In every public appearance, interview, and tweet he makes, Kanye West aims to further assert himself as the artistic genius that he strongly believes himself to be. To be fair, he’s given guest lectures at esteemed universities, and there’s even a college course devoted to him at the University of Missouri.
Throughout the majority of his career, West’s influence has grown past music and found its way into the world of fashion and politics. For all we know, he’s completely serious about running for president in 2020.
But West’s been projecting his genius unto the masses for more than a decade now, always trying to silence the haters and outdo his past hits so that everyone can see that he really is for real. If you relate to his feelings of being an underappreciated genius, these songs should be in your playlist so that they can inspire you in your neverending journey to prove your greatness.
“Stronger”
One of the keys to being a genius is a monster superiority complex. While it’s true that putting your confidence on the forefront is a long-standing part of hip-hop, Kanye West’s made a career out of taking it to new heights. Especially in “Stronger,” where Yeezy reminds us that his presence is a present and we shouldn’t complain even when he’s late.
Note: The video was inspired by Akira, an anime movie about people tapping into their full potential and becoming psychics. For the sake of this argument, psychic equals genius.
“Touch the Sky”
“Touch the Sky” is a celebration of Kanye West’s success – before he went on to achieve even more success – and a look back at his moments of doubt that are expected to come in any genius’ life. This should be the theme song for anyone packing up their U-haul as they prepare to ignore any pessimists they leave in their wake.
Also, this was Lupe Fiasco’s first major look. That, in itself, is a stroke of genius.
“Can’t Tell Me Nothing”
Anyone of a superior mindset spends more time with their own thoughts than anything. That’s the only right way to figure out the secrets of life, right?
“Can’t Tell Me Nothing” is essentially West doing just that and giving us a peek into the same mind that named his kids after a direction and a holy entity. Something interesting is going on up there, to say the least.
“Diamonds From Sierra Leone”
If Kanye West truly has forgotten better lines than most other rappers have ever even thought of, a la “Diamonds From Sierra Leone,” that can only be the result of an incredibly high mental capacity.
West has an even more valid case when you listen to the second verse of this track that’s jam-packed with some of the best lines of his entire career.
“Champion”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUv1U0lQ7TA
Many of our greatest minds left higher education for a variety of reasons – some being boredom and frustration. Bill Gates, James Cameron, Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs are a few examples. So you can’t blame Kanye for pointing out the irony in “Champion” that one of the most notorious college dropouts in the world gets asked to speak to college students on a regular basis to teach them things they can’t learn in a textbook.
“I Wonder”
Some say the smartest people know they know nothing at all. Whoever said that – Erykah Badu? – must have never met Kanye. You can’t really say “I know all” more plainly than he did in “I Wonder.” Kanye West thinks he’s always right and there’s no room to negotiate.
“Black Skinhead”
If your intellect is in the top percentile of the world, you’re not going to fit in with a lot of people. That’s just a fact and comes with the territory. But at the same time, it makes you more of a spectacle for the masses because you’re so different, which is something that Kanye West embraces and lives by.
That motivation to always stand out may have not been any clearer than it was in “Black Skinhead,” West’s single off Yeezus that raised plenty of eyebrows for political and artistic reasons.
The album version of the track also ends with repetition of the word “God” before heading into the next entry on this list. So Yeezy was definitely feeling himself at this point.
“I Am A God”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViGNBLQpGWE
Well, the only way Kanye’s god complex could get more intense is if he dropped the “a” and considered himself the one and only God. While some feel this title is open for interpretation, one thing’s made perfectly clear. Kanye West thinks really, really highly of himself — as any self-described genius should.
