Kanye West's Timeless Classic "Through The Wire" Was Released 20 Years Ago Today

BYZachary Horvath1305 Views
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The track that started a tumultuous but all-time great career.

When you think about the greatest artists ever, a lot of different names from all sorts of genres might come to mind. One that you cannot ignore is Kanye West. Atlanta-born and Chicago-raised, Ye has been viewed as a polarizing visionary for most, if not all of his career. That is no secret and has not been for a long time. However, from a purely music perspective, there is not many better than him.

His debut album was proof of that back in 2004. The College Dropout is viewed by many as still his greatest body of work even nearly two full decades later. Even with others like Graduation, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and Late Registration, the original stands the test of time. With classics like "Jesus Walks," and "All Falls Down," it is not hard to see the vision. But, what basically shot Kanye into immediate star status was "Through The Wire."

Relisten To "Through The Wire" From Kanye West

It is a classic because of its amazing sampling of Chaka Khan's "Through The Fire," but there are plenty of other reasons too. For one, some of the recordings were done right after he broke his jaw in a nasty car accident. Even with his mouth nearly closed shut he was so dedicated that he laid down vocals anyway. On top of that, it is a great storytelling track, as you can see from some of the lyrics below. Kanye continues to inspire and create some of the best material all these years later, and it is all because of songs like "Through The Wire."

What were your initial thoughts on Kanye West's classic song "Through The Wire?" Is this his greatest song of all time? Is he the master of sampling and telling personal stories? We want to hear what you have to say about all of this. With that in mind, be sure to leave all of your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the best throwbacks, as well as all of the latest breaking news around the music world.

Quotable Lyrics:

I must got a angel, ‘cause look how death missed his a**
Unbreakable, what, you thought they'd call me Mr. Glass?
Look back on my life like the Ghost of Christmas Past
Toys "R" Us where I used to spend that Christmas cash
And I still won't grow up, I'm a grown-a** kid
Swear I should be locked up for stupid **** that I did

About The Author
Zachary Horvath is one of the Music Freelance News Writers at HotNewHipHop and has held that title since August 2023. Prior to this position, he held another freelance gig covering local high school football, girls and boys varsity basketball, in addition to recapping Cleveland Cavaliers games remotely. He's taken the previous experience and used it to become a jack of all trades at HotNewHipHop. Zach has thoroughly enjoyed tackling some of the trending topics in sports, with a larger focus on hip-hop and pop culture. Some of those include Bronny James's draft stock, a multitude of angles swirling around the Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef, as well as Diddy's arrest and lawsuits. Separate from the headlines that everyone wants to hear about, he was fortunate enough to help spread Zaytoven's current thoughts at the time around mid-December in 2023. Even though being able to give his expertise on these stories is fulfilling, being able to share his passion for releases trumps that ever so slightly. Having the chance to express his excitement indirectly about what he thinks our readers should be checking out/revisiting grows his passion for writing that much more.
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