Kanye West, better known as Ye, is unarguably one of the most polarizing artists in the music industry today. Overlooking his recent statements (which I don’t condone), I strongly believe there was prodigy behind his albums.
In my passion blogs, I wish to delve deeper into Ye’s music and take a closer look to what he tries to tell us.
Let’s first try to get to know Kanye a little bit better though.
Despite being born in Atlanta, Kanye was raise and spent his early life in Chicago. He was born to his father – Ray West, a photojournalist – and his mother – Donda Williams, an English professor. He attempted to follow his mom’s footsteps and pursue English at Chicago State University, which unfortunately lasted less than a year. Here is more info about Ye’s mom: https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donda_West
This didn’t demotivate him, rather, it produced a studio album that many critics acclaim as the “Greatest Hip-Hop Album of all Time”. Ye went on to create many more albums which ended up being platinum hits. Some of them are here: https://www.billboard.com/artist/kanye-west/
His 2021 interlude track “Moon” featuring Kid Cudi and Don Toliver proved me wrong about a misunderstanding I always carried – that money can buy happiness. The beginning vocals of the song are sung by all three artists, repeating the sentences “I wanna go to the moon, don’t leave so soon (Don’t leave so soon) / How could I get through? (How could I get through?)”.
Although we don’t know what the moon symbolizes in this context, Cudi gives us an idea from an interview done in 2009. For him, it represents a “place of peace in [his] mind.” He also lets the interviewer know that he wants kids to “interpret it and find their own moon in their world.” Because the song’s album centers on Kanye’s willpower to fight through the death of his mother, I think the moon serves as a metaphor for a mental state of well-being. Toliver also tells the listener not to “leave so soon,” pleading those with suicidal thoughts to hang on longer. It portrays that despite having tons of fans, fame, money, and love, the desire to be on the “moon” affects everyone.
My interpretation of Ye’s work was simply a mere angle of looking at his music. What message do you think Kanye was trying to get across to his listeners? Do you think his messages have anything to do with his past experiences? There are a lot of split opinions here: https://www.kanyetothe.com/forums/.