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The genius behind Kanye West's sample in 'On Sight'

Just one of the many genius moves from Kanye.

By MannyPublished 4 years ago 3 min read
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Kanye on the 'Yeezus' tour.

'Yeezus', said to be Kanye West's least impressive album to this day, (even though I always disagree with this statement), is an experimental and unordinary album by an artist who was once said to be Hip Hop's greatest. Even though this album is widely regarded as a poor effort at experimental music, one part of the album stood out to me on a personal level, and it was the cleverness of the sample used in the first track of the album 'On Sight'.

It was only recently when I returned to the album of 'Yeezus' I realised the brilliance of the record, and of the sample used in the first track. The first track on the project 'On Sight' which is a contrast to Ye's regular choices for opening tracks in albums. Kanye normally goes with what he thinks is the most popular track on the album, (which was nearly the case with this record too, as 'Blood on the Leaves' was supposed to be the opening track), but this particular track kept the angry feel that 'Yeezus' was going for throughout the project.

As I was re-listening I forgot about the sample used midway through 'On Sight', which appealed to me mostly because it fit in the middle of what was such an angry and unstructured song, and the sample was the complete opposite, sang by what seemed a choir, in such a slow and peaceful tone. I decided to do some research into the sample and that is when I discovered the brilliance of it.

The sample is from the song 'Holy Name of Mary Choral Family' and is a religious song that is dedicated to Jesus. There is the first link with the sample. 'Yeezus' is Kanye's album where he is referring to himself as a God, or like an important figure, the same way Jesus was.

The second link with the sample is the actual lyric that is being said by the choir. The lyric sang is "He'll give us what we need, It might not be what we want". This line in the original track is obviously referring to Jesus and how he gives people what they need, even if it is not what they want. However, the way it works with Kanye is unbelievably clever. The line relates to Kanye as he is trying to make the point that he is releasing 'Yeezus' no matter what, even if most of the fans will not enjoy it. That is where the line links to the overall project, as he is trying to say is that 'Yeezus' is something people 'need' even if it something that most fans won't want. Again this associates with Kanye being a God, as he is giving us what we need, even if it is not what we want, it is just genius.

Yes, There's ANOTHER link, (there are probably more than I have recognised but these are the links that stood out to me personally), and it is how it links to the more 'likeable' Kanye, where he used to sample soul, (this is said in the track 'I Miss The Old Kanye' off the 2016 project 'The Life Of Pablo where he speaks from the point of view of his fans). The sample used is a sample the 'old Kanye' would be more likely to use on his older albums as he was a religious person, (he also made the track 'Jesus Walks' on the album 'College Dropout' where he explains how tracks that promote religious beliefs should be played on the radio and even in clubs. This track went on to win a Grammy in 2005 for best rap song). This links back to how more of his fans want the old Kanye, so he uses a sample that 'old Kanye' would use to promote the newer music he is releasing, which was 'Yeezus' at the time.

When I discovered all these links, I couldn't help but write about it since it is so impressive, (and Kanye is in my top 3 favourite Hip Hop artists/groups,alongside Kendrick and Tribe Called Quest).

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About the Creator

Manny

Just an 18 year old creative trying to make it in this world.

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