May 17, 2016 Well, this was a popular thing not long ago... Making top 10 lists. So here's my version, which of course is THE YEEZY EDITION. I'll basically be counting down from 10 over the week, posting 1 or 2 a day. I strongly welcome discussion, feedback and criticisms, but try not to be too critical, I'm making a personal list rather than an objective list, there might be 1 or 2 surprising inclusions and exclusions. But I generally jump on the wagon with some of his finest work. This was quite hard for me because he has more than 10 10/10 songs... So if you're mad a certain song didn't make the cut, I probably still rate it a 10. Chip in if you reckon you already know #1. HONOURABLE MENTIONS Through The Wire, Two Words, Hey Mama, Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix), Flashing Lights, Say You Will, Amazing, Bad News, Gorgeous, Lost In The World, Guilt Trip, Real Friends #10 Spoiler: 10 Blood On the Leaves Yeezus Strange... fruit... hanging...... I don't know about you guys, but this song contains everything about Kanye besides a classic Old Kanye quote. It's a b-----r, it has an emotional side, simple yet addictive lyrics and a legendary sample. The context of the song as well is a recurring theme of Kanyes' with how fame can tear apart relationships. Probably the best song I've ever seen performed live (although there aren't that many lol), he really drags the audience in. 6 minutes, the longest song on Yeezus, yet I want it to last longer. I'm pretty sure it would be in my top 5 most played songs of all time. If I was musically talented, boi I would be jumping on a Piano making a cover for this song. OUT! #9 Spoiler: 9 Jesus Walks The College Dropout I made Jesus Walks I ain't ever going to h---.... Could this be Kanye's anthem, it's been around for a long time and he still love playing it. I thought it deserved a spot in the top 10 for what it is. It seems like a lot of people got introduced to Kanye through this era of his music, but it wasn't the case for me, I started around 808s/MBDTF and worked my way back. But I still feel like this is vintage Kanye for me, I do go back for a listen every now and then, it's not a regular for me but I strongly appreciate it. The College Dropout was a classic, with this being one of the songs that stood out the most. I'm not super religious, but what appealed to me from this song was his bravery to speak out and say whatever he wanted and do things his way, to me, this was the foundation of his confidence. OUT! #8 Spoiler: 8 Only One Non-album Single Well quite a few of you have guessed it! It's probably because I'm one of the members who's quite vocal about this song being so good. I obviously loved this song a lot when it first came out, but was unsure of what direction Kanye was leading towards with So Help Me God. I'm mildly disappointed that it didn't carry its way to feature on The Life of Pablo, it's all good as long as this song doesn't get forgotten when we remember his legacy because if feel like it contributes a lot. I always have the context of the song in mind when I listen and there are quite a few lines that will always touch me. Tell Nori about me. I'm not into defending Ye against his haters, but I bet I can convert a hater into a fan by giving them this song. OUT! #7 Spoiler: 7 POWER My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy 21st-Century Schizoid man!..... The clock's ticking, I just count down the songs. If it wasn't already difficult for me, it certainly is now. This should definitely be a safe pick because it should be in EVERYONE'S top 10. What I love about this song is that it's very uplifting, it's got some attacking lines (f--- you SNL) and it simply just never gets old. He actually performed this song on SNL but he obviously had to change the second verse due to what he said, I really wished did the original verse, d--- that would've been classic. Everything was about this song was on point, he nailed it to perfection. So much better than that Good Fridays version lol. Power is the name of my favourite sports team, I really wish this was their official song! OUT! #6 Spoiler: 6 Can't Tell Me Nothing Graduation Laaaa laaa laa la... When you get that pay cheque... Kanye knew how to make someone feel invincible. Graduation had a lot of highs and there were a couple of songs that bordered around the top 10, but this song is definitely my favourite song off the album. Kanye has locked himself up in his own world, a very wealthy word, he likes to emphasise. There are so many factors in this song that try to bring him down but you hardly notice from how little he cares about them. From the day you first listen to it, it's so easy to click with it. Been up there as one of my favourite song by Kanye for a along time. The Hangover has inspired me to one day visit Vegas and bump this song... loud.. OUT! #5 Spoiler: 5 So Appalled My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Incoming rage.. Remember this is a pretty subjective list, factoring a lot of personal preferences. This album really made me a fan of Pusha T, I don't know the consensus thought, but if nobody it rating it then it's very underrated. I've had to deal with all the outrageous eliminations in my elimination games and this song getting voted out in the 2nd round had me fuming. The only flaw with So Appalled was CyHi the Prince's verse, it was fairly average. Other than that, it's amazing. I'll take the backlash if there's any to come, I know this might be a controversial pick. Just a few more songs to go, as you can tell by now, there are quite a few surprising exclusions. OUT! #4 Spoiler: 4 All Falls Down The College Dropout She's so self-conscious! I really enjoy listening to this song. Although Jesus Walks is like an anthem, Through the Wire was a career defining moment... I felt like this song defines The College Dropout better. It's definitely a song that I and many other people around my age like me can relate to a lot, it's probably up there on top of a large list when I find myself listening to this song for the context rather than how good it sonically is (however, it does rock in that department). I'm really not sure if this is a song everyone would rate so highly, but it is for me. My top 5 probably looks a lot different to others. OUT! #3 Spoiler: 3 Ultralight Beam The Life of Pablo THIS IS A GOD DREAM.... I just had to have a song from The Life Of Pablo, and to have it this high? Yes! Ultralight Beam is something really special to me. This is something that I normally keep to myself, but I was having a really hard time at the start of the year... a real tough time, seeing people advance through their careers and travelling, felt like my life was heading into a dead end. This song came at the right time for me. The Kelly Price verse was really touching and lifted me from the ground and Chance the Rapper was a f---ing boss. I would have this at #1 but a part of me tells me it's too early. It's my favourite song at the moment, but hasn't been long enough to jump ahead of the 2 I placed in front of it. Such a great song, thank you Kanye, I needed this. OUT! #2 Spoiler: 2 Runaway My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Well, it almost seems like an obligation that this song is number 1. Perfect is one word to the describe this song. Kanye did a brilliant job on MBDTF, probably the greatest hip-hop album of all time (well in my bias opinion) and the fact that this song was almost the unanimous (1 prick voted for it in the last round) winner of the MBDTF Elimination Game says a lot about the song. People could argue that it carries on at the end or takes a while to start, I would argue that it's a piece of art. You can feel the raw emotions from Ye in this song "I sent this b---- a picture of my diiiiick"... When Kanye came around Australia for the Yeezus Tour, Pusha T opened, but this song was the middle of Kanye's set. Pusha came back on as a surprise to play his verse. I heard that he didn't do that to any other city over here. Adelaide getting them exclusives. OUT! #1 Spoiler: 1 Hold My Liquor Yeezus And there we have it guys.... my favourite Kanye West song of all time. The song does not lose any replay value whatsoever. It's my most played song on iTunes. For a while I was a bit stiff on Yeezus, I've always rated it as one of his worst albums in his discography because I was deaf and tried to appreciate the old Kanye more. But I learned to accept that I enjoy listening to Yeezus the most, I listen to it the most, it became definite that Yeezus was one of his best albums and HML came along with it as his best song. Chief Keef, killed it.. Justin Vernon, wow.. Kanye West, captivating.. f--- me that is he best verse of ALL TIME!!! Came in with 1 verse and that's all he f---ing needed. Okay.. that was a bit of an exaggerating but it's essential to know all the words. OUT! Hope you liked my list and didn't take it too seriously if you disagree with it. It's more of a personal list mixed with my own experiences and how much I enjoy the songs, but I tried to be a tad objective as well.
May 17, 2016 if you think blood on the leaves is s--- you probably have a do not disturb sign on your bedroom door
May 17, 2016 Blood on the leaves goes from melodic sample+ Kanye singing to Kanye singing with rhythmic synths/drums and finished with Kanye rapping and rythmic drums So it respects the Melodic ----- melodic ----- rhythmic Melodic ----- rhythmic ----- rhythmic Scheme and it's the perfect song.
May 18, 2016 #9 Spoiler: 9 Jesus Walks The College Dropout I made Jesus Walks I ain't ever going to h---.... Could this be Kanye's anthem, it's been around for a long time and he still love playing it. I thought it deserved a spot in the top 10 for what it is. It seems like a lot of people got introduced to Kanye through this era of his music, but it wasn't the case for me, I started around 808s/MBDTF and worked my way back. But I still feel like this is vintage Kanye for me, I do go back for a listen every now and then, it's not a regular for me but I strongly appreciate it. The College Dropout was a classic, with this being one of the songs that stood out the most. I'm not super religious, but what appealed to me from this song was his bravery to speak out and say whatever he wanted and do things his way, to me, this was the foundation of his confidence. @Mraczewsky @Deej61 @Loyalty @Narsh @Ordinary Joel
May 18, 2016 i started with kanye around the same time as you, and like you said...a track like jesus walks feels iconic regardless of when you discovered it this is how you do gospel music chance
May 18, 2016 Great choice, a classic for sure. Not in my top 10 but I do love it. I got into Kanye around this time (I think the first song I heard was "All Falls Down" so I bought the album a little late) but then I remember buying CD and eagerly awaiting LR. This song's replay value is great... and also I'll never get over the Happy Gilmore line in it
