Lyric Examination: Kanye West, The Life Of Pablo’

Kanye West’s new album The Life Of Pablo is a trip. After listening, some of the lyrics are as outlandish as albeit. Would we expect any less from Mr. West? Of course not – it is THE Kanye Omari West – Yeezy! Here are some of the more memorable lyrics from The Life Of Pablo, with a dash of commentary from yours truly! 

1. “We on an ultralight beam / we on an ultralight beam / this is a God dream / this is a God dream”

– “Ultralight Beam”  

Kanye West embraces spirituality throughout the course of the opener. West has tackled Christianity before with “Jesus Walks,” though it is surprising that he opens the album in these regards. Also, as hard as it may be for people to believe, West consistency refers to himself as being a Christian.

2. “You can feel the lyrics, the spirit coming in braille / Tubman of the underground, come and follow the trail / I made Sunday Candy, I’m never going to hell / I met Kanye West, I’m never going to fail”

– Chance The Rapper, “Ultralight Beam”

One of the best parts of the opener is Chance The Rapper’s epic verse, including the aforementioned lyrical highlights. The lyrics are clever; Chance The Rapper references his own song (“Sunday Candy”. and puts Kanye West on a pedestal.

3. “Now if I f*ck this model / and she just bleached her asshole / and I get bleach on my T-shirt / I’mma feel like an asshole”

– “Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1”

 Well, arguably Mr. West, people would call you an asshole anyway, right? But that’s beside the point. There’s no need to decode this lyric – it speaks for itself and perhaps TOO BLUNTLY.

4. “Up in the morning, miss you bad / sorry I ain’t called you back / same problem my father had / all his time, all he had, all he had”

– “Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 2” 

“Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 2” is deeper than the first installment, and this autobiographical line exemplifies it. This is authentic because West is being real, talking about his father’s relationship with his mother.

5. “Momma pass in Hollywood / if you ask, lost my soul / driving fast, lost control / off the road, jaw was broke”

– “Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 2”

This line references the death of Donda West (West’s mom) as well as West’s horrid car wreck. This wreck was mentioned before in “Through The Wire” on The College Dropout. 

6. “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that b*tch famous…for all the girls that got dick from Kanye West / if you see ‘em in the streets give ‘em Kanye’s best / Why? They mad they ain’t famous…”

– “Famous”

https://youtu.be/kEsvMRu-Wzs

Wonder why Taylor Swift shaded Kanye West at the 58^th Annual Grammys? This distasteful, disrespectful lyric is part of the reason why. Furthermore, throw in West disrupting Swift’s speech years back…

7. “I’ve been outta my mind a long time / I know, I know, I shouldn’t even bother / with all these gossiping, no-p*ssy-getting bloggers…”

– “Feedback” 

Apparently, West doesn’t like bloggers or the feedback they give. He wouldn’t be the first. That said, the “no-p*ssy-getting bloggers” is a low blow.

8. “I bet me and Ray J would be friends / if we ain’t love the same bitch / Yeah, he might have hit it first / only problem is I’m rich”

– “Highlights”

What else needs to be explained? Ray J and Kim K were a couple before Kanye and Kim. Kanye and Ray J dislike each other and Ray J put out a horrible single called “I Hit It First.” It didn’t go anywhere, much like his relationship with Kim… just saying!

9. “I’mma shift the paradigm / I’mma turn up every time / I’mma bust a coach’s head open on some Diddy shit / if he ever talk to my son like an idiot”

– “Highlights” 

Mr. West, don’t do what Diddy did. Probably wouldn’t turn out as well for you as it did for Diddy…

10. “Whip out, b*tch out / tits out, oh shit / My dick out, can she suck it right now? / F*ck, can she f*ck right now?”

– “Freestyle 4”

Three words: IT’S GOING DOWN. Let’s leave this right here!

11. “I miss the old Kanye, straight from the Go Kanye / Chop up the soul Kanye, set onhis goals Kanye…”

– “I Love Kanye” 

Every criticism of Kanye West right now. Kanye nails it.

12. “Step up in this b*tch like / I’m the one your b*tch like…I ain’t scared to lose a fistfight / and she be grabbin’ on my dick like / she wanna see if it’ll fit right / that’s just the wave”

– “Waves”

West doesn’t lack confidence. He’s a movement. The sexual reference is him likening himself to being a superstar more than the actual act.

13. “But you ain’t finna be raising your voice at me / especially when we in that Guiseppe store / But I’mma have the last laugh in the end / cause I’m from a tribe called check a ho”

– “FML”

Kanye West is the dude. No woman is going to stay with him that can’t respect him or he’ll kick her to the curb. Yep, that’s basically it in the nutshell.

14. “Real friends, how many of us? / How many of us, how many jealous? Real Friends / it’s not many of us, we smile at each other / but how many honest? Trust issues…”

– “Real Friends” 

Legit, true friends that are genuine are hard to come by.

15. “You gotta let me know if I could be your Joseph / only tell you real shit, that’s the tea, no sip / don’t trip, don’t trip, that p*ssy slippery, no whip / we ain’t trippin on shit, we just sippin’ on this…I impregnate your mind, let’s have a baby without f*ckin’…”

– “Wolves” 

Joseph and Mary are Biblical characters, with Mary being the mother of Jesus. Mary was a virgin at the time she was pregnant. No, we won’t spend the time to talk about “the birds and bees” here, but that typically not how it works – it was truly a divine event. Of course Kanye West comes over as a heretic lyrically…

16. “What if Mary was in the club / ‘fore she met Joseph with no love? / Cover Saint in lambs’ wool / We surrounded by the f*ckin’ wolves”

– “Wolves”

BLASPHEMY – The devil is a lie!

17. “But I still drove 30 hours / but still drove 30 hours to you”

– “30 Hours”  

West was in L-O-V-E to pursue a long distance relationship that required a 30-hour trip. Phew! 

18. “I remember rapping for Jay and Cam/ Young producer just trying to get his flows off / I remember being nervous to do Victoria Secret / ‘Til I pictured everybody with they clothes off”

– “30 Hours”

West reminisces on his past, once more showing a great moment of authenticity. This is a human moment for West.

19. “A backpack n*gga with luxury taste buds / and the Louis Vuitton store, got all of my pay stubs / Got p*ssy from beats I did for n*ggas more famous / when did I become A list? I wasn’t even on a list”

– Kanye West, “No More Parties In L.A.”

The great come-up.

20. “Yeezy, Yeezy, Yeezy, I feel so accomplished / I done talked a lot of shit but I just did the numbers…”

– “Facts”

 Kanye West is confident – what is new?

Photo Credit: G.O.O.D./Def Jam