Kanye West Make America Great Again Hat

Kanye Westward, contrary to what some of his lyrics may say, is just a mortal homo. Later on waltzing into the near controversial era of his career thus far (which is saying something) and a abrupt turn into religious indoctrination, this fact has never been more clear.

Nevertheless, West's body of piece of work remains immaculate; a run of world-shattering, genre-defining piece of work that has few – if whatsoever – worthy comparisons, certainly non in this millennium. Fortunately (or perhaps, unfortunately), there were enough to cull from. Below you will find a list that includes work from well-nigh all of his studio albums, his collaborative masterpiece with JAY-Z, Watch the Throne, and a standalone single here or there. Deciding on the peak 10 alone took united states of america hours of deliberation; when an artist makes nothing just masterpieces, it becomes increasingly challenging to critique ane against the other. Still, we accept done it.

These are the 40 Best Kanye West Songs of All Time:

40. "Homecoming"

Incredible pianoforte riff, Chris Martin of Coldplay on the chorus, recorded at Abbey Road studios in London, likening his Chicago hometown to a long lost girlfriend, what more do you demand from this classic Kanye cutting?

–Bianca

39. "Get Em High"

While Kanye has a plethora of tracks exploring the depths of human beingness, sometimes you lot merely need a song to laissez passer a articulation effectually to, and "Get Em High" delivers. Talib Kweli watched Kanye whip up the incredibly dank beat out in xv minutes, and ended upwardly hopping on the rail last infinitesimal, with Common'due south verses already recorded. Although the Clipse-esque vanquish isn't representative of Kanye at his most inventive, information technology's a damn good soundtrack to fill the room with smoke.

–Bianca

38. "FML"

"FML" is Kanye at his most candid, self-aware and impassioned. Accompanied with a stellar feature from The Weeknd, who rides "FML"'southward vanquish perfectly, the track is one of the most vivid journeys into the mesmerizing mindset of the musician—and one of the best Kanye songs yet. The double entendre of the title focuses on Ye's lust and honey – he's arguably still not sure which one will conquer which. And that spectral outro? Utterly haunting and fucking bright.

–Jacob

37. "The New Conditioning Plan"

Sometimes Kanye'due south got a sense of sense of humor, and when he does information technology'southward glorious. His satire of workout mixtapes is a certified jam, but also serves equally a commentary on the ridiculous demands put on women to await good. The music video is a campy delight, featuring the forever iconic Anna Nicole Smith as well equally Tracie Ellis Ross pretending to be a French video daughter.

–Bianca

36. "Ghost Town"

The quality of ye seems irrevocably tied to the tumultuous release that delivered information technology unto the world, simply it's not without its pleasures. Get-go and foremost of these is "Ghost Boondocks," the record's dazzling emotional peak – information technology is the only time on the album that Kanye'south hubris feels justified by the craft on display. And, if nothing else, it will forever be enshrined every bit a showcase for 070 Shake'south show-stopping invitee spot.

–Jake

35. "Real Friends"

The transition from "FML" into "Real Friends" is a thing of beauty. Remember when this song dropped on Ye's SoundCloud earlier the album dropped? It created social media bedlam, and uncontrollable excitement from fifty-fifty Ye's harshest of critics. Information technology remains 1 of those songs you play with your 24-hour interval ones mid-session, bleary eyed as the morning lite trickles in… head nods… not needing to say annihilation… just knowing looks aplenty. 1 for the ages.

–Jacob

34. "Fade"

Classic Chicago business firm samples and a dash of Autotune with an exultant pulsate breakdown. What. a. jam. Plus, that iconic Teyana Taylor video. I of the best Kanye Due west songs and videos of all time.

–Bianca

33. "Ship It Upward"

At that place are a veritable Greek chorus' worth of bizarre guests teleporting in from various other musical worlds on Yeezus to attack the listener, but few have the immediacy of the presence of Rex Louie. His wild cackle is married to what can only be described as an air raid siren in the song's opening moments, just it is at the end, later an excellent verse from Ye, that we are left with one of the album'due south near mysteriously cogitating ruminations, delivered atop a jarring beat out: "Memories don't live similar people do."

–Jake

32. "Hey Mama"

"Hey Mama" was originally a cute dedication to his mother when Ye dropped it on Tardily Registration. Information technology so manifested into an utterly timeless tear-jerker after Ye performed the rails at the Grammys in 2008, after Donda had only passed. Poignant and powerful, it's impossible to watch that rendition and not and go chills running up your spine.

–Jacob

31. "Everything I Am"

Linking upwardly with DJ Premier for this motivational principal-stroke, "Everything I Am" is one of Yeezy'southward virtually-underrated songs from Graduation (and on this list.) Twinkling piano, Premier's scratching and brilliantly introspective lyrics all make for an absolutely golden combination. Distinctly Chicago, distinctly superb.

–Jacob

30. "Gorgeous"

Juxtaposing beautiful production alongside scathing critique of American racial injustice, "Gorgeous" actually depicts the ugliness of an America which continues to overlook minority rights – especially with Donald Trump in charge now. Best bar? Malcolm Due west snapping on "What's a blackness Beatle anyway, a fucking roach?" Genius.

–Jacob

29. "On Sight"

The opening rail to Kanye's seventh studio anthology, "On Sight" is a full-on audio assault of an introduction to the earth of Yeezus. Daft Punk'southward metallic synths waft in on the rail, and diddled-out drums provide the backdrop for a fired-upwards Yeezy. Although less than three minutes long, it'due south allegorical of Kanye'southward constant quest to innovate not only his ain tracks, only contemporary music as a whole.

–Bianca

28. "Adept Morning"

Both the best possible song to open Graduation and absolutely the best song to start your twenty-four hours, "Expert Forenoon" is disarmingly elementary and incredibly stiff. Whether information technology's facing the sort of life-irresolute event similar the graduation of its lyrics or easing yourself out of a peculiarly rough patch, this song is here, a healing salve for all wounds.

–Jake

27. "Mercy"

"It is a weepin' and a moanin' and a gnashing of teeth" goes what was surely the darkest sample to hover out of motorcar radios in the summer of 2012. This is the cream of the crop for the Yard.O.O.D. Music and Kanye West all-time songs subgenre of his itemize. On "Mercy," the outing is a pitch-black work of prove and tell; no matter how absurdist the bars coming out of Big Sean, Pusha-T, and 2 Chainz are, their sense of humour is obscured by the cryptically foreboding production that surrounds them. Until light comes in the form of Mr. West, descending downwards from the heavens as a radiant chorus delivers him unto us, the mere mortals lost in endless suffering. He is a merciful lord indeed.

–Jake

26. "Famous"

Remember when this track single-handedly ruined any credibility Taylor Swift always had? Good times. "Famous" is production dynamite, with that Sis Nancy sample representing one of Ye'southward all-time chops in recent times. Rihanna embodies fame itself on her brief appearances on the track, and Ye is at his braggadocious best on this bountiful beat.

–Jacob

25. "Love Lockdown"

"Dear Lockdown" is the pulsing, bleeding focal bespeak of 808s & Heartbreak; the torn heart of an album that is in itself a torn heart. That beat stays the aforementioned, gliding evenly throughout the track even every bit it is attacked by bouts of forceful piano, manus-claps, drums, and Kanye casually revolutionizing a tool called Autotune. Looking back years later, it holds up as one of the best Kanye songs of all timeandshows how revolutionary Ye was years before Autotune would take over music. It ends as information technology began, with that beat, a pressing reminder of the utter devastation that lies below information technology all.

–Jake

24. "Arraign Game"

It's tracks similar this that re-affirm the fact that Ye was in a completely unlike stratosphere to any other artist when he dropped MBDTF. Juggling his honey/hate human relationship with his special others (fame/females), information technology also contains one of the all-time skits in hip-hop history from Chris Rock. Yeezy taught us well.

–Jacob

23. "Bound 2"

Quite possibly one of the most despised music videos of all time, "Leap 2" is canonical Kanye. Passing through hyperreal pastoral landscapes wearing tie-dye and plaid shirts on a motorbike ride with his dream girl Kim, Kanye distorts classic Americana tropes into his own utopian vision. Different the residue of Yeezus, Kanye is back to his sampling ways with soaring gospel vocals, but he ingeniously juxtaposes the quondam school vibes with a blown-out bass line on the chorus.

–Bianca

22. "Practiced Life"

"Good Life," simply, was Kanye at his happiest. Aslope the effervescent and on-form T-Pain, it remains i of Ye's most uplifting tunes. And props to T-Hurting for shouting out his appreciating Grandma.

–Jacob

21. "All of the Lights"

Another triumphant banger from the pantheon of the best Kanye West songs. That full orchestra system, those drums?! Truly a team effort, The-Dream wrote the hook, and Rihanna, Fergie, Alicia Keys, La Roux and Elton John (?!) lent their vocals to the runway.

–Bianca

20. "Diamonds From Sierra Leone"

Kanye has become infamous for finding the most obscure samples to choose beats from, so for him to pluck a theme song every bit-is from a movie in ane of the virtually successful franchises in cinematic history makes this track something of an anomaly. Merely the big ring instrumentation utilized in John Barry'southward James Bond score proved to fit in with young man film composer Jon Brion's work on Tardily Registration similar pieces of a puzzle. It works then well that even Kanye's about explicitly activist lyrics of his career fit into the picture without fuss.

–Jake

19. "Ultralight Beam"

Kanye called The Life of Pablo his 'gospel album,' just that description really only applies to this track, i of the most experimental and haunting tracks he has always put to tape. In between vast silences that seem to last for hours, a synth warble resembling an underwater organ hazily floats to the surface. And despite functioning as an opening statement, he's barely present; this song belongs to the awe-inducing work of gospel legends like Kirk Franklin and, of course, that king-making verse from Chance the Rapper. It's the sound of Ye simultaneously honoring his inspirations and crowning the side by side generation.

–Jake

18. "All Falls Down"

I pined and I pined for this to make superlative x. The unforgettable guitar riff. The legendary video where Kanye goes through the Ten-Ray auto. Kanye talking about materialism, societal flaws AND an introverted look at his own insecurities… in 2004? Benchmark-setting genius.

Built on a Lauryn Hill sample that was immune by the songstress – merely only if she wasn't singing – Ye instead recruited Syleena Johnson, who was reportedly in the recording studio contrary him when he was producing the track, so used her instead at the terminal minute. "All Falls Downward" is one of the best Kanye songs in his repertoire and ironically underpins Kanye'south rise to being ane of the greatest artists of all time.

–Jacob

17. "New Slaves"

Similar many others, my starting time association of Yeezus was sneaking out in the night of nighttime to catch 1 of the croppings of secret projections displayed on buildings around the globe. What appeared was a ghoulish visage of Kanye's face stretched to billboard size, rasping the lyrics to a song I'd later on larn was chosen "New Slaves," his eyes full of a purposeful fire. Fifty-fifty now, years subsequently, I see his eyes as I listen, channeling a righteous and furious anger built from centuries of oppression. His message, taken seriously from the first, has go prophetic.

–Jake

16. "Monster"

Acknowledging both his condition as a controversial effigy and his desire to create an incredibly successful hitting, "Monster" balances Kanye'south increasingly advanced production style with his cultivated pop sensibility. Bon Iver's on the intro and outro, JAY-Z and Rick Ross hop on the track, and Nicki Minaj comes in with one of the greatest verses of all time, ever.

–Bianca

15. "Black Skinhead"

In an alternating universe, Ye fronts a punk band, and "Blackness Skinhead" is the best Kanye W vocal he'due south e'er produced. Information technology likewise happens to be the song that he oftentimes smashes his guitar to. Loftier-octane and cathartic, he casually throws in anti-racism and anti-establishment sentiments while solidifying his status equally rap god.

–Bianca

14. "Slow Jamz"

Ane of the most cornball songs of all time. "Slow Jamz" immediately transports you lot back to the nigh halcyon of days whenever it's played. The song name itself pretty much spawned its ain genre. On endless sex activity and party starter playlists – it invokes ALL the feels. Whether it's that timeless Michael Jackson bar, or Twista taking over from Kanye to mesmerizingly ride the vanquish with his incessant menses, this one is an absolute classic in every sense of the word.

–Jacob

13. "POWER"

Ye deliberately steered away from making something radio-friendly on the opus that is My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, but "POWER" is the closest affair we have on the record resembling the structure of a pop song. But even past those standards, this track is an entirely different beast. With a beat that could convulse the world, a sample of infinitely melismatic war chants, and a barrage of one liners that pelting down like bullets ("At the end of the mean solar day/ God damn it I'm killing this shit"), this is Kanye firing on all cylinders; the most decadent attempt on an album of maximalism. No wonder he has to end the song by jumping out the window.

–Jake

12. "Touch the Sky

Another early archetype, "Affect the Sky" samples Curtis Mayfield'south "Movement On Up" and its slowed-down horns are a perfect compliment to Blaze's massive drums. But it's the way Ye switches from a shine menstruum to non-Autotuned vocals with ease that cements this as one of the all-time Kanye songs. The incredible video with Pamela Anderson provides triumphant '70s Evel Knievel vibes, foreshadowing the out-of-this-world trajectory Kanye would follow as a musician and pop culture icon in the years to follow.

–Bianca

11. "Niggas in Paris"

This song was performed by Kanye Westward and JAY-Z xi times in a row during their tour stop in the title's namesake urban center. Armed with that knowledge, do we really demand to explicate how great it is?

–Jake

10. "Can't Tell Me Cipher"

For the concluding few months of my high school career, I was late every single 24-hour interval. Literally. Bless you poor Mrs. Scales, but I could not perchance have made time to care about physics in my marijuana-addled days of being a 17-year old. And each 24-hour interval, as I pulled into the parking lot, I made a ritual of firing upwards "Can't Tell Me Cipher," slowly rolling past the empty cars just and then I could yell "Class started two hours agone, OH, AM I Tardily?!" There has but been no better anthem for pridefully having null (nothing, zippo) fucks to give written in this lifetime.

–Jake

9. "Stronger"

On "Stronger," nosotros have peak shutter shades / Louis Vuitton Don era Kanye. He's confident enough to use a Daft Punk sample (afterwards confident enough to rent them for a performance at the Grammys), and to say that he makes information technology piece of work would exist an understatement. The track was mixed down 75 times, but Kanye notwithstanding wasn't satisfied, so he enlisted Timbaland to re-practice the drums. A popular masterpiece, "Stronger" stands strong equally one of the best Kanye West songs in the early years of his career and served to solidified Kanye's position in the mainstream consciousness.

–Bianca

8. "Heartless"

Kanye strips dorsum the maximalism and puffed-upwardly optimism of his previous albums and pares it all down with a Roland-808 drum machine and Autotuned melodies on "Heartless." In stark contrast to the warm samples and quondam-school hip-hop sounds he's used in the past, hither he'south dramatic, cold, and detached, reminding united states that although he's at the top of the rap game in 2008, he's still homo and feels the isolating depths of loneliness. But what dazzler he tin spin from it.

–Bianca

7. "Devil in a New Apparel"

What. A. Trounce. Perhaps the standout from Kanye'south most masterful album, it captures his unique style every bit a rapper. From the scintillating "Put your hands to the constellations/ The mode yous look should be a sin, yous my sensation," through to stereotypically wry, "That's Dior Homme, not Dior Homie," it'due south Ye at his most acerbic. Then there'southward Rick Ross, who casually wraps up proceedings with his greatest guest poesy of all time. Goosebumps.

–Jacob

half-dozen. "Through the Wire"

To paraphrase a line he would utilise a few albums downwards the route, "every superhero needs his back story," and as far equally origins go, y'all just can't make this shit upwards. The business relationship of Yeezy laying downward his confined through a jaw wired shut after a frighteningly shut experience with violent death is – rightfully – the stuff of legend, but the runway holds up simply also without the story. Information technology is i of the best examples of Kanye'due south early on, pitch-shifted sample-driven work, and a masterfully-crafted interpolation of the funk and soul records he grew up listening to.

–Jake

5. "Aureate Digger"

One of Kanye's first mainstream hits, winning praise from Spike Lee and your friend'due south cool dad alike, "Gold Digger" is an emblematic early Kanye rails from his sophomore album. Showcasing his innate musical cognition with a re-appropriated Ray Charles classic performed by Jamie Foxx and a surprise synth-coda that is a clear nod to Stevie Wonder's mammoth-hit "Superstition," the vocal deliriously upends decades of popular music into 1 lean, hateful, unstoppable machine. Bonus points for the percussion and Kanye'southward express mirth-out-loud confined. All together now, "WE Want PRE-NUP, Yep!"

–Bianca

four. "Claret on the Leaves"

Yeezus' influence is unparalleled; whispers of its stylistic flourishes are ubiquitous in hip-hop and electronic music akin. It was immediately hailed every bit an instant-archetype within days of its initial release, an assessment which – if possible – may have served to undersell its quality.

'Instant-archetype' is as well a term that feels inevitable for "Blood on the Leaves," a towering pinnacle of anguish in an album total of information technology. In a higher place the mercilessly crushing beats, high above the ululations of that Nina Simone sample, fifty-fifty higher than the soaring lines of Autotune (an instrument West somehow redefines withal again), is the raw, emotional honesty that courses through each 2nd of this song. "Remember when we were so young, when I would hold you" he bemoans, plumbing the depths of his soul and serving information technology to united states on a golden platter. Equally far as lamentations go, this one is nothing short of exquisite.

–Jake

3. "Jesus Walks"

"Jesus Walks" is an anthemic masterpiece; both doggedly militaristic in tone while simultaneously holding a pertinent bulletin, one that still rings true today. Ye lays downwardly the gauntlet from the become-go, "We at war with terrorism, racism and well-nigh of all, we at war with ourselves," in what goes on to become what is possibly Kanye's most revered rails.

The whole cult of Kanye West was spawned from this very song – "Jesus Walks" is soul-stirring, invigorating, fervor-filled – you name information technology. It's Kanye at his most transcendent; ultimately foreshadowing his transition into Yeezus himself. A requiem for the one-time Kanye, who has since become considered rap's foremost iconoclast.

–Jacob

ii. "Flashing Lights"

"Flashing Lights" was recorded in 2007, a decade removed from Kanye's at present monolithic status in style, music and popular culture. The proper noun itself earmarked what he has endured throughout this decade – unprecedented media attention and unparalleled super-stardom – information technology'southward all right there, summed upwardly in its virtually succinct form.

It contains all the all-time elements of a classic Ye vocal. Stirring strings, archetypal bars nigh luxury and lust and a killer claw. All of which accompanied an iconic, Spike Jonze-directed video, which sees Ye beginning to flex the creative muscles that at present keep him firmly on the lips of fifty-fifty the deepest chasms of the internet. He'southward now a certified SEO-goldmine for any publication – you're now reading this article because 'Kanye West' was in the name of this piece. Why? Considering of the sheer visionary luminescence of tracks like "Flashing Lights."

–Jacob

1. "Runaway"

In a catalogue that spans decades, hundreds of tracks, an army of collaborators and a smorgasbord of musical styles, "Runaway" was incomparably and unanimously our choice to close out the list of best Kanye West songs. Now, why?

Ane cannot overlook the context of its creation; in which this vocal was the definitive statement in an album that was a true make-or-break moment in absolving his sins in the optics of a public however reeling from that fabulous mic theft. In a record full of self-flagellation, "Runaway" is the towering peak of Ye'south benediction, a shrieking wail from the depths of his soul acknowledging how far his mighty hubris had made him autumn.

And we take his amends, because "Runaway" is zippo brusque of nine minutes of sheer perfection. Never before has Kanye's tinkering with Autotune produced a result as awe-inspiring as the song'southward coda, a duet with a cello that takes upwardly half of the rail'south runtime. Never before has he created a melody as instantly recognizable or equally simplistic as the 1 gently pressed in those opening piano keys. Never before, and never since, has his piece of work ever been and then ravishingly beautiful.

–Jake

If this wasn't enough for y'all, cheque out our ranking of the 25 best Drake songs right here.

• Text: Jake Boyer, Jacob Davey, Bianca Giulione

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Source: https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/best-kanye-west-songs/

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