|
Muttpop Bob's musings and rants for all things Muttpop, toys, videogames, hip-hop, and whatever else he's thinking of. |
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Kanye West Stronger
I'm looking forward to the new Kanye West album coming out on September 11th. Kanye seems super annoying and arrogant in his interviews...but as long as he's making good music, I can't complain. I first opened my eyes to Kanye's talent when he produced Talib Kweli's "Get By". Never in a million years would I have imagined that he'd become the "superstar" artist that he now is.His first major single, "Stronger" samples some Daft Punk. I dig the song and love the video's references to the 80s interpretation of sci-fi and Katsuhiro Otomo's "Akira". I also included Daft Punks original song so you can see how "Stronger" compares to what it sampled.Kanye West's "Stronger"Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger"Edwin Birdsong's "Cola Bottle Baby" (Thank's to BONGO for the "education"!)
Comments
Bongo
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Personally, I could never get over Kanye's ego and focus on religion in some of his songs (Jesus Walks was my first real exposure to him and well, that was a big turn off, not sure if such themes are quite as prevalent in his other songs but that Rolling Stone cover certainly didn't help) to really enjoy his music. His production though? Superb. I guess I'd like him more if he just shut up.And just to one up you, here's the song Daft Punk sampled/drew inspiration from for "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xn8M7s17pE
Muttpop Bob
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
bongo:Kanye's focus on religion isn't nearly as prevalent in other songs. He definitely plays with religion quite a bit...but I don't think Kanye is as religious as he makes people think. Kanye did a brilliant job of marketing himself. The "College Dropout" theme was the perfect icon for an individual between the Underground Backpacker MC and the Mainstream Pop Gangsta. He embraced the more intellectual side of hip-hop (much like KRS-1 did) but puts a twist on it by labelling himself as a drop out which allows the guys drawn to the gangsta/hustler archetype to identify with him. Iconically, he's "smart" but he decided to fuck the system and do it the "hustler's" way.I believe his association with Christianity is similar to the Republican religous stance...and he's willing to play and push it for all it's worth. Originally he was planning to be "Jesus" on the cover of Rolling Stone and "Satan" on the cover of Entertainment Weekly. Both magazines were supposed to be on newstands in the same week. After some talk with his PR team he decided against that Satan image. :-)I find him to be pretty fascinating. Sometimes I feel he's a little to conscious with the image he's creating for himself...but I admire the ambition. You should give him more of a chance. His lyrics are pretty dope. A song you make want to check out is "Get 'Em High" featuring Talib Kweli and Common. Amazing lyrics and deliveries all around...and in the worst case (if you don't like Kanye's stuff) you can still enjoy some great rhymes from Common and Talib Kweli you may have never heard!BTW, I'm adding your sample to the list. Great find!-Muttpop Bob
Bongo
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Argh, damn your logic (and making feel guilty for my hatin). I've heard him featured on a fair many tracks ("Classics" being a favorite), and enjoyed his paradoy of "Throw Some D's On That Bitch" (that video was made of win, just like that last one he made that was just Zach Galifinakis doing what he does best).I guess it'd be a pretty pointless thing to not give his music a fair shake, especially if you speak so highly of him.