Kanye West

Released: February 10, 2004

Songwriter: Kanye West

Producer: Kanye West

[Skit 1: DeRay Davis]
Now beat that!
And your mother's saying "Go to college"
So you finish college and it's wonderful
You feel so good
And after all the partying and craziness
And don't forget about that drug habit you picked up at school being around your peers
Hey!
Now you'll get that 25-thousand dollar job a year
And you'll spend all your money on crack cocaine
But, it'll be YOUR money
No more borrowing from mom for my high!
So now you get your degree tattooed on your back
Cause you're so excited about it
If you continue to work at the Gap, after several interviews, oh my God
You'll come in at a entry-level position
And when you do that
If you kiss enough ass
You'll move up to the next level
Which is being the secretary's secretary
And boy is that great
You get to take messages for the secretary
Who NEVER went to college
She's actually the boss's niece!
So now you're part of the family
You know what college does for you?
It makes you really smart, man
All you kids wanted to talk in the back of the class
Not me, I listened
Okay?
I was a hall monitor
This was meant to be
You know how many classes I took?
Extra classes, extra classes
No, I've never had sex
But you know what?
My degree keeps me satisfied
When a lady walks up to me and says
"Hey, you know what's sexy?"
No, I don't know what it is
But I bet I can add up all the change in your purse
Very fast

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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