Kanye West

Released: February 10, 2004

Songwriter: Kanye West

Producer: Kanye West

You keep it going man
You keep those books rolling
You pick up all those books that you're gonna read and not remember
And you roll, man
You get that associate's degree, okay?
Then you get your bachelor's
Then you get your masters
Then you get your masters' masters
Then you get your doctorate
You go man!
And then when everyone says quit
You show them those degrees, man
When everyone says "Hey, you're not working, you're not making any money"
You say "You look at my degrees, and you look at my life
Yeah, I'm 52! So what?
Hate all you want, but I'm smart, I'm so smart
And I'm in school
All these guys out here making money all these ways
And I'm spending mine to be smart!
You know why?
Cause when I die buddy
You know what's gonna keep me warm?
That's right, those degrees."

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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