“Never Let Me Down (f/ Jay-Z and J. Ivy)” - Kanye West
(Words/music: Michael Bolton, Sean Carter, Bruce Kulick, J. Richardson, and Kanye West, available on The College Dropout, Roc-a-Fella 2004)

Kanye West’s car accident is the formative experience of his adult life.  Like many who experience a tragedy, West turned inward and started asking questions.  On a basic level, West asked the same question that survivors often asked – why me?  He doesn’t stop there, using his lyrics to try to reconcile the many contradictions that swirl around his life.  While he crystalized this paradox – specifically, why do bad things make me feel good – on Late Registration, Kanye explores these parts of his personality on The College Dropout.  These are Kanye’s most compelling moments lyrically – when he lets down his guard and shares his uncertainty with us.  In a genre of music that values certainty and confidence on the mic, Kanye holds his own with some of hip hop’s best lyricists (at least in the mainstream) by embracing his contradictions and probing deeper (and it’s this heart-on-sleeve display that makes 808s and Heartbreaks feel human beneath its icy digital finish). 

West’s verse on “Never Let Me Down,” takes a broader view on the paradoxes in his life.  He details all of the different things he comes from – activist parents, apathetic peers, everyday racism, materialism and the accompanying guilt, and the fear that he’s losing sight of the big picture.  His guest verses even pull him in different directions; Jay-Z’s verse represents the “game” of hip-hop and all of the glamor and fame associated with being at the top of your game.  Jay has a few inspired turns of phrase in his bookend verses, but poet J. Ivy steals the show with his verse.  Ivy delivers his verse as spoken word that floats over the track without reference to the beat, making him sound like a man possessed at points.  His verse talks about a higher purpose and at points he sounds like he could be speaking in tongues.  These are Kanye’s twin ideals, and like his idols he desperately wants to be both socially conscious and world famous.  Both have their pull – Kanye responds to Ivy’s verse with a “take ‘em to church” line and emphasis on the choir-like backing vocals.  Then, as soon as Jay-Z comes back, West slips back into his rapper role.  He plays both roles well, but he’s at his best when he’s true to himself.  This is what makes his lyrics compelling – he often treads on trite language and flirts with cliches, but an honesty and openess radiates from his best verses.  Here’s a man who works so hard to cultivate a persona, yet he sounds most interesting when he pulls back the curtain and reveals that he’s as self-conscious, conflicted, and neurotic as the rest of us.  I feel his pain and hope he eventually finds peace somewhere in the middle of these two poles.  Still, there’s a selfish part of me that hopes that he stays conflicted and keeps searching, if only to keep him artistically sharp.

More on Kanye West: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm