Overlong Observations #1

This section is not intended to be about anything particularly topical or relevant. It is just a space for me to put the things I've been pointlessly mulling over lately. You don't have to enjoy it if you don't want.

Kanye West f/Lil' Wayne - Barry Bonds (from Graduation)

Kanye West has always been difficult. I call it the Kanye Konundrum: He embodies the classic case of great beats vs. so-so lyrics. West has proven himself a skilled producer, and his beats rarely fail to deliver. Credited (or blamed, depending on where you stand) with popularizing an 80's synth-dance style of rap with his hits "Stronger" and "Flashing Lights", Kanye showcases a range of different kinds of beats, sampling a variety of sources from U-Roy to Can. With "Barry Bonds", West hits us with a gritty and grandiose beat containing elements from Mountain's "Long Red", providing a deep and sweeping backtrack to his subpar rhymes. West has hit us with rhymes all over the map, sometimes excellent ("Diamonds from Sierra Leone"), sometimes cringe-inducing ("I'm the fly Malcom X / buy any jeans necessary" from "Goodnight"), but mostly just mediocre. His production is pretty consistently on point, though, and often that can carry mediocrity to a tolerable level. It's an age-old question, which West seems determined to continue testing: If the production is tight enough, is it necessary to have quality rhymes? I'd always been under the belief that a bumpin' enough beat cancels out any poor vocals, but was proven wrong by Kanye on "Drunk and Hot Girls", my personal favorite beat of the whole album, rendered entirely unlistenable by the terrible, terrible lyrics. Kanye's flow is blunt and obtrusive enough to get in the way of the beat, unlike 50 Cent, whose laid-back, generally innocuous style, though typically as bad as Kanye's, can be pleasantly ignored. In general, I find Kanye West to be an uneven listen, always unsure of whether I like it or whether it's worth it to continue on.

That said, "Barry Bonds" finds West right in the middle, staying the course without getting too good or too bothersome. It's an excellent song, as the beat sweeps in and lifts mediocre vocals to epic-sounding status at all the right points. Kanye plods along, not hitting any high points but staying consistent. Lil' Wayne turns in a verse that sounds like West ran into him on an elevator and asked him to bust a 16 real quick before he left. His usual brand of oddball simile-laden tributes to himself is evident, and his sound fits well with the beat. Weezy is not going to save hip-hop, but he's at least making it more interesting. Hearing him alongside West leads me to note the similarities between the two: Both say some kind of dumb things and enjoy both having and talking about money. Wayne is the better rapper here, but necessarily lyrically; he simply delivers lines with more punch, more eccentricity, and more fun. "I don't practice / and I don't lack shit" seems to fit the picture: Wayne claims he doesn't write his stuff anymore, he just kicks it form his head, you know, and this verse is bizarrely stream-of-consciousness enough to confirm that. West plods through lines with similar unpolished panache, but simply does not have the charisma on the mic he says does. The chemistry between the two is interesting, both being the two things in mainstream hip-hop that make it seem deserving of attention. This song is probably my favorite on an album that has stymied me for some time.

(this mp3 is meant for listening purposes, so you know what the hell i'm talking about. it'll be gone in a week, i don't need any of kanye's crazy paranoia lawyers throwing me to the lions or nothin')