing he’s afraid of, and of course, amazing (x52). It’s a lot to remember about one guy (Young Jeezy also tells us a bit about himself in one of my all-time favorite guest verses here. According to him, he’s also amazing and he’s trying to watch his sodium along with a ton of other things) but that’s what makes this song just so Kanye. I can almost see him coming up with the idea to write a song about himself and taking about 0.2 seconds to decide on calling it Amazing.
Ghost Town
“Sometimes I take all the shine, talk like I drank all the wine”
Though ye, Kanye’s 2018 7-track album, was met with mixed reviews, this song was an apparent standout. What makes it great is that it strays so far from the typical Kanye song blueprint. There’s no punchline lyrics or loud braggadocious message to be found. Instead, we hear Kanye lament over all the drama that his huge personality and rigorous work-ethic have brought. It’s a nice change of pace to hear him speak so honestly and really shows a lot of growth from his early works. Backing up Kanye’s verse is an incredibly raw (by this I mean it’s sort of poorly sung but I think that’s the point of it, to make the message come across as more authentic) chorus delivered by Kid Cudi and a memorable outro that launched 070 Shake’s career.
All Falls Down
“I wanna act ballerific like it’s all terrific”
The height of joke-rap Kanye. Let’s take a moment to recognize that Kanye says all of the following in the same song.
“Now, tell me that ain't insecurr
The concept of school seems so securr
Sophomore, three yurrs, ain't picked a carurr”
That’s three lines ending in “urr” with an extra one thrown in for good measure. This is Kanye on his Dr. Seuss flow.
“She's so precious with the peer pressure
Couldn't afford a car, so she named her daughter Alexis”
A classic Kanye line that sounds like it’s ripped straight out of a yo-mama joke.
“Man, I promise, I'm so self-conscious
That's why you always see me with at least one of my watches
Rollie's and Pasha's done drove me crazy
I can’t even pronounce nothin’, pass that Ver-say-see!”
The absolute best part of the song, driving home the idea of the arrogance of Kanye’s spending as well as his youthful ignorance. These few lines really capture the message of the whole song, which is about the pitfalls of a consumerist lifestyle and the important moments in life we often neglect in favor of materialism, but also it’s just funny to hear Kanye mispronounce Versace.
Blood On The Leaves
“I just need to clear my mind now, it’s been racing since the summertime”
If you don’t know what makes a producer important, this song is a great learning lesson. To put it simply, a producer creates the beat in a song. You might think it sounds simple, like playing with Garage Band on your Macbook, but there’s a ton that goes into it. For example, this song features six different producers (Kanye being one of them; he’s possibly the most prominent producer/rapper we have today) who all had to work together on the deafening horns and booming drums as well as figure out how to interpolate the haunting Nina Simone vocals along with Kanye’s. I’m sure it must have been excruciating work to seamlessly weave all those different pieces together but I bet it was worth it. I love the progressive intensity of this song, right from the quiet opening line I included above to the announcing beat drop after Kanye says “So let’s get on with it” all the way through the vocalizing in the outro. The way I can hear those horns so clearly in my head as I write this lets me know that the production team really did something special on this one.
Only One
“Hello ‘Mari, how ya doin’? I think the storm ran out of rain, the clouds are movin’.”
This song sounds like what a hug feels like. Further exploring the powerful bond Kanye shared with his mother as her only child (hence the title), Only One is sung from the perspective of the late Donda West as she watches her boy become a husband and father from heaven. The song is truly moving and beautiful as Kanye delivers this message (one that he says his mother spoke through him claiming he doesn’t remember recording the vocals) over production from none other than Paul McCartney, who does an outstanding job of making this, possibly, Kanye’s most unique track. Lines like, “I talked to God about you, he said he sent you an angel/look at all that he gave you, you asked for one and you got two,” where we hear Donda refer to Kanye’s wife and only daughter (at the time) fit perfectly alongside McCartney’s piano. In the end, the subject matter and production blend together perfectly to create this emotionally warm lullaby.
Kanye West
That’s his name so naturally these are the best Kanye West songs. I swear this makes sense.
Can’t Tell Me Nothing
“I had a dream I could buy my way to heaven/When I awoke, I spent that on a necklace”
This song earns it’s spot here solely because of one line. The end all, be all, quintessential Kanye line.
“I feel the pressure, under more scrutiny
And what I do? Act more stupidly”
I challenge anyone to find a line that captures who Kanye is more succinctly. This is the first line that comes to mind (just ahead of, “soon as they like you make ‘em unlike you”) whenever I see he’s in the news for something and this is also the first song that comes to mind when I think of him. Everything about it just perfectly encapsulates Kanye as an artist. The catchy chopped up sample, the lines about his jewelry and money, the hook where he teases his haters, it’s all just so representative of Graduation era Kanye. If Hasbro ever makes a Kanye Monopoly, this song would be the GO square.
Heartless
“How could you be so Dr. Evil?”
As his 3rd best selling single (behind Stronger and Gold Digger) it’s arguable that this is Kanye’s most commercially successful track. It’s easily the most radio friendly as it’s a completely clean (Kanye somehow doesn’t curse once on all of 808’s and Heartbreaks, which is really impressive because his following album was so explicit that the cover art is literally a censored image) account of his mental state following his broken engagement with Alexis Phifer with whom he was engaged. I’d also guess it saw so much success because it’s not even rap, it’s the kind of autotune-pop that was all the rage back when it released in 2008. In fact, Kanye doesn’t really rap at all on 808’s and Heartbreaks. It was more of a melodic, beat-centric album which he followed up with a complete shift in tone on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, before flipping his style totally upside down once again on Yeezus. That 3-album-run is probably only challenged by Kendrick Lamar (good kid, m.A.A.d city to To Pimp a Butterfly to DAMN) for the best in 2000’s rap.
Street Lights
“Let me know/Do I still got time to grow?”
Maybe I’m one of the few who consider this one of Kanye’s top songs but I don’t care, it's too depressingly beautiful to ignore. Right from the jump, with those opening lines, we understand that we’re going to hear Kanye in a different tone than we’re used to. The lyrics are dripping in distress as he uses street lights passing a cab as a metaphor for how quickly his own life is passing him by. The lights represent the moments he wishes he could slow down and take in, though he knows he can’t because he’s in the cab to reach his destination (fame, success, happiness, etc), a plight that many in the working class can relate to. It’s a very humanizing message delivered by the often cartoonish Kanye West, who even ends the song by repeatedly saying, “life’s just not fair.” Like I said, it’s a depressingly beautiful song (check out Daniel Caesar's version, “Streetcar,” if you want a more beautifully depressing sort of sound) but we know it has a happy ending as Kanye is living an apparently joyous life with his wife and kids now. I like to think that was the actual destination he sings about.
Bound 2
“After all these long ass verses/ I’m tired, you tired, Jesus wept.”
A classic with another all time Kanye line to close it out (included above, Kanye references all the long verses he’s delivered before contrasting them with “Jesus wept,” the shortest verse in the bible. It’s the cherry on top of the sundae that is Yeezus.) Let’s explore a few great questions Kanye asks us here.
“What you doing in the club on a Thursday?”
Who goes to the club on a Thursday? ILOVEMAKONNEN didn’t die for this.
“How you gon’ be mad on vacation? Dutty winin’ round all these Jamiacans"
An excellent question. Though my understanding of Jamaica is heavily influenced by the (possibly racist) Apple Jacks mascot, “Cinna-Mon,” I imagine it’s a difficult place to stay mad in.
“I mean damn, what would Jeromey Romey Romey Rome think?”
A question that keeps even the world’s most brilliant minds up at night, restless, tossing and turning. Will we ever know what Jeromey Romey Romey Rome would think?
“Hey, you remember where we first met? Ok, I don’t remember where we first met.”
Kanye actually uses this line to directly admit that he is not, in fact, perfect which raises some questions as to who actually wrote this song.
“Have you ever asked your b**** for other b****es?”
I’m both absolutely sure that no one has ever done this and also 1000% sure that Kanye has done this.
All of the Lights
“Something wrong, I hold my head/MJ gone, our n***a dead”
Did you know this is one of five different Kanye songs that feature the word “lights” in the title? Did you know he produced the song and arranged those iconic horns? Did you know the story he tells in his verses is entirely fictional and meant to highlight the pitfalls of fame (i.e. how “all of the lights” are on you)? Did you know that Rihanna is the only credited feature but additional vocals are included from Kid Cudi, Elly Jackson, Alicia Keys, and Elton John? Did you know Drake has exactly one line in the song somewhere (I think he just snuck his way in because Rihanna was there)? Did you know it’s sacrilege to play this song without first listening to the interlude that improves your listening experience by 78%? Did you know this is going to be the song you play for your kids when you’re old and grey and they ask you just how influential Kanye West was to the hip-hop scene?
Kanye’s Best
OK
Are you ready?
Like actually ready?
Ready for the reason behind you reading this whole thing?
Ok good.
So
Kanye’s most absolute and undeniably most perfect song
Is
.
…
…..
Siiiiiiiiilver Surffffeeeeer Intermission
“Yeezy Yeezy what’s good?”
Hahahahahahahahaha just kidding. Actually it’s
Runaway
“Baby I got a plan, run away as fast as you can”
I know a lot about this song. I know the cacophonous “look at ya” sample comes from none other than Rick James. I know that the song is actually about Amber Rose, whom Kanye dated for two years. I even know exactly how many C keys play in the intro before they switch to a lower octave (it’s 15 but I’ve played this song so much that I don’t need to count to know exactly which key denotes the shift, it’s a little weird). I know all these things because Runaway has always been my favorite Kanye song. Here’s a few reasons why it should be yours too.
The Production- At first, the beat seems simple. There’s no sprawling orchestral symphony to back up the emotion of the song. Instead we hear what sounds like a beginner’s piano lesson as notes are plunked out slowly and methodically. This bare kind of sound pairs perfectly with the drums and mixing though, as the beat drop is as good as any that Kanye’s ever produced.
The Lyrics- Aside from Kanye’s opening lines (the only part I don’t love about this song, but they’re still very on point for Kanye) the lyrics are pretty antithetical to what he usually raps about. The title refers to someone Kanye has deemed the “Runaway,” someone he pleads with throughout this song to leave him because he’s no good. We hear this as he raises a toast to the d-bags, a**holes and scumbags (all in reference to himself) and when he says “You been putting up with my s**t just way too long.” Hearing Kanye show a bit of his vulnerability here instead of the usual ego-fueled raps is a breath of fresh air, especially in the middle of MBDTF which is probably his most egocentric album.
The Pusha-T Verse- I can’t express just how perfectly Pusha-T fits on this track. He drops into the song flawlessly and his flow over the beat is so impeccable that it’s shocking to think that this was his first time working with Kanye. Pusha has said that Kanye asked him to be on the song after a long conversation about women and even had him rewrite his verse four times stating that he “needed more douchebag.” And man did he give it to him. From the Ichabod Crane and Versace sofa flex-lines to the way he announces his exit from the track by yelling “P!” this verse is flooded with douchebag in the best ways possible.
Kanye’s Singing- Kanye’s ability to sing on his tracks has always been kind of hit-or-miss but his voice perfectly captures all his emotion in his second verse, particularly when he says “And I don’t know how imma manage, if one day you just up and leave,” a line that makes his begging the woman to run away from him even more powerful. Of course, his singing through the chorus is great as well but what’s even more impressive is the outro. Kanye sings through a vocoder, making his words mostly unintelligible but he still manages to make it something you want to sing along to. It reminds me a lot of how Kid Cudi hums and moans through his hooks in ways that bounce rhythmically through your head hours after listening.
So there it is, Runaway is Kanye’s best. Truth be told, I actually wrote this whole thing just so that I’d have an excuse to talk about it. I love it that much. You probably disagree too, and that’s fine (it’s actually not) because there’s probably something like 6 or 7 Kanye songs that you can argue are his finest and you might even be right. Unless you argued for I Love It, a song and video that we should never, ever, think or talk about.