Rank the Best Kanye Singles...

[Lament]

Half the fun of a Kanye release, or really any instance of Kanye in the news, is seeing how much it annoys the rock bros.

Has there ever been anybody who annoyed the rock bros as much as Kanye?

[E.H. Ruddock]

Half the fun of a Kanye release, or really any instance of Kanye in the news, is seeing how much it annoys the rock bros.

Has there ever been anybody who annoyed the rock bros as much as Kanye?

nickleback

[BurtReynolds]

Radiohead

[LoathedVermin72]

I dunno guys I think Kanye should be more humble all true geniuses are humble my phone just tried to autocorrect geniuses to genisys I think my phone is skynet why am I talking

[Iholdthepain]

Dr. Dre>>>>>>Kanye

[LoathedVermin72]

Ok

[BurtReynolds]

truth is I'm just jealous He's really amazing I love all his albums I listen to them every day

[BurtReynolds]

i really was looking forward to his glow in the dark show at Roo '08 but he broke my heart so now I hate him forever.

[LoathedVermin72]

I'm livin in that 21st century
Doin somethin mean to it

[Iholdthepain]

They're both talented as hell at what they do, and are groundbreaking Hip Hop artists, but Kanye is an extremely selfish baby, whereas Dre is as selfless as it gets in the industry... That goes a long way for me. Dre has contributed to so much to many other artists' success.

I'd give anything to see Crybaby West run up in front of The Doctor while accepting an award and see what happens. Instead, Baby West picks on Beck and Taylor Swift.

Im just pumped about Dre's new release... That's all.

[LoathedVermin72]

Snore

[Lament]

Dr. Dre is a convicted woman-batterer and a high profile homophobe.



But, y'know at least he's not cocky like Kanye.

[Lament]

You motherfuckers better do your job and roll up and watch how we roll up and...


I can't control it, can't hold it..


It's so nuts..

[Iholdthepain]

Dr. Dre is a convicted woman-batterer and a high profile homophobe.



But, y'know at least he's not cocky like Kanye.

I didn't say he's a model citizen, nor did I say he wasn't cocky, sooo...

"High profile homophobe" ... Says who? and IDK what race/gender/sexual orientation he's afraid of. If you're basing this statement on him using the word faggot in his lyrics, then I'd hardly say that constitutes such a bold claim.

"Convicted woman batterer" ... we all make past mistakes, and I'm not basing his talent, musical or recruiting skills on his past convictions.

Kanye may be talented, but he's the most overrated 'artist' since Elvis.

[Kevin Davis]

Dre has contributed to so much to many other artists' success.

This is certainly true of Kanye, too -- I'd imagine it's true of most high profile rap producers, really. It's not "selflessness," per se -- I'm sure Dre got paid for all those Eminem albums he produced -- it's just the producer's role within the business, though I'm sure there's a genuine joy that comes with that growing of new talent.

As a serious response to your claim, though: Dre is, broadly, not an unfair comparison for Kanye, i.e. great producers known to have somewhat cumbersome flows. They've both left monumental imprints on the rap genre. However, Kanye's work displays -- to my ears -- a degree of complexity and musicianship that Dre doesn't even begin to approach. His ability to integrate multiple disparate samples into a single track and still arrive at a finished product that is so melodically and harmonically cohesive ought to put him in league not only with the greatest producers of all-time but the greatest composers period, in terms of raw talent and artistry. I've loved a lot of Dre tracks over the years but from memory I can't think of one that isn't just a catchy, repetitive loop -- which is consistent with the music's roots, certainly, but Kanye is taking that fundamental to another level.

[Iholdthepain]

I don't have any issues with that... except these two statements:

"One of the greatest producers of all time"

"...greatest composers, period."

Rick Rubin just spit green tea out all over his beard, and Mozart rolled his eyes from the grave.

[LoathedVermin72]

lol Rick Rubin

[Iholdthepain]

ok

[LoathedVermin72]

Also, people just throwing out old masters as a way to discredit modern talents is one of the laziest, most meaningless argument tactics one can employ. "Kanye isn't one of the best composers because Mozart! P.T. Anderson isn't one of the best directors because Orson Welles! Drive isn't a great movie because The Godfather!" It's so meaningless and arbitrary, and it makes you look like you have no substance behind your argument.

Go listen to "Runaway" carefully. Put aside your prejudice for Kanye, look past however you feel about the lyrics, and just listen to that fucking music. Then come back and tell me that guy is not an incredible composer.

[Kevin Davis]

I'm not familiar with a lot of Rubin's production work within the rap genre, apart from "99 Problems" (fine, but not in Kanye's realm) and his work with the Beastie Boys (pioneering, perhaps, but primitive). Apart from that I am primarily familiar with his work with the Chili Peppers (half of which sounds awful), and his albums with Johnny Cash (which paint him as more of a "career coach" than as a musical producer in Kanye's sense). If I thought about my favorite producers I don't think Rubin would even be in the conversation, honestly. He has his name on a lot of records but I can't really pinpoint a signature "technique," apart from the fact that he's produced a lot of records that have been heavily criticized for being poorly mastered.

And I'm the wrong person to judge the relative merits of classical composers, my point was primarily that Kanye has "classical instincts" when composing, puppeteering samples the way a composer might arrange the pieces of an orchestra, which is tricky when you're working with pre-recorded, pre-pitched sounds.