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Ever had one of those weeks where you were running on fumes by Friday morning?Yeah. Us, too.
As a result, we put the random in the Friday Random/Genius Ten. Forget about the genius.
It was just a list of whatever is getting regular burn on our iPods or CD players or (insert music-playing device that I can’t afford here) as we went into the weekend. Thinking of a coherent theme, at the time, was just much too hard.
My only contribution to the list was "Good Morning" by John Legend. I only became aware of its existence a few days ago, when my blog cousin Ave T dropped a note about the song on my Facebook page.
Needless to say, every spare moment since then, I've been giving it a spin:
Also, because he had a particularly rough week, I figured I might put together a list of my five favorite songs from Kanye West (I reserve the right to switch this list up, if I ever expand the idea to a full post):
5. Can't Tell Me Nothing - As much as anyone in the hip-hop industry, Kanye seems unafraid to confront his demons in a brutally public way. There's a lot about him that is all showman. But that doesn't mean he's inauthentic.
4. Jesus Walks - I first heard this song on a mixtape, probably in early 2003. And that's when I knew, I mean, I knew, homeboy would make a splash someday. Helps that the beat was bananas too.
3. Late - A playful, breezy close to the Late Registration album. (I might add, "Last Call" on The College Dropout was another great album-closing song.)
2. We Major - A seven-minute masterpiece that, in its way, ended the silly feud between Nas and Jay-Z. It's different from other great hip-hop songs in a way that is tough to pin down.
1. Through the Wire - I agree with my PostBourgie blogmate, Jamelle: this is Kanye's first and, still, best song. Love the video, too.
If I had to expand the list to 10 songs, somewhere - in no particular order - I would probably add "Heard 'Em Say," "Two Words," "My Way Home" (though it's really Common and the Gil Scott-Heron sample that get me). I'm still thinking about the other two.
In case you can't tell, I'm no fan of 808s & Heartbreak.
And no, Kanye: you can't talk your shit again.
More later.
4 comments:
"We Major" is EPIC. The first time I heard it I was blown away.
I don't know if I could have a Top 5 Kanye list without "Flashing Lights." It's so different from what everyone else does. I can't not like it.
Also, I'd make arguments for "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" and "Never Let Me Down" but both records suffer from the same problem: Jay-Z shows up at some point and kicks Kanye's ass.
I kinda liked 808s. I think temper tantrums are funny though.
You know, I sort of wrestled with "Flashing Lights." I wasn't sure where to put it, at all.
Like, first I had it in the top 5. Then it fell outside of the top 10. Now I think it's somewhere between 8-10. I love the song but, believe it or not, I actually love the remix more with the Clipse.
Both good points about "Diamonds" and "Never." Kanye returns the favor to Jay on "Run This Town" though, no?
Agreed. Kanye kills it on "Run This Town." But his road to redemption lies in his production skills.
Is it me, or are The Clipse the crack rap group that everyone isn't ashamed to love? Ghostface has a similar effect on me. When the rhymes are dope, the rhymes are dope.
OT, but did the Ying-Yang twins EVER write a song that didn't sound like it was inspired by the plot of the movie The Players Club?
Dude, I pretty much download every Clipse mixtape that I can. I love them. Actually, I've got mad respect for the Re-Up Gang too.
And have we had this convo before? Ghostface is probably in my list of top 5 rappers right now. I would have never imagined he'd be my favorite Wu member.
Ying Yang Twins? Blech. But I can't front about banging "Whistle While You Twerk" in college.
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