Can Kanye West Sing?

Kanye West is known for many things (including running for president, apparently). However, is Kanye West just a rapper, or can he sing too?

While rappers and singers are traditionally and functionally different, some rappers don’t hold back from expressing themselves more with melody as opposed to just the rhythm of rap, and Kanye West is one of them.  

To know more about why Kanye took to singing after years of rapping his heart out, read on!

Kanye Is Not One To Shy Away From His Emotions

As far back as his first album, Kanye was lauded for his lyrics focusing on being self-conscious and having a diverse range of emotional depth. While we can argue that Kanye took things to the extreme in terms of being honest and open especially with the media and on sensitive topics, the content of his music was a contrast to the “thug rap” dominating the charts in the early 2000s cannot be denied.

Even today, articles on Kanye focus on his emotional complexity and his music discussing “heated, emotional topics”. 

Kanye’s soulful music also featured a notable and veritable list of guest artists over the years providing the hooks for his songs such as John Legend, Adam Levine, Rihanna, Justin Vernon, and Sia, to name a few. 

Kanye Started Singing To Emote Better 

In 2008, Kanye released his fourth album, 808s and Heartbreak (with the 808s being a drum machine that was used liberally in the instrumentals of the album). This album marked a distinct shift in his artistic style, with almost no rapping. This album came on the heels of personal loss, with the passing away of his mother and the breakdown of his relationship, which led him to “melodies”. 

Kanye’s singing style has been the topic of much scrutiny since then, but it has gone on to become distinctive and unique, with many other artists following the Kanye school of auto-tune. Before 808s and Heartbreak, auto-tune was seen as taboo in the hip-hop industry and the musical world at large, but Kanye made a point of establishing its place as a creative tool. 

Kanye was even complimented on his singing by Michael Jackson. Many artists and critics have since said many things about Kanye and his artistry, but we’d argue that it might not matter once the King of Pop himself has given you the green light. 

After 808s and Heartbreak, Kanye kept the singing style and even innovated with the use of autotune all up until his most recent albums (with the obvious exception of the Gospel-based JESUS IS KING). While most won’t take Kanye to be an R&B-style crooner, his emotive singing has touched a chord not only with fans but the zeitgeist as well, with bands such as Bon Iver and Francis and the Lights owing a lot to Kanye’s “home-cooked” raw vocal delivery, using the human voice not just as a tool to showcase on a song, but as an instrument in its own right.

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