Yeezy's concept album got me through a difficult winter on a personal level as I tuned my ears to listen to the icy could sounds that came as a result of the end of his long-term relationship with his fiancee and the death of his mother. That is when I realized that 808s & Heartbreaks was out of season. In my mind, the autotune-filled album that features Mr. West singing more than he raps is a definite cold-weather album.
Thankfully, Kanye has a treasure chest full of hits and I have most (if not all) of them at my disposal. Here are a handful of favorites that should get your head nodding and your mouth smiling as I aim to move away from the sadness that surrounded 808s & Heartbreaks.
- Good Life feat. T-Pain (Graduation) - I'll never forget that the first time I heard this song was at the end of an episode of Entourage. Upbeat with a Michael Jackson sample (of P.Y.T.) to boot, Mr. West delivers a feel good jam here.
- We Major feat. Nas (Late Registration) - The bridge that helped Nas come a step closer to performing on a track with Jay-Z was this guest spot on Kanye's Late Registration album. Kanye starts the song off with a set of killer punchlines including: "Feeling better than some head on a Sunday afternoon / Better than a chick that say 'yes' too soon / Until you have a daughter, that's what I call karma / and you pray to God she don't grow breast too soon" and gets better as the song goes on.
- Slow Jamz feat. Twista & Jamie Foxx (College Dropout) - This song helped launch West's first album along with Twista's mainstream listenability while also re-launch Foxx's singing career. All while using a Luther Vandross sample.
- Down and Out by Cam'ron (Puple Haze) - The first track that does not feature a full Kanye verse is one of my favorite songs off one of Killa Cam's best albums. Over a soul-sample and some pulsating vibes, Cam'ron rides out some kick-butt rhymes as West delivers the hook.
- Southside by Common feat. Kanye West (Finding Forever) - The playful back-and-forth between two Chi-town legends was also remixed into a Chicago Super Bowl anthem.
- Whole City Behind Us feat. Ludacris & The Game - In what will be forever known as "that one song for Boost Mobile" each rapper delivered a bar about their home towns, but Kanye's verse brings it all home in the kind of track that makes me kind of home sick.
- Number One by Pharrel feat. Kanye West (In My Mind) - West kills it with this section of his guest verse: "I'mma FedEx my love and have you sign for my heart / For my number one I keep you dumb fly / fresh to death, you life after death / I resurrected my gold Jesus of Nazareth / Now we Fresh as a Prince while they Jazzy Jeff." Insert your "oohs" here.
- I Poke Her Face (I Make Her Say...) by Kid Cudi, Kanye West & Common - Mr. West did a number by using the Lady GaGa sample. One man's trash is another's treasure as three great verses are delivered here.
- Brand New by Rhymefest feat. Kanye - The one flaw in this track is that Rhymefest out-duels 'Ye until you realize Yeezy dropped that "I make Black History everyday, I don't need a month" line.
- Maybach Music 2 by Rick Ross feat. Kanye West, Lil' Wayne & T-Pain - Kanye shines on a track in which he ditches the autotune while Lil' Wayne mails in an average verse, for his standards.
- Flight School feat. T-Pain - Released in early 2009 to the mixtape circuit, Flight School was the track in which I realized Kanye had left his autotune days in the rearview mirror, or at least handed them back to their rightful owner, T-Pain.
0 comments:
Post a Comment