10 Years of Kanye West

I remember being 14 years old and I believed anything without a guitar solo wasn't good. I was a freshman at Linden High School and sometime Ms. Grant would play Late Registration during class. I remember liking "Heard 'Em Say" and I thought- maybe there is such thing as good rap music. These days I listen I listen to every genre, but I remember Kanye's "Heard 'Em Say" was the first rap song I ever liked. Soulful, melancholia, catchy...

What happened to that guy?

Kanye's voice was first heard on the radio in 2003 with a verse on Twista's #1 hit "Slow Jamz." He rapped about sexual innuendos for a little over 30 seconds while name-dropping Luther Vandross, Gladys Knight, Michael Jackson, 90s rappers and Cool Whip. Apparently it was enough to get him a record deal on Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella records within the year.

:his solo album works, in a nutshell:

COLLEGE DROPOUT (2004)-
This album was very cheerful and even more cheeky. Commercially popular and critically acclaimed. My mission buddy Elder Funk knows all the words to "Jesus Walks," and I'm pretty he's not the only one. On his debut, Kanye was already causing a cultural stir. Rolling Stone ranked it among their 300 Greatest Albums Of All Time, one of the 8 albums from the 2000s with a ranking so high. I never got the 'bear' thing...
LATE REGISTRATION (2005)- I personally think this one was better. If you can't decide on whether you you want to listen to a cocky rapper or your favorite Curtis Mayfield record, you can chose both with this album. The soul of this album may just be from the direct sampling, but Kanye was producing bigger things and rapping about bigger topics. "Gold Digger" reached #1. That bear was still around...

GRADUATION (2007)-
I remember when this album came out. "Stronger" was the immediate #1 single, although I preferred "Can't Tell Me Nothing." The album's personality was based off 80s-throwback synths. Kanye single-handedly made these shades cool! I love those things!
And yes, that bear was on the cover...
808S & HEARTBREAKS (2008)-
I think much of the world has forgotten that this album happened. I personally try to. But this has just been universally accepted as his worst work. I think the track "Love Lockdown" is underrated, but I don't even like most of the songs on this album. Plain beats + plain pianos. Nerdy glasses are cool now, but not because of Kanye.
MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY (2010)-
The most important part of the album title is the word "my." I've heard plenty of albums that are more beautiful, darker, more twisted, more fantastical than this one. But this album is definitely his. It's as Kanye as it gets. It's my favorite one by him. "POWER" lives up to its title, coming from the cockiest, angriest man in the music business. More so out of drunken depression than humility, he calls himself a "douchebag" on "Runaway." The album was just so darn loud and legitimately crazy. Critical acclaim up to wazoo- it was the first album in 8 years to get a perfect 10/10 upon release from Pitchfork. It was his first album to have not top 10 singles, but I don't think he was focused on popularity when he made this. As usual, he was more focused on himself.
YEEZUS (2013)- Generally like this album, but I like it less and less every day. I ranked it #11 on my list of favorite 2013 albums, which is lower than where most folks would put it. But I think its minimalism, darkness and volume is only shocking to those who listen to popular rap. I still give it some props for being purposely heartless and overly nasty. I love "New Slaves." But just how unique is this album? Why are critics calling it the best of the year? Who is Kanye West anyway?

:the future of kanye west:

Kanye West is an idiot, a bigot and a wimp. Unlike the best rappers in hip-hop history, he has never experienced poverty or street violence. He may be "artistic" among other celebrity rappers, but seems pretty plain standing next to the underground likes of Death Grips or Shabazz Plalaces. Yet I approve of 5 of the 6 albums listed above. Is it possible to like a guy's music and hate the guy himself? (sigh) Meet Kanye West...
Is he overrated? Yes. But he's done some GREAT stuff. Critics love Yeezus because its release and approach are bold. My buddy Liam Perry said of the album, "Musically it's his worst album, conceptually it's great." This is true. He represents a character in the studio- a different one for each album. I think he's a great artist with great potential. But if you think he's the best, you've fallen into a trap.
I predict a sad future for Kanye. He doesn't have fun anymore. Even cocky people can be fun. Even depressed people can have fun. I've yet to mention any remarks he's ever made outside the studio. Long-story-short: It's all an act. At least it used to be. I'm starting to think that Kanye actually believes all the stupid stuff he says ("I'm the Braveheart of creativity"/"I am the next Nelson Mandela"). I'm a lot more impressed with Kendrick Lamar threatening to murder a list of 11 rappers in the middle of a rap verse. Kendrick just wants a rap battle. Kanye wants an eternal, gold-plated cookie of greatness.
Considering how his latest album is a musical step down from anything he's done before, I think he'll just keep stepping lower and lower. Crude concepts are great and all, but he can't back it up for much longer. The fact that he's already made an album spilling his guts in the studio (Twisted Fantasy) and an album comparing himself to Deity (Yeezus), he has nowhere left to go. I bet his next album is a rap-rock opera with one truly great song as a centerpiece surrounded by awkward turds of music. Coming sooner than later. I might call him a genius if he didn't think so himself. 10 years of this guy... one of the most important artists of our time... but his time is up.

MAYBE HE'S A NICE GUY

My favorite Kanye songs? "Jesus Walks"//"Heard 'Em Say"//"Flashing Lights"//"POWER" to name a few.