Talk:Kanye West

Ridiculous Inclusion

This is another example of people trying really hard to slip their POV into a wikipedia article, but veiling it with enough skill so that no one has the guts to delete it: "many found it a malpractice to award a hip-hop artist for lyrics [to "jesus walks"] he did not in fact write himself." Although it is highly questionable whether "many found" this to be a "malpractice," even if this were the case, I could say with confidence that these people are not intelligent enough, let alone objective enough, to have their opinions included on this page. In other words, these people are deliberately ignoring how the Grammies work in order to criticize Kanye West. Newsflash: Grammies are awarded to whoever received writing credit for the song; hip-hop producers almost always receive a writing credit; even if Rhymefest wrote ALL the lyrics (which I don't believe is the case), West still got a writing credit because he produced the song and performed it. Furthermore, I understand how some hip-hop fans think that lyrics are like these incredibly important things that you can automatically criticize people for no matter what, but the music is at least as important and in the case of Kanye West, more important to a certain extent (i.e., he produces his own music, etc.). So this is a blatantly POV inclusion; it's like the people who write on the Jay-Z page, to paraphrase, "many have accused Jay-Z of stealing other people's lyrics, greatly compromising his standing as an MC" which isn't technically untrue, but it's an esoteric POV from a highly biased minority. In this case, people who say that he shouldn't have gotten the award and that it was "malpractice" don't understand how grammies and writing credits work. I understand that some people think this--but these people clearly don't know what they are talking about, so why include their opinions prominently on this page? Look up a list of songs that have won Grammies and many, possibly even most of them, have multiple writers who aren't performers.

This being said, I have heavily qualified the inclusion about the Rhymefest "controversy." I checked out the link provided, and it went to a site describing the (completely unsubstantiated) accusations by some Blog writer who is clearly biased and mostly annoyed at the fact that Kanye West is boastful (as if this has anything to do with writing credits). People seem not to understand the legal way these things work, and the business of publishing songs is like this for a reason. Furthermore, this whole thing directly contradicts the article on the song itself, which states that the music (production) and lyrics were written in collaboration. The Grammy is awarded to a certain SONG and then the physical awards themselves are given to whoever appears in the writing credits. The Grammy is given based on the merits of the tune, irrespective of whether or not the performer co-wrote it or not, and this is one of the most common practices in the music industry--collaborative writing. The music is important, not just the lyrics--people don't seem to realize this. Seeing as the lyrics and music of this song are inseperable, and that the official sources seem to imply it was a collaborative effort, and that the co-writer did receive credit, and that there is no evidence to support the claim that Rhymefest was behind even a majority of the song (other than the vague whinings of highly-biased Kanye West watchdogs), it seems like this inclusion was one of the greatest scams I have ever seen on wikipedia that has gone unchallenged. Jesus, these sort of smear tactics are incredibly annoying; if you dislike Kanye West, I don't see why you would feel compelled to try to spoil his already controversial name on an open internet encyclopedia site; just don't buy his records.

Anti-Education?

One aspect of Kanye's work that I never see discussed or have understood is his obsession with higher education. Obviously, I get the fact that he dropped out of college, but why does it figure so prominently in his album artwork, skits and tracks? In fact, in several of skits in "The College Dropout" he seems to be very anti-higher education. Is this just a humorous crack at his past? Is it a defence against potential attacks at him for not having any street-cred with other blacks since he is a (partially) college educated, upper-middle class black? Is the bear-mascot prominently shown on the cover of both albums an alter-ego for Kanye? Is it supposed to represent some sort of alienation or sepearation that he feels? From what I have seen on television and heard on radio, these motifs do not seem to be a part of his public persona -- does Kanye have a "position" on higher education? If not, it seems like an awful lot of work for a throwaway theme. 69.174.71.38 16:18, 13 March 2006 (UTC)

He failed college, which is why he dropped out of it. For him, I suppose, college represents a superfluous part of a person's life, unnecessary for success, since he's a college dropout and now a millionaire. Of course, nobody ever heard high school dropout Notorious BIG or Frank Sinatra decry the woes of higher education, because their mothers weren't teachers at the schools they went to. Kanye also worked many fruitless part time jobs, such as a Gap salesman, so you could make it even more complex and attribute it to his wish to actually finish college. Alas, Kanye didn't, dropped out, made lots of beats, got rich, and finally established a platform for himself to peddle his propaganda. C'est la vie. --Mod 00:08, 18 March 2006 (UTC)

I think he's not being so much anti-education as he is satirical of it. If you've listened to the Jeanious Mixtapes (which are excellent BTW) he has a slightly less caustic tone about the matter. Additionally the album Late Registration is set in a college setting, with Kanye returning to class, Fraternities, and others such interesting topics. I dunno though, I've been wrong once, it could happen again. -- Dragoonmac - ^{If there was a problem yo I'll solve it} 00:17, 18 March 2006 (UTC)

I'm sorry I dont have the source on hand, but I distinctly remember Kanye West once mentioning that "College may be an choice, but high school is a must". He mentioned his statement at a fundraiser raising money to allow urban youth to stay in school. Thus, Kanye has forgone the option of college in his life, but recognizes that is may be a viable option for others. -- Atlien 14:33, 3 August 2006 (UTC)

Kanye West is Puff Daddy reborn into the 00's?

Anyone else notice KW's narcissism, arrogance, and sampling of entire instrumental sections as eerily similar to that of late 90's Puffy repertoire?--Mod 14:37, 21 January 2006 (UTC)

I certainly have. He is a good musician/producer, but he is too damn full of himself, and his attitude is like WHOA.

The two are nothing alike. What the hell? Puffy has no musical background, he would sample music and loop it, changing very little about the original track (in some cases, he wouldn't even loop it, he would just play it as is and have rappers rhyme over it). Kanye West samples snippets of songs and vocal tracks to accentuate a point or make a necessary reference to build on a theme or mood of his songs. Also add to the fact that Kanye writes his own rhymes, Puffy had other people write for him (even his tribute to late rapper Biggie Smalls was written by someone else). Musically, they are different. Artisitically, they are different. POLITICALLY, they are different. The two are nothing alike. They are two totally different individuals and it's almost insulting that they'd be compared simply because they are successful Black men who have taken a leading role in mainstream entertainment. Richard Corey 15:10, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

Kanye West has no musical background either. And what you're talking about (section looping) is merely stylistic difference. As for rhymes, Kanye West may write his own and Puffy may have writers (right, I'm sure you're totally aware of the many controversies Kanye has had over "Jesus Walks" and other songs; the dude steals as many songs as he produces), but Kanye's rhymes aren't even that good. Puff Daddy isn't a rapper, neither is Kanye West. They're both producers. What I referred to was their egoism and big-man attitudes. Kanye West feels he has license to speak on behalf of black people, which is clearly not true. The guy failed English, what more do I have to say? But now that you mention it, besides their arrogance and thieving habits, the two men are different; Puff Daddy worked his ass off for Uptown when starting and took a lot of business risks with his roster and has a life story to tell that is undoubtedly filled with a lot of interesting stuff. Kanye West on the other hand, is a rhyme thief, ignorance endorser, and hatemonger. --Mod 04:21, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

you are a cry baby queen. they both suck.

And you're too much of a pussy to sign your name. --Mod 04:21, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

so Kanye was born to the parents of Black Panthers, lived in China as a child, has songs about the diamondtrade in Sierra Leone, and you accuse him of being ignorant? he was openly courted as a producer by Jay-Z who might possibly be the best living rapper, and you claim he has no musical background? to call Kanye a "rhyme theif" shows a complete and utter lack of knowledge about the entire history of hip-hop. and how, exactly, is Kanye being a "hatemonger." by pointing out that George W. Bush doesn't give a flying fawk about black people?

ever heard of something called "projection." becuase you practice it in everyone of your posts. it's quite clear that Kanye threatens you. why this is, I don't know. but you definitely come across like a pussy.

You know who else was born to the Black Panthers? Tupac Shakur. Besides, living in China, working in Gap, and only discovering about diamond trade after Q-Tip told him about it (a REAL conscious MC) doesn't even constitute a grain of authenticity. Put it this way: he has a giant overblown ego, he can't rap either because he's terrible at it or because his past doesn't give him enough things to talk about, and he's got the majority of music listeners hypnotized by using such ground-breaking tricks as taking sections of a song and speeding them up. He is a fraud as a rapper and a fraud as a producer. However, that's not the comparison of him to Puff Daddy, since Puff Daddy is out of Harlem, had to actually earn a living, didn't work at a clothes shop, instead busting his ass as an intern at Uptown, and was/is affiliated with the underworld. The comparison to Puff Daddy is that they're both starving for attention, both think they're the shit, and both are fairly lazy when it comes to production. Do I hear you stuttering?

Furthermore, Jay-Z is NOT the best rapper alive. That shows your "complete and utter lack of knowledge about the entire history of hip-hop." Kanye West proposes that AIDS is man-made and placed in Africa, says on a fundraiser that the president doesn't care about black people, and criticizes the diamond industry, which, if you don't know yet, is primarily run by Jews. Now, Kanye is Catholic. I don't have to tell you a lot besides that to see where he's coming from. He seeks to alienate blacks from the government (again), seeks to make blacks distrust the government (again), and seeks to destroy a Jew-run industry (like all other hatemongers before him). You're not very bright if you actually believe Kanye West and that W doesn't care about blacks. To a politician, all people are votes and money. He would care about them, if not out of moral integrity, for the facade of a diverse office. Colin Powell and Condi Rice are just interns there, that's what you're saying?

If you do actually know something about Kanye that he's done that doesn't involve buying Gucci bags and talking about Myspace...wait a minute. Kanye West donated his $360K diamond watch after he recorded "Diamonds From Sierra Leone." [1] Gee, uh, where was his "activism" before Q-Tip told him about the problem? He's an ignorant puppet who doesn't understand much of anything about the world, is Machiavellian to the extreme, and isn't even very talented.

You might do well to sign your posts. --MOD 18:41, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

This topic is irrelevant to the discussion of the Wikipedia page and should be archived and removed, as this discussion page is already overlong. Feeeshboy 21:48, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Chznged It

I changed a factuall error I found in the biography. Kanye is not from the suburbs of Chicago. Kanye and his mother moved to Chicago from GA when he was 3. Kanye was raise on the southside of Chicago on by 73rd St. Just a few block west of Lake Michigan, by Rainbow Beach.

I changed the lyrics link to point to the Kayne West page on go2lyrics. The previous lyrics link was dead. (http://www.ohhla.com/YFA_kanye.html).

Request for rewrite

This page really needs to be rewritten, or severely copy edited. It sounds like it was written by a 7th grader. It's fraught with POV and extranaeous info.

I could clean it up, but I don't know enough about the subject to do it properly. googuse 15:42, 20 September 2005 (UTC)

Miscellaneous

Can someone change the link of the video of Kanye West on NBC to a page that is not some sort of ad-page?

Other copies of the videos can be fond here: http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/09/02.html#a4762

Hey I am looking for the contact address for GOOD music Kanye's label if anyone knows it please email to hubertrobersonjr@yahoo.com.

extremely biased no? --Thirdbane 04:31, 2004 Mar 28 (UTC)

When Kanye West was born ?

Also, where did he grow up SPECIFICALLY?

He grew up among this black middle class in south side chicago. For more info read the Time article on him.

There are reports that he spent some time in China as a child, attributed to an NME article, but I am unable to find much more than that. Any help would be appreciated. 05 Jan 06

Freshmen Adjustment shouldn't be under 'Studio Albums' I removed Freshmen Adjustment from 'Studio Albums' and put it in 'Compilations' --Pointyfingers 22:17, 30 July 2005 (UTC) "even though he himself has a collection of 12 cars and is a very rich individual" is that necessary? And the Capitol Records line in the first paragraph does not fit in well --Scottf9 01:13, 22 July 2005 (UTC)

Is Gold Digger actually "featuring Jamie Foxx"?, because Jamie Foxx only sings the intro... --Scottf9 01:31, 22 July 2005 (UTC)

Yeah, it appears on the official Billboard charts as "Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx" --Musicpvm 05:51, 25 July 2005 (UTC)

Jamie Foxx is in the intro and the hook.

Actually, he is only there on the intro, that's Ray Charles' voice sampled on the hook.Jamie had more text in the first stage but they just deleted it and went with the intro in the final song.There is another song with strange credit: Crack Music.The Game basically says ONE sentence, but is still credited since he had a whole verse but asked more money than Kanye wanted to give him for it.It's still "featuring The Game".--Bwanaunsignedhype 00:27, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

• not true. Game never had a verse for the song. [2] --Shawn88 23:55, 3 August 2006 (UTC)

• • Sounds like a cover up story to me.Nevertheless, it's only a rumor, but...[3]We'll know the truth when the album comes out.--Bwanaunsignedhype 11:48, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

• • • Doesn't sound very true to me. The Game had a "featuring" credit because he's "The Game", and Jamie Foxx had a "featuring" credit because he's "Jamie Foxx", if they were some relatively unknown artist it would be unlikely that they would have; they would have just been creditted in the album booklet under "additional vocals by ...", because of how small of a part they play in their respective songs. --Shawn88 13:06, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

Who is "Tom Borghard"!?!?!? An exact google search brings up 10 results, one of them being this Wikipedia article and all the others referencing "Tom Borghard" to G.O.O.D. Music are just plagiarised pages of this article. I've never heard of Tom Borghard, I'm removing his name from the article. --Scottf9 22:45, 22 July 2005 (UTC)

Production discography

For people who add to the Production Discography, Can you please keep it in order of release DATE, not just by year of release, except the Unreleased/Misc section which should be in alphabetical order of artist Scottf9 23:53, 24 July 2005 (UTC)

• This section needs to be laid out MUCH better! This is now the most horrific TOC in any Wikipedia article I've seen! Does every album really need a ===Level 3=== heading? Harro5 07:12, July 26, 2005 (UTC)

yea it does, but don't take any of the info out, there's so much here. --Pointyfingers 22:17, 30 July 2005 (UTC)

• The info is good, so I've moved it all to Kanye West discography to use this page for biography notes without the need for all this other stuff. Harro5 07:56, August 11, 2005 (UTC)

Racism

Racism, and anti-white and arbitrary sentiment features so strongly in this man's career, it's not funny. Perhaps it warrants a separate section on the subject? 62.25.106.209 11:58, 3 August 2005 (UTC)

Percieved racism and "anti-white" sentiment feature in a LOT of rappers lyrics. Unless you're suggesting there be a section on this for virtually every rapper listed on Wikipedia (including some white rappers like MC Serch and Jedi Mind Tricks) it appears that there are obvious elements of bias here. jcomp489

Racism and anti-white sentiments? Oh please, even if Kanye West was personally racist - although he doesn't appear to be - racism does not feature strongly (or even at all) in his career as you suggested. In the future, please leave Wikipedia articles free of your personal opinion.

"The music video for "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" features many people of whom only two are white. The white couple are depicted as diamond-loving and greedy, and are shown being watched by a young black child (probably meant to represent the suffering in the conflict-ridden diamond mining areas). This video has been criticised in the media as depicting a racist view of whites taking advantage of blacks and not recognising the suffering. West did not choose to depict his fellow rappers and 'R+B' stars who collect diamonds and feature them heavily in their videos and photo shoots, and use them as a status symbol in their communities and culture. West suggests that it is acceptable for black people to exploit other Africans, but whites who do the same should be depicted in a bad light."

The same video also shows Kanye himself being watched over and practically hunted down by black children. The remix of the song then goes on to address that it is, essentially, many black entertainers who are buying diamonds and not checking if they're conflict diamonds or not. And, in fact, the remix is the featured version of the song on the album, while the original is a hidden track. You can't cite one source and not the other. jcomp489

That was a very biased opinion and interpretation of the music video. It never appeared to suggest that "it is acceptable for black people to exploit other Africans", to me at least. As I said - please leave personal opinions out of Wikipedia as they will quickly be removed. --Scottf9 17:47, 3 August 2005 (UTC)

• How do you know that was a very biased opinion? Biased from what point? Do you know the colour of the posters' skin, or his/her politics, ethnic group or beliefs? Why don't you check words in the dictionary before using them? [By the way, your personal opinion that racism does not feature in Kayne West's career is interesting. It's bull, but interesting.] You are very clearly a relatively new poster: soon you'll discover that 90% of this site is personal opinion, or so-called "facts" supported by articles written by journalists (a profession well-known for avoiding personal bias, politics or agendas - NOT). The only opinions deleted are usually those not held by the majority. Had you simply and politely asked for supporting data and deleted pending substantiation I would have let this pass without wanting to comment, but you chose a little personal spoilt-brat/newbie rant (inviting me to talk to you on your level). Go and learn how not to behave like the person you are attacking, learn some etiquette, and I'll go back to being the easy-going person I usually am. JPDK 13:12, 17 August 2005 (UTC)

Ah, well please show me how racism features strongly in Kanye West's career --Scottf9 14:03, 17 August 2005 (UTC)

Maybe it's the way he has like seven different white artists featuring on his new album. Sounds racist to me!!

No it's the way he says "When you get on he'll leave your (*&^&%^( for a white girl."

"it is acceptable for black people to exploit other Africans", that is politically inconsitant. It suggests these "black people" are "Africans" when the vast majority of them have never even set foot on Africa.

You make it seem like this was a conscious choice of African-Americans and you come off sounding very ignorant. They were brought over to the Western Hemisphere as slaves, so they didn't have much of a choice in severing ties with the African continent. They very much are Africans, African-American to be exact, much like Italian-Americans and Irish-Americans. The only difference is that Africa is chosen as a continent for identification because all the specifics about tribes/countries was lost when they were brought over to the Americas.

And before you say Africans sold other Africans into slavery, that is a rather simple-minded view because it views Africa as a homogenous nation where it is a continent of many nations and people being sold into slavery would be akin to the British selling the French to the Spanish.

-- InnerCityBlues 16:59, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

the "leave ur ass for a white girl" lyric is just an ode to how black men have a tendency to claim black girls donthang wit black men, but then they date white women. it is a trend in black culture. it wasn't racist. just an observation--Jaysscholar 20:00, 2 November 2005 (UTC)

I know what "wit" is but what does "donthang" mean? How do these words fit together?

If this act involves people of different races isn't it more correct for you to say that it is "a trend in culture" rather than a "trend in black culture."

Why does it matter what race this new girlfriend is?

Why are the hawks who monitor these postings afraid of the truth? Are they implying that Blacks can't be racists?

The only thing that these "hawks" imply are how retarded some of these ideas are, mostly since they're so polite. Yes, there are black racists. No, Kanye West isn't one of them. End of Story.

It's pretty funny that a white person or media source can be labelled a racist for the most subtle and often times, inadvertently offensive comment (which is usually mildly bad at best) while someone like Kanye West can be so blatant about it. Let a white guy say something like that on TV and you will see Jesse Jackson running his mouth on every major media outlet within hours.

hahahahahahahahaha!! Oh Christ my Lord! Whoever came up with the concept "reverse racism" should be shot and killed. Everybody's a victim now. "No it's the way he says the critique of "When you get on he'll leave your (*&^&%^( for a white girl." <---- First off dude, you can say ass. It's okay. Mommy's not looking. This is a prime example of why cultural outsiders like this cat and JPDK should have nothing, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, to do with hip-hop. It was a joke. Everyone on this side of the line got it. Only bitter-ass white people who are still licking their wounds over that whole Civil Rights Act thing, could find fault in it. It's irony. It's supposed to be ironic that throughout the song he initially chides black women for being gold-diggers and not standing by struggling black men, but then at the conclusion of the song admits those same men will probably leave them for white girls once they get famous. It was ironic. Humerous; playing on an inside joke hip-hop and Blacks have shared for as long as Black men have been allowed to date White women. But of course, if you've lived all your life thinking all Blacks can do is dance, sing and roll their necks, you wouldn't know that. But to try to say it's racist? Lol! And what's with the cats citing his "Diamond" video, without citing the actual song. The song is an indictment on HIMSELF. But because he shows two White people (OH LAWDY JESUS NO, HE'S SHOWING WHITE PEOPLE IN A BAD LIGHT) all of a sudden he's racist. Oh, you poor poor white people, an entertainer correctly says you share blame in the blood diamond trade, SOMEONE CALL THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF OPPRESSED CAUCASIANS! Thank heavens Johnny Cocrhan passed...man would be TURNING in his grave at the sight of this atrocity! ROFLZ... sorry folks, but if this is your idea of "racism"...be very, very, very thankful God made you White. Richard Corey 15:31, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

Richard Corey - nice one.

You're a very powerful writer Richard Corey. What you write is always strongly opinonated. You seem like a pretty cool dude to meet

The fact is, "leave ur ass for a white girl" is simply just what happens in the black community. Its not any form of racism and if you view it as racism, then you are overly sensitive. And while Kanye West has made comments some may view as racism (how saying that the president doesn't care about black people is racist, I don't know) it does not reflect in his work, and ultimatly he has not discriminated against any of his listeners regardless of their race. In short, I feel that the Racism arguement is unfounded and has absolutely no merit, and therefore should not be reflected in the Wikipedia databases.

Hello, i am of white british descent and i would just like to add even if he is racist we should judge people by their music rather than how they speak. Will Smith makes comments alot in programs including (not direct qoute) "oh, its because im black" but i still think he is a legend and nothing will change that.

Grammy Awards

"Somewhat surprisingly, he did not go home with the Best New Artist Grammy (which instead went to Maroon 5); this snub was a repeat of the shut-out he received at the 2004 American Music Awards, where he lost to Gretchen Wilson." This line definitely simply reflects the author's opinion on Kanye's music over Maroon 5's and Wilson's. I'm editing that line out, as I believe few woud think that Wilson and Maroon 5's achievements were the result of a deliberate snubbing or shutting-out of Kanye. -Josh, 13:44 EST, August 15 2005

However, I do think there should be something in the article about his legendary tantrums. When Best New Artist went to Gretchen Wilson at the 2004 AMAs (14 Nov 2004), he really melted down. West said, "I do not apologise to Dick Clark or the AMAs because you should not have had me perform and have me nominated for so many awards but not have an award. I'm one of those guys that's like all new artists, 'Oh, I just believe that everything is on the up-and-up' and now I see with some of those other award show that it's not." {Stephenpace 19:14, 3 September 2005 (UTC)}

GOOD Music???

G.O.O.D. Music

Wait... Is it "GOOD Music" or "G.O.O.D. Music"?? As far as I know it is G.O.O.D. Music but there is no official site as of yet. I was under the impression that it was "G.O.O.D. Music" but I've seen it as GOOD elsewhere. --Scottf9 11:32, 16 August 2005 (UTC)

It is actually G.O.O.D. music, it stands for Getting Out Our Dreams. 24.90.128.71 23:45, 28 August 2005 (UTC)

GLC are mentioned as part of "GOOD Music". If this is Goldie Lookin' Chain it should be linked to their Wikipedia entry. Even if it is not them (which seems likely) it needs to be adequately explained and disambiguated.

ooo HEEEEEEELLL no. GLC and "Goldie Lookin Chain" are different. GLC_(rapper) is signed to GOOD Music. --Shawn88 21:05, 6 September 2005 (UTC)

Copyright Violation

The text for the part on his views on homosexuality was lifted from a news story. West says that when he was young, people would call him a "mama's boy." "And what happened was, it made me kind of homophobic, 'cause it's like I would go back and question myself," West says on the show, "All Eyes on Kanye West," set to air Thursday night (10:30 p.m. ET). West says he changed his ways, though, when he learned one of his cousins was gay. "It was kind of like a turning point when I was like, `Yo, this is my cousin. I love him and I've been discriminating against gays.'" West says hip-hop was always about "speaking your mind and about breaking down barriers, but everyone in hip-hop discriminates against gay people." He adds that in slang, gay is "the opposite, the exact opposite word of hip-hop."Kanye's message: "Not just hip-hop, but America just discriminates. And I want to just, to come on TV and just tell my rappers, just tell my friends, `Yo, stop it.'"

I saw the story here,

http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20050818122948662#comments (which is a newswire) and it links the story to http://www.365gay.com/newscon05/08/081805rapper.htm

Then provide an external reference like so... [4] --Madchester 04:31, August 20, 2005 (UTC)

Removed POV statement about hurricane

I deleted the following lines:

"Even though Mr. West makes millions, and talks about helping the poor in Africa. He has not spoken out about helping our own people, The United States, and the people of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina."

I read it as a POV statement. Plus who does the "our own people" refer to. Perhaps it can be later added but with different language/tone. Akamad 02:13, September 2, 2005 (UTC)

I think they were referring to this video where he makes an ass of himself during the Katrine Red Cross fundraiser: http://thebqhaps.com/random/KanyeBenefit.wmv --I am not good at running 02:06, 4 September 2005 (UTC)

• "Even though Mr. West makes millions, and talks about helping the poor in Africa. He has not spoken out about helping our own people, The United States, and the people of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina." ...LOL, and look what happened only a few days later! I think you were to early there, Mr. POV! --81.110.6.135 17:29, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

"Noble" statements

I have replaced "West concluded his noble statements..." with "West concluded his remarks...". The original wording sounded ironic and hence not POV-neutral. This may or may not have been intentional, but I'm fixing it anyway. Miguel 16:45, 2005 September 3 (UTC)

Neutrality

I added the POV template because this article has been vandalized repeated. Psy guy ^(talk) 20:43, 3 September 2005 (UTC)

POV tag is not used for vandalism. See an administrator to have the page locked if you wish, or report it at Wikipedia:Vandalism in progress. --Howrealisreal 20:47, 3 September 2005 (UTC)

Sorry I used the wrong tag. I have listed article on Wikipedia:Vandalism in progress. Psy guy ^(talk) 22:41, 3 September 2005 (UTC)

LGBT Activist?????

I honestly dont think Kanye West should be referred to as a "LGBT Activist" just because of some comments in an interview... --Shawn88 23:14, 3 September 2005 (UTC)

I agree. Out the category goes. --FuriousFreddy 23:31, 3 September 2005 (UTC)

Name Pronunciation

Looks like the pronunciation of Kanye (KAHN-yay) got broken by a legitimate edit by Sonjaa. This should be fixed once vandalism slows down. Dukiebbtwin 00:23, 4 September 2005 (UTC)

The wikipedia standard for showing pronunciation is IPA, so I simply converted it to the correct and accurate phonetic system.--Sonjaaa 02:18, September 4, 2005 (UTC)

Looks like somebody removed the correct phonetic symbols again. We will have to switch back to an IPA transcription.--Sonjaaa 04:35, September 4, 2005 (UTC)

Is it supposed to look like this.... File:Kanyepronunciation.png ???? --81.110.6.135 17:36, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

Page lock

why was the page locked? i added a sample section since he uses so many samples. it'd be a good place to put which songs he samples. is that why it got protected? jaysscholar

• It was listed at Vandalism in progress. Your edit was likely not the cause - West's comments about Bush have caused a bit of a surge in angry Bush-lovers ranting on this page. We've had a few anons blocked, but don't worry, it's not your fault. I don't like your sample idea though...Harro5 04:20, September 4, 2005 (UTC)

• whats wrong with my sample idea? he does a lot of them so we should keep track. it be a nice way to know all his samples--Jaysscholar 04:27, 4 September 2005 (UTC)

• Its wikipedia, not the-breaks.com --Shawn88 04:35, 4 September 2005 (UTC)
• excatly, an encylopedia should keep tabs on the artist. and considering samples is one of the major thing he is known for, seems logical to me --Jaysscholar 05:11, 4 September 2005 (UTC) (added sig)
  • Jay, please sign all comments on talk pages. This sort of discussion has already taken place over West's production career, and that ended up with a separate page created for the list. This article is for a biography of Kanye West and a short list of his major discography. Feel free to create a list of sampling in Kanye West's music and link to it from this article, but this isn't really the place. Harro5 05:08, September 4, 2005 (UTC)
• It was requested to be protected at WP:RFPP here. Sasquatch讲看 23:14, September 5, 2005 (UTC)

About his single "Jesus Walks" and "Punk'd"

Kanye's single "Jesus Walks" did came in reality. --198.31.230.89

• huh? --Shawn88 05:45, 4 September 2005 (UTC)

• I agree with what user:Shawn88 said :) Akamad 05:51, September 4, 2005 (UTC)

late registration

Late Registration debuts at #2 in the UK Albums Chart. secfan 12:56, September 4, 2005 (UTC)

• Source? --Shawn88 13:04, 4 September 2005 (UTC)

Sources + diamonds

I think it would be more solid an article if everything in the political views section was sourced.

Also I think that adding a line about his views on blood diamonds is very appropriate for this section. One of his newest videos “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” deals with the issue. It's rare that a hip-hop artist makes such a strong statement with one if their videos. I think the video can be viewed on this page [5]--Fluxaviator 04:55, 5 September 2005 (UTC)

What about the comments on West supporting AIDS conspiracy theories? If there is any other proof? He may believe it, but those lyrics are not sufficient to warrant this interpretation. For example, I've heard Hurricane Katrina called a "man-made" disaster, due to environmental destruction and a poor response. This doesn't necesairly support the "government open the levees" theory, or that Bush created the Hurricane.

ANY CONSERVATIVE BACKLASH, YEAH!

Kanye West is going to expect Bill O'Reilly to go after him and take his Pepsi deal away! Here's some other possibilities: Is Sean Hannity going to tell Jesse Lee Peterson to put him on BOND's Black List? Or is Matt Drudge going to twist his words and put it out of context and then blame him and Mike Myers for being Anti-American? Only Michelle Malkin (who does listen to hip-hop) will be the one to really say that because that Kanye West's attitude toward everyone. I'll put money on it! I already see what type of response Kanye West gets!

Already the people at Fox are trying to ban him from the NFL, Pepsi, and NBC. What you expect from a newspaper, O'Reilly, Hannity, and other critics. You speak out against Bush, and you'll be the next one on Fox News and Karl Rove blame machine.

Here's a list of what Fox News blames in the Hurricane Katrina situation:

• Hollywood

I bet the Wikis were thinking I was going after Blanco, Nagin, Brown, Jackson, and Chertoff! I already knew they were the ones Fox News blames! LILVOKA 13:22, 7 September 2005 (UTC)

Now What?

This sounds like a personal problem. //user:DJRaveN4x

comment

Whether we seem to see it or not it is genius. And whether or not you can deal with it it is very much true. Don't hate the fact that he has spoken his mind on National Television... Don't you wish you could do the same? Freedom of speech is a beautiful thing, especially when you can make money off of it. 7 30

Kanye West is a fuckin' assholic dumbass. All he can think about is 'racism' when people are trying to help the hurricane victims. -- 60.48.83.33

• In the future, please add your comments to the existing talk page instead of deleting everybody elses first. Thanks --Shawn88 06:56, 6 September 2005 (UTC)

• and judging by your contribution to the African American article, all you can think about is "male genitilia" when people are trying to help the hurricane victims. --Shawn88 06:59, 6 September 2005 (UTC)

Maybe Kanye West thinks about 'racism' because he is an African American and lives in a nation with a history of horrific racism...that racism continues today on a grand scale. --Fluxaviator 07:12, 7 September 2005 (UTC)

The recent junk added to this talk page (the anon comment in this section, the conservative jargon directly aboce) only further support the case to have this article locked until the controversy about West's Katrina comments die down in a week or so. Harro5 07:38, September 7, 2005 (UTC)

Little side note, butt isn't male genitalia.

Re: Little side note... Who mentioned "butt" ? I was referring to the following edit by 60.48.83.33 - http://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=African_American&diff=prev&oldid=22678505 --Shawn88 02:22, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

#1 Album

I just wanted to ask if you guys can add in that his album, Late Registration reached #1 in the Billboard US charts if you don't believe me then go to billboard.com. 24.90.128.71 02:45, 8 September 2005 (UTC)

• He also jumps from 19 to 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart, with Gold Digger. --secfan 08:41, September 8, 2005 (UTC)

• the album is #1, but is gold digger really #1 on the hot 100???? --Shawn88 10:41, 8 September 2005 (UTC)

• Yep. Sold 80,000 downloads too. Can't believe it - he set the download record. Add that when page comes off protection.

• The page has yet needs to be changed, I might request for a temporary unprotection. --24.90.128.71 00:26, 10 September 2005 (UTC)

"Thunderous Boos"

He was not. That article heavily exaggurated it. --Shawn88 10:32, 11 September 2005 (UTC)

2 articles. When you get your opinion published in the Boston Globe or other places, maybe you would be worth a citation.

Gold Digger

The Gold digger remix is unrelated to Kanye West, it isn't relevant. --213.106.129.169

It was influenced by West's comments so I think it should be mentioned. --Jaysscholar 22:18, 23 September 2005 (UTC)

college dropout

"(this title was inspired by his one year stint in a Chicago art school)" ...idiot, he dropped out of two colleges actually. I removed it anyway. --Shawn88 15:16, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Shawn, I love the fact that you are keeping vigilant watch over this page, but please refrain from using personal attacks. Yes, there are a lot of factual disparities in this article, and I very much appreciate your hawk-eyes on this subject, but please be be civil. Thank you, [[User:Mysekurity|Mysekurity]] ^{[[additions | e-mail]]} _{00:40, 30 September 2005 (UTC)}

And what two colleges were those? Perhaps they should be added to the article? --Itsthinking 02:24, 3 November 2005 (UTC)

I agree --Jaysscholar 03:38, 3 November 2005 (UTC)

"After graduating from Polaris High School, West dropped out of art school and then left Chicago State University to pursue music full-time", shawn, both of you may havebeen right. he dropped out of an art school then chi state http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_8_59/ai_n6047908--Jaysscholar 03:41, 3 November 2005 (UTC)

JESUS WALKS remix

Where did the Jesus Walks remix originate, what was the source, and how did it circulate? It's not an official Kanye song, is it? (by official, I mean like album songs, as opposed to studio demos that somehow leaked out) --daunrealist 23:37, 25 October 2005 (UTC)

He sang it on the concert for Hurricane Katrina victims. I don't remember which one. Was it "Shelter from the Storm"? User:Zoe|^(talk) 02:04, 17 October 2005 (UTC)

I dunno, but I know that it was also out before that. Where? --daunrealist 20:58, 19 October 2005 (UTC)

It was released with "The College Dropout Video Anthology" in March of 2005. It features Mase and Common... There's yet another version that co-writer and sample-finder Rhymefest put out on his mixtape, "A Star is Born." It includes a verse rapped by Rhymefest that was cut out of the final version of Jesus Walks.

Alright, thanks. You rock. --daunrealist 23:37, 25 October 2005 (UTC)

Tags

Thank you, Willy on Wheels, for informing me of the articles status. Chainlinking2005 16:48, 23 October 2005 (UTC)

• If you put the NPOV tags, then explain why it is not neutral. If you don't show your reasons, those tags will be deleted. --J. Nguyen 16:56, 23 October 2005 (UTC)
• Why are all these tags on the article? I don't see anything in the article which is inaccurate, POV, or original research. Maybe the Katrina quote should be trimmed or moved to Wikiquote.. that's a nitpick though. Please explain the tags or they'll be removed. Rhobite 17:09, 23 October 2005 (UTC)

SLOW JAMZ

SLow Jamz was the first single off of The College Dropout, it's track 12... it was also featured on Twista's Kamikaze. It even reached #1... it should be listed under singles. I've added it before only to have it removed... not sure why.

Criticism of the music industry

Currently, the article has this quote: "After the awards ceremony, West criticized the music industry as he only won 3 of the 10 awards, and he felt he deserved all of them." Could someone elaborate on this, preferably with a source and an exact quote? --LostLeviathan 21:56, 24 November 2005 (UTC)

His outburst was after the American Music Awards where Gretchen Wilson won Best New Artist and West won nothing. Kanye, from all accounts, was thrilled to have won the Grammys he did.

I've rewritten the line with correct information and appropriate citations. BMetts 14:35, 9 December 2005 (UTC)

Perfomance at SAMOHI

Added the information of him performing at Santa Monica High School. I was wondering why it was never added it all! --SkinnerIJA 00:16, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Somebody raped the article

Some pathetic little kiddie vandalized the entire page. Reverting.

Second Semester

http://www.mixunit.com/secondsemester.html

It has some unrealeased tracks on there. but it also has some old stuff. should it be mentioned??--Jaysscholar 05:18, 21 January 2006 (UTC)

AIDS conspiracy theory

• "Conspiracy theory" is a bit of a loaded word but I can see the objection to "idea". How about "fringe theory"? It's got the right hint of "nutter" without being as loaded as "conspiracy theory". -- James James 06:32, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

• The usage of fringe theory seems like it's enough. There is no need to link AIDS conspiracy theories when the OPV AIDS hypothesis is linked. Plus it is a rather large jump to say this is something endorsed when it's a lyric in a song. Diamonds from Sierra Leone is an entire song about the blood diamond trade, a line about AIDS being created by the government is not an entire song. -- 21:25, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

look, it's not like i'm hating on kanye, the songs i've heard from him i like. but why would he say "and I know the government administered AIDS"? as a cute joke? that added to the fact that he's spoken about it before, in an actual statement.

i've never heard the term "fringe theory" before and it sounds more "POV" than "conspiracy theory," which is exactly what this is -- he thinks the U.S. conspired to create the AIDS virus. how in the hell is that POV? 134.69.166.132 01:38, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

Okay, show us where he said that the US conspired to create the AIDS virus? All I see is a quote about a man-made disease placed in African communities, and we have no context of how that was said. We could assume that he's saying that the US government conspired to create the disease, or that it's a statement about the result of the hypothesis about using the chimpanzee tissues. You can't garner anything from that small quote, else you're editorializing.

There is a link to the OPV hypothesis, there is no need to add POV, as it was before, the statement was neutral and people are trying to place their spin on it. 141.153.174.3 09:17, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

---I'm not registered or anything, but wouldn't it be easy to just include the exact song lyric, it seems like it could be relevant to me...

he says "And I know the government administered AIDS" in "Heard 'Em Say." c'mon now, if he was talking about another govt. he would've said so. he also thinks that the U.S. created crack cocaine to exterminate the Black Panthers (i have a feeling this is mostly propaganda his dad passed on to him, cuz he's an ex-Black Panther) so it's not like this is a huge stretch for him. and i know "conspiracy theory" has a negative connotation, but that's exactly what this is -- a theory that the U.S. govt. conspired to create the AIDS virus. seriously, it fits the literal definition -- i don't see what the big deal is. Stoned Trey 07:15, 13 March 2006 (UTC)

Actually the OPV AIDS hypothesis does not say the government conspired to create the AIDS virus, it only says that it was introduced into Africa via the polio vaccine. If you read the linked article, there is no reference to deliberate act or conspiracy, hence the reason why conspiracy theory shouldn't be used. Now it's legitimate to call attention to the accusation, but saying he believes the government "conspired to create the AIDS virus" is editorializing. You have no idea whether his lyrics or Live 8 comments point to calling out a deliberate government act or a result of government action. I think it should remain as "belief" because we may believe West leans towards the idea of deliberate act, but we don't have a source to back that up. It's not a big deal, but this is a section that is being changed because people want to remove the NPOV of the edits.

Inner City Blues 07:34, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

this isn't editorializing. if he says "and I know the govt. administered AIDS" he's referring to a deliberate act. and like i said, he thinks that the govt. introduced crack to destroy the Black Panthers, so it's not like this is new ground for him. Dr. Trey 23:21, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

But it would still be a deliberate act if it were inadvertent. The AID OPV hypothesis isn't about whether the government played a sinister role in introducing AIDS to the African continent, it just points to the idea that they are responsible for it. It's the equivalent of firing a weapon, you deliberately fired the weapon, but that doesn't mean you were trying to kill someone. Hope that makes sense, the simple fact is we don't have enough of a quote to change the article.

Inner City Blues 07:00, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

I've heard him say in an interview that he doesn't literally think that the government created AIDs. He explained that many things he puts in his songs are things that are on his mind, ideas that are on his mind at whatever given time. He isn't some sort of fringe conspiracy theorist though. - Arlen

He said somethign to the effect in a Rolling Stone interview and it really cuaght my attention and even made the intwerviewer dissemble a little bit. But I can't access their archive to recall exactly what he said.

spelling

i've seen him spell his name "kanYe West". is that official?--Jaysscholar 20:55, 3 March 2006 (UTC)

His album covers do that and some authors do that as well, but it's not important. "Kanye" outweighs "KanYe" by a landslide. --Mod 04:23, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

==shazzle==

Also known as Shazzle.

I've never heard this. Removing until we get a source.--Jaysscholar 07:19, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

Sophomore

Isn't there a wikipedia style suggestion somewhere not to use this word because of the likelihood it won't be understood by those outside the US reading?

"On August 30th, 2005, Kanye West released his sophomore album Late Registration." (Biography section)

Steve-Ho 08:03, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

For all those concerned with what "sophomore" might mean (as if www.dictionary.com is too hard to type in), it means second. --Mod 00:12, 18 March 2006 (UTC)

Modulatum|Mod, please refrain from using the given tone. Thank you for definning, but the way you phrased your sentence might cause an arguement. Secondly i agree with the fact "sophomore" should not be used as it is an americanism, and wikipedia is not.

True. Wikipedia is not american. Changed "sophomore" to second Dizzee ignorant 22:30, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

Whats a sophomore?

Info about parents

It may be interesting to include some brief info on Kanye's parents, it is fairly common knowldege that his mother was a professor and department chair (and is now his manager), and I read in a Chicago Sun-Times interview that his father was a member of the Black Panther party at one time.--Msr69er 08:53, 5 April 2006 (UTC)

Similarly, does anyone know why his father took his mother's surname when he married, rather than the other way around? --MartinUK 16:16, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

Late Orchestration

I've added Late Orchestration under the albums header. This appears to be a UK-only release. See the Amazon UK product page if you've never heard of this. If no one creates an album page, I'll get around to it later. quadratic 01:14, 15 April 2006 (UTC)

Late orchestration was released after he won a major english music award for Urban music. Cant rememer exactly.

• It's a live album. I'm pretty sure it was released in the U.S. aswell. --Shawn88 13:48, 3 August 2006 (UTC)

Sophomore

I read a mistake in the article it calls Kanye West a "sophomore", i dont know if this is slang or someone has placed it to be offensive.

Mistake about comments concerning George Bush

I'm from Phoenix, AZ and I saw the comment "George Bush doesn't care about black people" on television during the speech, but this article claims that it was removed before it reached the west coast. I know I saw it, because I was watching the whole concert, and I was only half paying attention until I heard Kanye start his impassioned speech. I cheered, and Kanye's status in my mind jumped tenfold. Then he said those very true 7 words.

• it is not an error. It can be verified with a google search the it was edited as it was spreading west. Pinkstarmaci 04:31, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

kanye and fashion

can someone put something about kanye and fashion? particularly about how vanity fair named him the best dressed male of the year [6] I'm not sure where it would go --Shawn88 03:26, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

• is that relevant to an encyclopedic entry? Pinkstarmaci 04:31, 5 August 2006 (UTC)
• how could it not be? I'm sure being named the #1 best-dressed man is relevant. --Shawn88 11:53, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

Article is Too Long?

This article is awfully long for someone who's only been around a few years and has only recorded two records. Can't we trim some of the fluff?? Dubc0724 13:45, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

I agree with trimming anything that doesn't contribute to the quality of the article. However, I don't think we should think in terms of length. Long is fine: Wikipedia is not paper. Would that other artists attracted such interest from Wikipedia editors! Omphaloscope » talk 17:01, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

Long is fine, but this article is wordy and redundant. I've made a few changes, but the information in the "Trivia" section at the bottom could be better incorporated into the rest of the article. That would eliminate the need for the cleanup tag there. Feeeshboy 21:45, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

I thought it was better before your edit to be honest.

Care to elaborate on that? Feeeshboy 06:50, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

Mixtapes

Is this section really necessary? Most of them are barely notable and are not even directly affiliated with Kanye. Shawn88 22:35, 10 August 2006 (UTC)