Five Of The Best: Kanye West

Image: Kanye West

When it comes to Kanye West there is no middle ground, you either love him or you hate him. But no matter which side you choose, you can’t deny that he has changed music forever. He’s been behind some of hip hop's most influential albums and still manages to make ground-breaking music to this day, whilst being a family man as well as a fashion designer.

Kanye has six studio albums to his name, which isn’t counting G.O.O.D Music’s Cruel Summer and his live orchestral masterpiece Late Orchestration. Throw in a production resume that includes artists as diverse as Janet Jackson and Lily Allen, alongside more awards than you can shake a stick at, and his charge sheet certainly stacks up.

With the five year anniversary of his 2010 masterpiece My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy taking place yesterday, as well as the release of his latest album Swish set to be unveiled to the world at any given moment, it’s only fitting that we round up five of the best tracks Kanye has been involved in.

Jay-Z ‘Izzo (H.O.V.A.)’ (2001)

Before he touched the mic it was production that pushed West's star into the ascendancy, notably on Jay Z album The Blueprint. The breakout hit from that, ‘Izzo’ landed Jay his first top ten single as a solo artist, Kanye masterminding it all.

Sampling was at the forefront, as he brought two musical legends together by weaving in The Jackson 5’s ‘I Want You Back’.

‘Ye wasn’t the first to have sampled this record (who can forget Lil Romeo’s ‘My Baby’?), but we can all agree which version is a bit more creative. 

Kanye West ‘Through The Wire’ (2004)

Only Kanye West would get into a car accident and then produce and rap one of his greatest songs with his jaw wired shut. ‘Through The Wire’ helps tell the story of how Kanye’s seatbelt saved his life after getting cut off by a car and crashing his Lexus into another vehicle.

The song not only helped Kanye break into the rap industry but also once again showed the world how soul sampling is done right. Kanye sampled Chaka Khan’s ‘Through The Fire’ and was nominated for a 2005 Grammy for 'Best Rap Solo Performance' only to lose to '99 Problems'. 

‘Runaway’ (2010)

Not too many songs are good enough to have their own movie made about them, but ‘Runaway’ ft Pusha T is definitely worthy. The song touches on everything from failed relationships to his thoughts on critics, also highlights how Kanye isn’t afraid to share the spotlight - Pusha delivers an unrelenting destruction of the supposed glamour of money with a brutally brilliant verse.

Jay-Z & Kanye West ‘Paris’ (2011)

Despite being played to death everywhere you go you can’t deny that Kanye and Jay Z’s track ‘Paris’ from their collaborative Watch The Throne album is one of the biggest songs this decade. The track managed to take control of two summers and had even its critics humming along to the tune.

There are no wonderfully masterful lyrics (although the self parodying inclusion of the Blades of Glory dialogue is a moment of grandstanding Kanye genius), but the fact that you couldn’t escape the song even if you tried means that it’s one of the Chicago rappers most influential records.

Kanye West ‘Only One’ (2015)

After becoming a father, Mr West has definitely become more humble and his collaborative effort with one of the world’s biggest musical legends, Paul McCartney was far from a disappointment.

Speaking through his sadly departed mother to his newly born daughter, ‘Only One’ shows Kanye’s softer side that has been missing ever since 2008 album 808s & Heartbreak.

Love Kanye? Try Five Years Of Kanye West's Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy