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If you don't know by now, I'm talkin' 'bout Chi-Town Kanye West (Ft. Chris Martin) – Homecoming

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As in Common’s classic “I Used to Love H.E.R.”, Kanye finishes the song by revealing the message of his song.

He was talking about Chicago through the whole song, for those that didn’t notice.

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7 months

how did i miss that

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147

1 year

GODDAMN

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She said, "Excuse me, little homie, I know you don't know me, but
My name is Windy and I like to blow trees," and
From that point, I'd never blow her off Kanye West (Ft. Chris Martin) – Homecoming

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Chicago is known as the “Windy City”, mostly for its blustery weather and “blustery” politicians, but it’s also a diss from rival city Cincinnati.

The girl representing Chicago is named “Windy”; she’s a cool girl, she likes to “blow trees” (both in the “woosh!” sense and as in slang for smoking weed). It is also a reference to fellatio.

The way Kanye pronounces “windy” sounds kinda like Wendy, a pretty rare name nowadays that’s most recognizable for Wendy Darling, which then makes Ye kind of like Peter Pan.

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1 year

Sumeke ‘Rainey’ was Kanye’s ex girlfriend. Windy links to weather just like Rainey.

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159

1 year

My god, I used to sing my name is Wendy😂😂

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3 years

The whole scene is framed by Kanye saying he’s 3 years old. The “I like to blow trees” is just childish and innocent. Not necessarily referring to weed and fellatio.

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sam

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4 years

“blow trees” is definitely not a reference to fellatio…

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4 years

Kanye’s reference to the “Windy City” is a way for him to express the harsh and rough lifestyle Chicago embodies including politically which is why Chicago is named the “Windy City” because politicians would “attack” each other in debates so Kanye’s use of this is another way to describes the harsh reality of the city

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The Message Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five (Ft. Duke Bootee & Grandmaster Melle Mel) – The Message

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Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s “The Message” may not have been the origin of conscious-rap in the early ‘80s, but it took the idea, ran away with it, married it, had several children and bought a farm in upstate Idaho with it.

“The Message” was the 7th rap song to ever appear on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, peaking at #62. It went gold within 11 days. It was also selected by the New York Times as ‘the most powerful pop single of 1982’ and NME named it their #1 track of the year.

In 2017, Rolling Stone named it the best hip-hop record of all time. But perhaps the song’s biggest honor was in 2002 when the US Library Of Congress began archiving recordings that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” in its National Recording Registry. “The Message” was included because “of its focus on urban social issues”, and thus shows it is regarded as significant as other recordings also archived that first year – like “Stars and Stripes Forever”, “God Bless America” and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Though it’s credited to Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, “The Message” was primarily written by Ed “Duke Bootee” Fletcher and producer Jiggs Chase, with the only contributing member of GF & TFF being Melle Mel who wrote the final verse. At the suggestion of Sylvia Robinson, the then-head of Sugar Hill Records, both Duke & Mel rapped on the track.

There are many different versions of this song with different numbers of verse. Often, Verse 4 is omitted. This is the original, and longest, version.

It has been sampled and quoted many times, often imitated, but never matched.

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Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The Message" may not have been the origin of conscious-rap in the early '80s, but it took the idea, ran away with it, married it, had several children and bought a farm in upstate Idaho with it.

"The Message" was [the 7th rap song](https://thenoisingmachine.wordpress.com/2008/11/23/first-ten-rap-hits-on-the-hot-100/) to ever appear on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, [peaking at #62](https://www.billboard.com/music/grandmaster-flash/chart-history). It went gold within 11 days. It was also [selected by the New York Times](https://people.com/archive/the-south-bronx-was-getting-a-bad-rap-until-a-club-called-disco-fever-came-along-vol-19-no-19/) as 'the most powerful pop single of 1982' and [NME named it](https://www.nme.com/bestalbumsandtracksoftheyear/1982-2-1045396) their #1 track of the year.

In 2017, [Rolling Stone named it](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/100-greatest-hip-hop-songs-of-all-time-105784/grandmaster-flash-and-the-furious-five-the-message-3-102925/) the best hip-hop record of all time. But perhaps the song's biggest honor was in 2002 when the US Library Of Congress began [archiving recordings](https://web.archive.org/web/20070208170650/http://www.loc.gov/rr/record/nrpb/nrpb-2002reg.html) that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" in its National Recording Registry. "The Message" was included because "of its focus on urban social issues", and thus shows it is regarded as significant as other recordings also archived that first year - like "Stars and Stripes Forever", "God Bless America" and Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

Though it's credited to Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, "The Message" was primarily written by Ed "Duke Bootee" Fletcher and producer Jiggs Chase, with [the only contributing](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/may/27/how-we-made-the-message) member of GF & TFF being Melle Mel who wrote the final verse. At [the suggestion of](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/may/27/how-we-made-the-message) Sylvia Robinson, the then-head of Sugar Hill Records, both Duke & Mel rapped on the track.

There are many different versions of this song with different numbers of verse. Often, Verse 4 is omitted. This is the original, and longest, version.

It has been [sampled](http://genius.com/Diddy-cant-nobody-hold-me-down-lyrics) and [quoted](https://genius.com/Wax-2010-til-infinity-lyrics) many times, often imitated, but never matched.

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In my past, you on the other side of the glass
Of my memory's museum
I'm just sayin', "Hey, Mona Lisa Kanye West (Ft. Dwele) – Flashing Lights

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Kanye wants to keep his girl (the Mona Lisa) in his thoughts (his “memory’s museum”, rather than the Louvre)

Right now, he feels separate from her, as if they are divided by a sheet of glass (in the Louvre, the Mona Lisa is one of the only paintings embedded in glass for protection)

Also is referring to how he can see the beauty of the girl, but he cannot touch her much like people can’t touch the Mona Lisa. So she in fact is in his “memory’s museum” something to picture but never touch.

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945

4 years

This also relates to the previous lines, that are about flying on a plane that has glass windows.

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Feelin' like Katrina with no FEMA Kanye West (Ft. Dwele) – Flashing Lights

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After the disaster of getting dumped, Kanye wishes he had a federal agency to support him; he feels like the Katrina victims did after the Federal Emergency Management Agency botched their assistance efforts.

Also possibly referencing how Kanye felt when he tried to publicise the fact that FEMA were doing nothing for Katrina victims (the “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” incident).

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622

3 years

This part of the verse is reminiscent of Wonder Mike’s 8th verse of Rapper’s Delight.

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Maybe it was the fast paced switch up
Or the two guns in my face during the stick up
Maybe 'cause a girl I thought I trusted
Was who set the whole shit up Drake – The Resistance

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Drake begins to contemplate what has caused him to begin to act differently. His best guesses are either his sudden rise to fame before he could adjust himself to the new lifestyle, or the time he was robbed at gunpoint in 2009. Drake has revealed that he believes the robbery was set-up by a girl he was dating, so this would certainly explain his trust issues when it comes to women.

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130

6 years

it is showcased in the “Find Your Love” music video

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Yusef G Kanye West (Ft. Consequence & GLC) – Spaceship

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Malik Yusef, is a spoken word artist signed to Kanye’s G.O.O.D. record label.

In 2003, Malik released his first solo album featuring local talent including Kanye West, Carl Thomas, Chantay Savage, Michael Coleman, Common, and Twista, documenting an amalgam of eroticism, religion, gangster folklore, and hip-hop. The Source magazine dubbed the debut “a classic.”

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"The kid that made that deserves that Maybach!" Kanye West (Ft. Consequence & GLC) – Spaceship

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Imitating the record producers who – once Kanye has sold a million billion records – think maybe he deserves a fancy luxury car or two

What do you know, only 7 years later?

Maybach is also a play on “May back”. Ye deserves to get his May back after spending all those summers making beats.

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256

2 years

in jeen-yuhs it shows a man get out of a g wagon and he says he is going to get the maybach

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That's A Different World like Cree Summer's Kanye West (Ft. Consequence & GLC) – Spaceship

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Cree Summer is an actress probably best known for her work on the Bill Cosby-produced A Different World.

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4 years

A Different World is a show about going to school as a black college student.

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Let's go back, back to the Gap
Look at my check—wasn't no scratch
So if I stole, wasn't my fault
Yeah, I stole—never got caught
They take me to the back and pat me
Asking me about some khakis Kanye West (Ft. Consequence & GLC) – Spaceship

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Kanye has mentioned that he used to work at The Gap in high school.

He felt his paycheck was so small (“scratch” is slang for money), he was forced to steal moderately-priced clothing to make up the difference. This is what lawyers call an ‘affirmative defense’.

He raps that he never got caught (and a few lines down claims he quit), but in 2020 Kanye told Joe Rogan he was fired for stealing khakis:

Sixteen years after this song came out, Kanye went back to the Gap for a 10-year partnership. Talk about humble beginnings!

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4 years

The scratch is the comma on 1,000 dollars or more. Implying that he wasn’t paid much

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