Watching The Throne: A Lyrical Analysis Of Kanye West

It's time for Round 2! Chris and Travis tried analyzing All Falls Down a couple years ago when they were noobs—but they are now ready to give it a more legit dissection in 2018. All Falls Down is a great example of Kanye's early storytelling and sampling powers, using Lauryn Hill and Biggie songs to encapsulate the power consumerism holds over the Black community. Of course, Chris and Travis get into all of that, along with Showgirls, Single White Female, Fight Club, and then eventually Showgirls again. If you'd like to hear the show ad-free, then support us over on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/KanyePodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oh yeah, we've got a perfect podcast for the fans to hear! It's called Watching the Throne, and today hosts Chris and Travis are starting down a new path as they tackle Kanye's debut album "The College Dropout." On this episode, they discuss the themes of materialism, education, youth, hardship, rebellion, and artistry permeating throughout the song. They also try to put the song into Kanye's perspective as an artist and a new rapper representing Chicago. If you'd like to hear the show ad-free, then support us over on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/KanyePodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first time Chris and Travis cycled through every song on Kanye West's first album, The College Dropout, they weren't up to the task. Armed with shoddy equipment and amateur analytical skills, they didn't do one of the greatest debut albums in the history of music proper justice—but now's the time to fix that. That's why Chris and Travis are cycling back through every song on The College Dropout. In this episode, they preview the album's narrative and discuss what they're most excited about this season. If you'd like to hear the show ad-free, then support us over on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/KanyePodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This past week has been one of the most trying times ever for Kanye fans—and Kanye himself, seemingly. Chris and Travis run through everything in this episode, from DONDA being delayed to Kanye's Twitter rants to how our conversation about mental illness desperately needs a change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"This was extremely good, this was extremely bad. I’m out." Those were the words spoken by Kanye West as he exited his first presidential campaign rally. And those words...well, they pretty much exactly describe how everyone felt. Chris and Travis talk about the best and the worst parts of the event. If you'd like to support the show, then join our Patreon page. There you'll gain access to over 120 of our song analyses and two weekly bonus episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kanye West announced a new album!!! An album called DONDA!!!! An album that is....definitely coming out.......right? Right??? OK, realistically? The album might not come out this Friday. But in this episode Chris and Travis are going to pretend it is definitely positively 100% is coming out this Friday and wildly speculate about it. If you'd like to support the show, then join our Patreon page. There you'll gain access to over 120 of our song analyses and two weekly bonus episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris and Travis continue their discussion of Kanye's interview with Forbes. They finish going through Kanye's actual platform in this episode as they go quote by quote through the entire article. If you'd like to support the show, then join our Patreon page. There you'll gain access to over 120 of our song analyses and two weekly bonus episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris and Travis continue their discussion of Kanye's interview with Forbes. They get into Kanye's actual platform in this episode as they go quote by quote through the entire article. If you'd like to support the show, then join our Patreon page. There you'll gain access to over 120 of our song analyses and two weekly bonus episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than any day in history, today is probably the weirdest day ever to be a Kanye West fan. Ye conducted an interview with Forbes in which he laid out his 2020 presidential platform, and the results are...well, interesting puts it mildly enough. Chris and Travis have a lot of feelings to work through regarding the interview, and they expel all of those conflicting emotions in this three-part evaluation of Kanye's words. In this first part, Chris and Travis discuss their history as Kanye fans and their perspective heading into reading the Forbes interview. They then navigate the opening paragraphs and bullet points that summarize the article. If you'd like to support the show, then join our Patreon page. There you'll gain access to over 120 of our song analyses and two weekly bonus episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Man, it's a good time to host a Kanye West podcast. The Louis Vuitton Don himself has officially decided to run for president in 2020—and that's amazing! But...what does it mean? Can he technically still run? And what would his platform look like? Chris and Travis discuss it all and take questions from listeners in this episode. If you'd like to support the show, then join our Patreon page. There you'll gain access to over 120 of our song analyses and two weekly bonus episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another day, another Kanye song! This time he's featured on Ty Dolla $ign's new song Ego Death—which was long rumored to be part of Yandhi. In this episode, Chris and Travis discuss the philosophy of an "ego death" and how Ty, Ye, and FKA Twigs are exploring that concept in this song. If you'd like to support the show, then join our Patreon page. There you'll gain access to over 120 of our song analyses and two weekly bonus episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What a glorious day! It's been a minute since we got a new Kanye song ahead of an album, but today we've been blessed with Ye's first single since Jesus is King: "Wash Us in the Blood." In this emergency episode, Chris and Travis discuss their initial reactions to the song and the music video and what they think it signals about Kanye's forthcoming album God's Country. If you'd like to support the show, then join our Patreon page. There you'll gain access to over 120 of our song analyses and two weekly bonus episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yeezy partners with Gap? Dr. Dre + Jesus is King? A music video for Wash Us in the Blood? A KIDS SEE GHOSTS animated series?!?! Wow, this really is the #WESTDAYEVER. On today's very special emergency episode, Chris and Travis dig into every bit of Kanye West news we got today—and there's A LOT. If you'd like to support the show, then join our Patreon page. There you'll gain access to over 120 of our song analyses and two weekly bonus episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s episode comes from our Patreon page. Twice a week, we post bonus mini-episodes of the show. These mini-eps are a lot of fun to record and we want everyone to enjoy them. So we decided to post this episode on the public feed for everyone to enjoy. If you’d like to access every mini-episode, as well as our entire podcast catalog where we break down 120 different Kanye West songs, then subscribe to our Patreon page at patreon.com/KanyePodcast. For $5 a month, you’ll not only get all of those episodes, but you’ll also help us decide on themes for future seasons of the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris speaks with Malik, an Austin artist who has won a Grammy, is being mentored by No ID, and is releasing his first project, “Spectrum,” bi-weekly over the course of the 2020 summer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meet Christina Binkley: the writer behind the recent Wall Street Journal article "The Creation and the Myth of Kanye West." In this very special episode, she sits down with Travis to discuss how the article came together, Kanye's fascinating immersion into the fashion world, and how her perception of Kanye changed during her time with him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For Black History Month, The Word Famous Tony Williams—now known as WRLDFMS—is releasing his new single, "Skin I’m In." On today's very special episode, he joins Chris and Travis to premiere the track and discuss what he hopes people take away from the song. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every year we get Christmas, we get Halloween, we get the 4th of July. Oh, and we get the Best Kanye West Song Tournament Death Match Extreme. In the 2020 edition of Watching the Throne's annual event, Chris, Travis, and Jordan sit down for a grueling three-hour session to decide on what Kanye's best song is. It's long, it's arduous, it's cutthroat—and hell, it's fun. Will Jordan avenge Lift Off's epic defeat in last year's tournament? Will Travis find new ways of sneaking his favorite songs through? Will Chris make a Knight's Tale reference? Tune in to find out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kanye West only follows 264 people on Twitter. You've got Kim Kardashian, Kid Cudi, Donald Trump, the Watching the Throne bros—oh yeah, and some guy named Alex Johnson (@alexmjjohnson). One of the most vocal Kanye fans on Twitter sat down with Travis to discuss how he became a Ye fan and how Kanye inspires him as an aspiring audio engineer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry Edohoukwa is a huge Kanye fan, and his new album, “Fire on the Mountain,” draws a lot of inspiration from Kanye. Chris talks with Harry about his relationship with Kanye’s music, the making of the new album, and other insights into being an artist in the 21st Century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices