Runaway
What music are you currently listening to? I'm stuck on this Runaway song, by Kayne West. The man basically broke every rule there is in music, and he did it while writing a massive hit. The song did one thing right off the bat that writers can learn from: It established authority.
The first words of the song state a very embarrassing situation, made only by him. He goes on to admit fault, saying he pointed the blame at the one he loves. The honesty that he gives when writing is breath taking at times.
You can say as much as you want about the man, but he puts himself out there. By being so embarrassingly honest, you are pulling the readers to your world. They see you at your worst and they might become emotionally attached to your story, and then you can start making them identify with you.
When you have that, you can get them to believe and follow you anywhere. Starting like this really breaks the ice and brings you into the song. Even if it is not the most 'intelligent' words to start a songs first verse with, it sets the tone and shatters expectations. Meanwhile, it got you listening.
When people don't focus on the negatives, there are a lot of things to respect about Kayne. Have you ever watched the Punked episode? West was about to run from the cops with his video in hand when they tried to confiscate it. He knew what belonged to him and he wasn't going to be Punked by anyone, even a cop.
He stands when others would bend.
Some people don't like that he says he's the best. They think that's too egotistical. Well, people didn't think too highly of Ali when he gloated about his abilities, but he constantly proved himself in the ring. He was arguably the greatest of all times. We respect his confidence now because he was right.
In the end, will Kayne rate in the top of hip-hop? There will be thousands who say no, but thousands will say yes. Regardless, he will be in the conversation. This song was one of his 8th round KO's. He started with one out of tune key on a piano. He sang the chorus first and a verse last. Everything about it was wrong, but it shines. People were critics for him using an autotuner, so he didn't tune anything. He made a song using the most beautiful of thing we never like about ourselves - our imperfections.
The emotions and honesty really made this song hit a note with me that isn't often found. The rap kind of showed where he started and the song showed where he ended - and Tpain did good too. It was brutal and sad, and you can't help but think of the loneliness.
Even if they are just lyrics, the story they tell is of a man with vulnerabilities. He knows what loss feels like, and he knows what it is like to cause it. I liked the song, though I didn't do any special research into the Kayne's life. I let his music speak for him - he can live his life.
My buddy wrote this great video. I'm not just plugging this thing. It is really good. Watch it and you will end up sharing it with your friends and sending it in emails. Josh has talent. Help spotlight him and copy paste this. Share it, link it and vote for it. Most of all, watch it. VIDEO!VOTE!SHARE!VOTE
I'll be posting an interview and story later.
1 comment:
I can't say I'm a fan of Kenye, let alone most rap music, I like some of the female artist in the genre, but it doesn't cut it for me.
I do think you are right about one thing, establishing the authority. Great way to turn music towards writing, since they really aren't that far off any how- but what songs do in a few minutes stories have to do in a lot of pages, or word limits.
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