Kanye West

Released: September 30, 2003

Featuring: Chaka Khan Elton John

Songwriter: Bernie Taupin Elton John David Foster Cynthia Weil Tom Keane Kanye West

Producer: Kanye West

[Intro]
Yo, Gee, they can't stop me from rapping, can they?
Can they, Hop?

[Hook]
Through the fire, to the limit, to the wall
(I spit it through the wire, man)
For a chance to be with you
I'd gladly risk it all
(There's too much stuff on my heart right now, man)
Through the fire (I'd gladly risk it all right now)
Through whatever, come what may (It's a life-or-death situation, man)
For a chance at loving you (Y'all, y'all don't really understand how I feel right now, man)
I'd take it all the way
(It's your boy Kanye to the... Chi-town, what's goin' on?)
Right down to the wire
Even through the fire

[Verse 1]
I drink a Boost for breakfast, an Ensure for dessert
Somebody ordered pancakes, I just sip the sizzurp
That right there could drive a sane man berserk
Not to worry, Mr. H-to-the-Izzo's back to wi-zerk
How do you console my mom or give her light support
Telling her her son's on life support?
And just imagine how my girl feel
On the plane, scared as hell that her guy look like Emmett Till
She was with me before the deal, she'd been trying to be mine
She a Delta, so she'd been throwing that Dynasty sign
No use in me tryin' to be lyin', I been tryin' to be signed
Tryin' to be a millionaire, how I used two lifelines
In the same hospital where B.I.G. and 2pac died
The doctor said I had blood clots, but I ain't Jamaican, man
Story on MTV and I ain't trying to make a band
I swear this right here, history in the making, man

[Hook]
Through the fire, to the limit, to the wall (I really apologize for everything right now if it's unclear at all, man)
For a chance to be with you (They got my mouth wired shut for like I dunno)
I'd gladly risk it all (The doctor said like six weeks, y'know he had, I had reconstructive surgery on my jaw)
Through the fire
Through whatever, come what may
(I looked in the mirror)
For a chance at loving you
(And half my jaw was in the back of my mouth, man, I couldn't believe it)
I'd take it all the way (But I'm still here for y'all right now, man)
Right down to the wire (This what I got to say right here, dawg)
Even through the fire (Yeah, turn me up, yeah)

[Verse 2]
What if somebody from the Chi' that was ill got a deal
On the hottest rap label around?
But he wasn't talking about coke and birds
It was more like spoken word
Except he's really putting it down?
And he explained the story about how blacks came from glory
And what we need to do in the game
Good dude, bad night, right place, wrong time
In the blink of a eye, his whole life changed
If you could feel how my face felt
You would know how Mase felt
Thank God I ain't too cool for the safe belt
I swear to God, Driver 2 wants to sue
I got a lawyer for the case to keep what's in my safe safe
My dawgs couldn't tell if I...
I looked like Tom Cruise in Vanilla Sky
All they heard was I was in an accident like GEICO
They thought I was burnt up like Pepsi did Michael
I must got a angel, ‘cause look how death missed his ass
Unbreakable, what, you thought they'd call me Mr. Glass?
Look back on my life like the Ghost of Christmas Past
Toys "R" Us where I used to spend that Christmas cash
And I still won't grow up, I'm a grown-ass kid
Swear I should be locked up for stupid shit that I did
But I'm a champion, so I turned tragedy to triumph
Make music that's fire, spit my soul through the wire

[Hook]
Through the fire, to the limit, to the wall (Y'know what I'm saying?)
For a chance to be with you (When the doctor told me I had, um, that I was gonna have to have a plate in my chin, I said)
I'd gladly risk it all ("Dawg, don't you realize I'll never make it on a plane now?")
Through the fire ("It's bad enough I got all this jewelry on!")
Through whatever, come what may
For a chance at loving you (She can't be serious, man)
I'd take it all the way
Right down to the wire
Even through the fire

[Outro: Elton John]
I'm still standing better than I ever did
Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid
I'm still standing after all this time
Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind
I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah

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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