Made You Think is a podcast by Nat Eliason, Neil Soni, and Adil Majid where the hosts and their guests examine ideas that, as the name suggests, make you think. Episodes will explore books, essays, podcasts, and anything else that warrants further discussion, teaches something useful, or at the very least, exercises our brain muscles.
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episode 42: 42: Yeezus Walks. The College Dropout by Kanye West
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This is a special one! In this episode of Made You Think, Neil and I discuss a music album, The College Dropout by Kanye West. The flow of the album is based on Kanye's decision to drop off out of college. It starts with graduation, it discuss problems in university, growing poor in Chicago, rap bragging and more.
Man, I promise, she's so self-conscious
She has no idea what she doin' in college
That major that she majored in don't make no money
But she won't drop out, her parents'll look at her funny
We cover a wide range of topics, including:
- Antifragile marketing, or the art of turning negative things in sellable points
- To play in a rigged game
- Kanye’s self made singer and producer story
- Consumerism as the new black drug
- Why people still believe in higher education
- Why all breweries have at least one IPA
And much more. Please enjoy, and be sure to listen to The College Dropout by Kanye West!
If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to check out our episode on In Praise of Idleness, an essay that talk about the importance to balance work and life and not falling into consumerism, as well as our episode on Antifragile by Nassim Taleb, a concept well known by Kanye and famous people that act weird.
Be sure to join our mailing list to find out about what books are coming up, giveaways we're running, special events, and more.
Links from the Episode Mentioned in the show- Ye by Kanye West [1:42]
- Life of Pablo by Kanye West [1:59]
- Yeezus by Kanye West [2:13]
- Kanye West - Lift Yourself [2:20]
- The Blueprint by Jay-Z [5:14]
- Kanye West - Big Brother [5:36]
- 50 Cents - 21 Questions [19:17]
- Genius Lyrics [21:43]
- Booz Allen [25:44]
- Conor McGregor throwing a dolly to a bus [33:41]
- The Gap [41:05]
- GLC [41:59]
- Consequence [42:45]
- Cheesecake Factory [1:11:16]
- Nat Chat [1:11:28]
- It's Not Liberal Arts And Literature Majors Who Are Most Underemployed [1:13:09]
- Monopoly: A Manifesto and Fact Post - article about rent seeking in medicine and education [1:15:05]
- University of Phoenix [1:17:04]
- CNBC [1:21:57]
- Juul e-Sig company [1:28:20]
- Going Clear documentary [1:31:14]
- Chaka Khan - Through the fire [1:32:20]
- Who wants to be millionaire [1:32:48]
- MTV [1:33:02]
- Get Rich or Die Tryin by 50 Cents [1:33:22]
- 8 Mile [1:34:04]
- Roc-A-Fella Records [1:36:56]
- Capitol Records [1:37:40]
- Damn by Kendrick Lamar [1:39:21]
- Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand [0:14]
- Antifragile by Nassim Taleb [1:34] (Nat’s notes) (book episode)
- Skin in the Game by Nassim Taleb [3:24] (Nat’s notes) (book episode)
- The Jungle by Upton Sinclair [3:47] (Nat’s notes)
- The 50th Law by Robert Greene [33:03] (Nat’s notes)
- Discipline and Punish by Michel Foucault [36:41] (Nat’s notes) (book episode)
- The Elephant in the Brain by Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson [40:02]
- In Praise of Idleness [1:08:43] (Nat’s notes) (book episode)
- Kanye West
- Jordan B. Peterson [0:47] (on Twitter) (12 Rules episode)
- Nassim Nicholas Taleb [1:34] (Antifragile episode) (Skin in the Game episode)
- Metro Boomin [6:29]
- Ludacris [7:48]
- Twista [10:06]
- Eminem [10:06]
- The Beatles [12:22]
- Bernie Mac [13:04]
- John Legend [21:04]
- Naval Ravikant [30:41]
- Jamie Foxx [22:13]
- Jamie Foxx on the Tim Ferris Show [22:13]
- Pusha T [30:21]
- Drake [30:21]
- Conor McGregor Throws Dolly at UFC 223 Fighter Bus video - YouTube [33:41]
- Floyd Mayweather [33:41]
- Myke Tyson [34:42]
- Muhammad Ali [34:54]
- LeBron James [35:04]
- J Cole [38:56]
- Kendrick Lamar [38:56]
- William Shakespeare [44:22]
- J Ivy [51:06]
- Talib Kweli [52:17]
- Common [52:17]
- Aisha Taylor [1:04:17]
- Earth Wind & Fire [1:04:48]
- Keith Sweat [1:04:48]
- Maze [1:04:48]
- Teddy Pendergrass [1:04:48]
- Luther Vandross [1:04:48]
- Mark Zuckerberg [1:17:32]
- Mos Def [1:23:33]
- Freeway [1:23:33]
- The Boys Choir of Harlem [1:23:33]
- Donald Trump [1:29:15]
- Colin Kaepernick [1:29:15]
- The Rock [1:30:54]
- Pepper the Poochon [1:42:00]
0:00 – Kanye's been a lot in the news lately because he is an interesting character, a provocateur. Kanye knows how to get media attention for his last albums by acting weird and insane in a very antifragile manner. Even Nassim Taleb mentioned him! Kanye grew up in Chicago and probably experienced some stories about being poor. Connections between the album and books and concepts from books discussed.
5:04 – He was a producer and produced some famous hip hop albums. Change in how producers are considered today, compared to when Kanye produced Jay Z's Blueprint. Producer as a brand. Kanye is a "full-stack" artist, he produces and signs his own songs.
10:24 – While this album was in progress he had a car accident that injured his jaw. Appreciating rap from an outsider perspective. Interwoven comedy element in the album. Why he included a song about Christianity. Kanye's soul signature.
13:41 – 1. "Intro (Skit)". Impersonating a professor asking Kanye for a graduation speech/song for kids graduating. Sets the tone for the rest of the album.
14:33 – 2. "We Don't Care" – Kanye responding to the request. Growing up poor in the slums of Chicago. Drug dealers as ideal of prestige and claiming other people's kids on income tax. Success is living beyond 25. Sense of being a self-made singer. Fuck you for the game being rigged, but also fuck you for not playing it.
20:53 – 3. "Graduation Day". His professor is really mad and tells him he is not graduating. Kanye invited unknown artists (at the moment) to sign together some songs.
22:36 – 4. "All Falls Down" (featuring Syleena Johnson). People in college who is not upper-middle class and is unsure what they are doing. The illusion of college as a ticket to upper-middle class. Parental pressure to go to college. "It's nice to have white parents" argument.
27:41 – Consumerism. Buying stuff to come up with insecurity. Kanye and Antifragile. There's nothing bad he can do to sell less albums. Starting beefs as strategies to up rappers popularity. Black people feeling continually under surveillance by internalizing the view of society. Reference to slaves' promised land.
38:00 – Kanye's uniqueness to escape the braggadocious rap era. Saying the things everybody is thinking, but sounds impolite if said by other than comedians or rappers.
40:16 – 5. "I'll Fly Away". Gospel cover.
40:50 – 6. "Spaceship" (featuring GLC and Consequence). Experiences working, from a black person perspective. Being the token blackie of a Gap store. Working for the mob. Chicago state of mind. Dead end feelings.
43:11 – 7. "Jesus Walks". This song was, at the time, was out of place because it talked about God. Layers of meanings. Doing the bad thing, being conscious about that, but willing to be OK with God. The need for an ideal of better life, more positive and constructive than a drug dealer. Challenging the radio stations to broadcast music outside the mainstream topics,
48:38 – #8 "Never Let Me Down" (featuring Jay-Z and J. Ivy). Poor Jay-Z verse. Civil right activists in Kanye's family. Comparing the great injustices our grandparents had to deal with, with our current inability to vote. Racism still being alive, despite all the progress made.
52:17 – #9 "Get Em High" (featuring Talib Kweli and Common). Upbeat and funny song. Building self confidence and middle fingers up. Becoming famous and hitting up girls. First solo appearances, opening Talib Kweli's shows. Name-dropping. Featuring guests as guest posting. Dancing for cash, or publishing under independent labels as a way to being antifragile from industry cycles.
59:07 – 10. "Workout Plan (Skit)". Intro skit. Girls talking about losing weight workouts.
59:18 – 11. "The New Workout Plan".
1:02:32 – 12. "Slow Jamz" (with Twista and Jamie Foxx). Bluesy soul song "for the ladies". Tribute to big soul R&B musicians.
1:05:15 – 13. "Breathe in Breathe Out" (featuring Ludacris; co-produced by Brian "All Day" Miller). Probably a filler song, or a song that ties the artistic sides of the album. The need to do gangsta rap to widen the audience and give the album a push. Parallel with breweries, that need to have at least one IPA in their portfolio. Dichotomy of doing mainstream stuff to support the artistic stuff.
1:09:04 – 14. "School Spirit (Skit 1)". How school screws you and wastes your time. Getting class after class, but not knowing anything and don't make any money.
1:11:07 – 15. "School Spirit". School hierarchy is not synced to the real world.
1:11:32 – 16. "School Spirit (Skit 1)". Funny skit. Dying broke but covered by degrees. School getting more and more expensive, and more and more useless.Sentiment that everyone should be given an opportunity to move up vs effective paths to get people out of poverty. Option to move back home and not taking loans.
1:15:05 – Why people still believe in higher education and why it is a bubble like the housing one. Schools getting paid regardless of the graduates being employment situation. The problem of online certifications. Alternative signalling mechanisms. How to demonstrate competence in any field. Entrepreneurship and Marketing can't be learnt on books.
1:23:21 – 18. "Two Words" (featuring Mos Def, Freeway and The Boys Choir of Harlem). The game is rigged. Reference to the '70-'80 crack addiction in poor communities. Different treatment for drugs used by different ethnics. Why marijuana is being legalized (as more and more is used by white or rich people). Why Hemp was ostracized by the Paper industry.
1:31:58 – 19. "Through the Wire". A song recorded while still recovering from a car accident where he could have died. Despite all the horrible things happening, he will not stop doing music. Turning a negative into a positive. 50 Cents playing up the story of being shot 9 times. Tragedy helps the triumph make possible, or at least, making a strong selling point. Eminem's case.
1:35:00 – 20. "Family Business". Coming up with a new rap style. Family gatherings.
1:36:22 – 21. "Last Call" (co-produced by Evidence; additional production by Porse). A summary of Kanye's story. Record labels would not give Kanye a chance because he was not dressing as a typical gangsta rapper. Kanye being so sure to sign with Capitol Records and being dropped at the last minute. The need of one big shitty thing before everything else goes well.
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