I never really listened to Kanye, but I have to imagine it wasn’t always this vomit inducing, right? I remember people gushing over this guy.
And I’m not even talking about the lyrical content, didn’t make it past 18 seconds. Purely dogging on how shit the mix is and wondering how it manages to use autotune so poorly so quickly.
By that time he was already on a downward turn (but I do love that beat) But supposedly he did that to spite Drake because he wanted to rap on it so Kanye burned it.
I was forced to hear his ass during saints row, and when I went outside in the 00s.
If he wanted people to give his music a fair shake, maybe he shouldn’t have saturation bombed his junk and acted like a literal maniac.
He made it as a producer first and that’s where he was always most interesting. Even his early albums that I love had corny bars. But the beats and vision were great for a solid run of albums. Initially success gave him the ability to put the right people in the studio.
But cracks were already showing a decade ago and now it’s laughable.
Edit: if you’re really interested watch this. It’s three years old and it’s gotten worse since then (but he’s made follow-ups).
It’s a deep dive but there’s a lot there
Edit2: I didn’t even listen to it because he’s been using ai voice clones of his voice on his writers / collaborators demos. It’s weird. He thinks it’s the same as autotune but it’s not.
Corny bars I can handle, love 'em even. I listen to Aesop Rock / Hail Mary Mallon and MF DOOM a fair bit, so yea… 😅
I used to work for a company that made samplers/boards/synths, and I do remember there being a lot of chatter about the production side of things. One of my buddy’s at the time ran a fairly successful studio and couldn’t stop talking about some of the releases.
“Corny bars I can handle, I listen to two of the literal best rappers of all time”
Madam I cannot abide, there’s absolutely nothing corny about either of those dudes, and the lyrics always have double or triple meanings (sometimes self referential).
Now, someone like Plies? Yeah, corny all day.
“You got da prettyest set a pussy lips I neva seen, if I wanna eatchya I can eatchya cause ya pussy clean.”
But the guy who wrote daylight/nightlight? Naw.
"All I ever wanted was to pick apart the day
Swallow up the pieces, spit 'em at your species
Beached in a city of lost barnacles and leeches
Night Light got me when the daylight went to evenin’ (day turns night)"
I think we have different definitions of corny, I don’t mean it as an insult at all. Something can be both corny on the surface and have a deeper meaning IMO. I chose Aesop and DOOM because they both have that level of, “serious, but written like a joke”, and it’s part of why I love their work so much.
Conversely, Run The Jewels is almost always serious and direct. They have some corny stuff, too, but again I’m not belittling anything about their work. Just pointing out a difference in the vibe, Aesop and DOOM tend to lean a little more into the comedy when they write is all. Some times comedy has the deepest meaning.
The example you gave about Plies is just garbage. There’s nothing there. Never listened to them, but if that’s what their lyrics are like then I’m not interested.
Fair enough, yeah we must be using different definitions lol. To me corny is nothing but an insult.
Oh Plies is basically my definition of a corny motherfucker, he’s terrible. My favorite he does is a song called Bruh bruh that ends every line with “bruh bruh.” (Sidenote, album was called “Goon Affiliated” before gooning existed, but still, goddamn that’s funny.) Mrs. Pretty Pussy (the song I quoted earlier) is also just as bad, doubly so because the singing itself is almost cornier than the lyrics.
To me, wordsmiths like Aesop and DOOM, and even El-P and Killer Mike (though tbh I like Company Flow more than RTJ), are the farthest from corny one can get.
I always think of corny in relation to romantics. A lot of times doing things for your partner, especially cliche things, is referred to as corny. However, it doesn’t detract from the relationship or how they feel about each other.
Clearly, we agree on the wordsmith definition, at least
I started with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy because I loved the King Crimson sample flip. Then I went to the beginning and listened in order from there. I loved Yeezus’ sound when it came out (still so). Daft Punk produced 4 tracks on it.
Also, that’s really cool. I’d love more info about your time the company. What kind of gear, anything.
I was with Akai from the MPC Renaissance up to MPC Live/X.
Got to meet Q-Tip when the Ren released, that was probably one of the coolest things that ever happened. Too bad the company is owned by a piece of shit misogynist and Akai’s main idea guy does nothing but rip the rankest farts all day long.
Ok, let me be clearer. He doesn’t know how to sample, his music has always sucked and he’s literally an egomaniac.
The only reason I bought up DOOM was the last time I said he ripped off king crimson , people said I didn’t understand sampling or hip hop or whatever. But that’s what he did, he took an ill fitting part from a well known song and ruined it.
He was never a great lyricist (“I keep it 300, like the Romans”) but he had a way of getting the right people together and just making it all work. There was always the narcissism (“I am a god”) and some unhinged stuff, but he was honest to god a once in a lifetime talent.
Graduation, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Yeezus - these are all absolutely spectacular albums.
I don’t like the word, but it is different when a black person uses it.
My mama was raised in the era when
Clean water was only served to the fairer skin
Doin’ clothes, you woulda thought I had help
But they wasn’t satisfied unless I picked the cotton myself
You see it’s broke nigga racism
That’s that “Don’t touch anything in the store”
And it’s rich nigga racism
That’s that “Come in, please buy more”
He’s pointing out that even though he’s wealthy, he still experiences racism. He’s alluding to the history of Jim Crow, while also discussing the fact that it really hasn’t gone away. Like that last verse - he can afford to join the country club now, but will he ever really be welcome?
The first high school I worked at was about 90% Black. The word has a very different meaning in that kind of space. It made me deeply uncomfortable, but I listened to a lot of really interesting conversations between students about the word - because it was basically in every other sentence. Hell, my first day of school I said hi to a student and their response was “this n—— gay!” (I’m white, mostly.)
I never really listened to Kanye, but I have to imagine it wasn’t always this vomit inducing, right? I remember people gushing over this guy.
And I’m not even talking about the lyrical content, didn’t make it past 18 seconds. Purely dogging on how shit the mix is and wondering how it manages to use autotune so poorly so quickly.
The image for the vid doesn’t help, either.
Always has been.
By that time he was already on a downward turn (but I do love that beat) But supposedly he did that to spite Drake because he wanted to rap on it so Kanye burned it.
tearsCopejack.jpg
He could have chosen to diss Drake, like Kendrick Lamar did.
Why are you so bothered?
On today’s episode of Scat or Scat?…
He made it as a producer first and that’s where he was always most interesting. Even his early albums that I love had corny bars. But the beats and vision were great for a solid run of albums. Initially success gave him the ability to put the right people in the studio.
But cracks were already showing a decade ago and now it’s laughable.
Edit: if you’re really interested watch this. It’s three years old and it’s gotten worse since then (but he’s made follow-ups).
It’s a deep dive but there’s a lot there
Edit2: I didn’t even listen to it because he’s been using ai voice clones of his voice on his writers / collaborators demos. It’s weird. He thinks it’s the same as autotune but it’s not.
Corny bars I can handle, love 'em even. I listen to Aesop Rock / Hail Mary Mallon and MF DOOM a fair bit, so yea… 😅
I used to work for a company that made samplers/boards/synths, and I do remember there being a lot of chatter about the production side of things. One of my buddy’s at the time ran a fairly successful studio and couldn’t stop talking about some of the releases.
Thanks for the deep dive! I dig that stuff, too.
“Corny bars I can handle, I listen to two of the literal best rappers of all time”
Madam I cannot abide, there’s absolutely nothing corny about either of those dudes, and the lyrics always have double or triple meanings (sometimes self referential).
Now, someone like Plies? Yeah, corny all day.
“You got da prettyest set a pussy lips I neva seen, if I wanna eatchya I can eatchya cause ya pussy clean.”
But the guy who wrote daylight/nightlight? Naw.
"All I ever wanted was to pick apart the day
Swallow up the pieces, spit 'em at your species
Beached in a city of lost barnacles and leeches
Night Light got me when the daylight went to evenin’ (day turns night)"
I think we have different definitions of corny, I don’t mean it as an insult at all. Something can be both corny on the surface and have a deeper meaning IMO. I chose Aesop and DOOM because they both have that level of, “serious, but written like a joke”, and it’s part of why I love their work so much.
Conversely, Run The Jewels is almost always serious and direct. They have some corny stuff, too, but again I’m not belittling anything about their work. Just pointing out a difference in the vibe, Aesop and DOOM tend to lean a little more into the comedy when they write is all. Some times comedy has the deepest meaning.
The example you gave about Plies is just garbage. There’s nothing there. Never listened to them, but if that’s what their lyrics are like then I’m not interested.
Fair enough, yeah we must be using different definitions lol. To me corny is nothing but an insult.
Oh Plies is basically my definition of a corny motherfucker, he’s terrible. My favorite he does is a song called Bruh bruh that ends every line with “bruh bruh.” (Sidenote, album was called “Goon Affiliated” before gooning existed, but still, goddamn that’s funny.) Mrs. Pretty Pussy (the song I quoted earlier) is also just as bad, doubly so because the singing itself is almost cornier than the lyrics.
To me, wordsmiths like Aesop and DOOM, and even El-P and Killer Mike (though tbh I like Company Flow more than RTJ), are the farthest from corny one can get.
I always think of corny in relation to romantics. A lot of times doing things for your partner, especially cliche things, is referred to as corny. However, it doesn’t detract from the relationship or how they feel about each other.
Clearly, we agree on the wordsmith definition, at least
I started with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy because I loved the King Crimson sample flip. Then I went to the beginning and listened in order from there. I loved Yeezus’ sound when it came out (still so). Daft Punk produced 4 tracks on it.
Also, that’s really cool. I’d love more info about your time the company. What kind of gear, anything.
I was with Akai from the MPC Renaissance up to MPC Live/X.
Got to meet Q-Tip when the Ren released, that was probably one of the coolest things that ever happened. Too bad the company is owned by a piece of shit misogynist and Akai’s main idea guy does nothing but rip the rankest farts all day long.
That is extremely cool. Love Q-Tip and have some AKAI stuff but bought second-hand. I did know about the owner.
Jesus fucking christ that was an awful use of a great song. The way he forced it to be autoplayed in a mission for Saints Row was a crime against art.
He’s literally no DOOM.
Now DOOM could take leftovers and turn them into 3 star dining.
I love DOOM too. It’s not a competition. They have different styles.
Ok, let me be clearer. He doesn’t know how to sample, his music has always sucked and he’s literally an egomaniac.
The only reason I bought up DOOM was the last time I said he ripped off king crimson , people said I didn’t understand sampling or hip hop or whatever. But that’s what he did, he took an ill fitting part from a well known song and ruined it.
It’s subjective. What do you think of this chop?
I think it’s a waste of time to even try, I had my fill when I was forced to hear his ass during saints row, and when I went outside in the 00s.
If he wanted people to give his music a fair shake, maybe he shouldn’t have saturation bombed his junk and acted like a literal maniac.
I think New Slaves is genius. Same with Runaway and All of the Lights.
He was never a great lyricist (“I keep it 300, like the Romans”) but he had a way of getting the right people together and just making it all work. There was always the narcissism (“I am a god”) and some unhinged stuff, but he was honest to god a once in a lifetime talent.
Graduation, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Yeezus - these are all absolutely spectacular albums.
Thanks! I’ll do my best to check those recs out while separating the man from the art.
ETA: Yikes. From New Slaves:
So much for that line 🥲
I don’t like the word, but it is different when a black person uses it.
He’s pointing out that even though he’s wealthy, he still experiences racism. He’s alluding to the history of Jim Crow, while also discussing the fact that it really hasn’t gone away. Like that last verse - he can afford to join the country club now, but will he ever really be welcome?
The first high school I worked at was about 90% Black. The word has a very different meaning in that kind of space. It made me deeply uncomfortable, but I listened to a lot of really interesting conversations between students about the word - because it was basically in every other sentence. Hell, my first day of school I said hi to a student and their response was “this n—— gay!” (I’m white, mostly.)
I’m not criticizing his use of the word, I’m criticizing the fact he said he can’t be controlled by corporations, and now look at him.
I censored it cause it’s not my place to say or write it, even if repeating what someone else said.