[1] Kanye West - Through The Wire

I drink a Boost for breakfast, an Ensure for dessert
Somebody ordered pancakes, I just sip the sizzurp
That right there could drive a sane man berserk
Not to worry, Mr. H-to-the-Izzo's back to wi-zerk

Oh College Dropout, this is an Album that really takes me back..

I remember being in my first year of high school when this album came out. I actually remember first hearing it over the Christmas holidays, it was leaked early and my brother had told me about it "Check out this dude Kanye West" he told me.

I feel in love with the style right away, A clean lyrical flow and a seemingly endless supply of incredible beats. I actually remember burning a dozen or so copies of the College Dropout (at least the early version I had at the time) and handing them out around school to some of my friends I knew who I knew appreciated good hip-hop, and not long before everyone was bumping Jesus Walks, All Falls Down, Slow Jamz, etc.. The Album is full of classics.

Since this is my first entry in this blog (hopefully of more to come) I thought it would be fitting to go pick one of my favorite lines, which happens to be the First Line, off the First Single of the First Album of one of my favorite artists.

A good line in rap is like a piece of art and should be well framed, the beat usually takes up that role. There is often at least beat drop before a particularly hard hitting line. Kanye however is always goes a step further with his the little details / final production of his beats; and this line is no exception. If you go back to listen to the song pay attention to how everything builds up so intricately. The drums, the bass, the sample vocals all peak and then flow back so smoothly in the the main harmony as kanye starts the verse.

The line itself is a great example of early kanye's careless childlike flow, always wrapped in clever wordplay.
Boost and Ensure for those who don't know are brands of liquid meal replacement, kind of like pre-packaged protein shakes, and kanye is joking about how after being in a life threatening car accident and having jaw surgery that he is limited to a liquid diet. He then goes on to allude to lean (codeine/promethazine), which was a big trend at the time, with his 'Somebody order pancakes, i just sip the sizzurp' line.

I am also sure it is intentional how audible in his voice his injuries are, which he may even have been playing up to add emphasis to the line overall, giving the listener a bit of context as to why what he is saying is relevant, even before he goes on to explain in much more detail throughout the rest of the song.

Overall I think these 4 bars have all the elements of what makes a good rap line. It is clever, witty, sarcastic, true to the artist's character, and socially relevant. And Being the first line to be reviewed, it will serve as the standard for comparison to upcoming entries.