Kanye West

Released: September 18, 2008

Songwriter: Esthero Starshell Malik Yusef Jeff Bhasker Kanye West

Producer: Jeff Bhasker Kanye West

[Produced by Kanye West & Jeff Bhasker]

[Verse 1]
I'm not loving you, way I wanted to
What I had to do, had to run from you
I'm in love with you, but the vibe is wrong
And that haunted me, all the way home
So you never know, never, never know
Never know enough, 'til it's over love
'Til we lose control, system overload
Screaming, "No, no, no, n-nooo!"
I'm not loving you, way I wanted to
See I wanna move, but can't escape from you
So I keep it low, keep a secret code
So everybody else don't have to know

[Chorus]
So keep your love lockdown—your love lockdown
Keeping your love lockdown—your love lockdown
Now keep your love lockdown—your love lockdown
Now keep your love lockdown—you lose

[Verse 2]
I'm not loving you, way I wanted to
I can't keep my cool, so I keep it true
I got something to lose, so I gotta move
I can't keep myself and still keep you too
So I keep in mind, when I'm on my own
Somewhere far from home, in the danger zone
How many times did I tell you 'fore it finally got through?
You lose, you lose
I'm not loving you, way I wanted to
See I had to go, see I had to move
No more wasting time, you can't wait for life
We're just racin' time, where's the finish line?

[Chorus]
So keep your love lockdown—your love lockdown
Keeping your love lockdown—your love lockdown
Now keep your love lockdown—your love lockdown
Now keep your love lockdown—you lose

[Verse 3]
I'm not loving you, way I wanted to
I bet no one knew, I got no one new
Know I said I'm through, but got love for you
But I'm not loving you, the way I wanted to
Gotta keep it goin', keep the loving goin'
Keep it on the roll, only God knows
If I be with you, baby, I'm confused
You choose, you choose
I'm not loving you, way I wanted to
Where I wanna go, I don't need you
I've been down this road too many times before
I'm not loving you, way I wanted to

[Chorus]
So keep your love lockdown—your love lockdown
Keeping your love lockdown—your love lockdown
Now keep your love lockdown—your love lockdown
Now keep your love lockdown—you lose

[Outro]
You lose, you lose
You lose, you lose

The ubiquitous Kanye West—from his famous quip, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people,” to “I'ma let you finish,” to marrying Kim Kardashian, to announcing that he’s running for President, and admitting his love for President Trump—you can see that he’s a staple of the tabloids and the entertainment world, industry-wide.

That certainly doesn’t take anything away from his music; as a matter of fact, it only seems to add to his fortuitous career. For instance, his 2010 album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, was universally praised by fans and critics alike; it was recorded during the backlash he received from the Swift interruption and during his break-up with then-girlfriend Amber Rose.

He has scored other well-known hits, as well, from each of his previous studio albums—such as “Stronger,” “Heartless,” and “Gold Digger.” Each of his albums has been massive critical and commercial successes, including his collaboration album with JAY-Z, Watch the Throne. As of 2020, West has won an astounding 21 Grammys, tied with JAY-Z as the most decorated hip-hop artist in Grammy history.

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