"Amazing" - Textural Representation

It’s amazing, I’m the reason
Everybody fired up this evening
I’m exhausted, barely breathing
Holding on to what I believe in

[Chorus]
No matter what, you’ll never take that from me
My reign is as far as your eyes can see
It’s amazing, so amazing, so amazing, so amazing (x2)
It’s amazing

I’m a monster, I’m a killer
I know I’m wrong
I’m a problem
That’ll never ever be solved

[Chorus]
And no matter what, you’ll never take that from me
My reign is as far as your eyes can see
It’s amazing, so amazing, so amazing, so amazing (x2)
It’s amazing

I’m a monster, I’m a maven
I know this world is changing
Never gave in, never gave up
I’m the only thing I’m afraid of

[Chorus]
No matter what, you’ll never take that from me
My reign is as far as your eyes can see
It’s amazing, so amazing, so amazing, so amazing (x4)
It’s amazing

[Young Jeezy]
I’m amazing (amazing), yeah I’m all that (all that)
If I ain’t on my grind than what you call that (what you call that)
Victorious, yeah we warriors
We make history, strive for victory (yeah)
Standing at my podium, I’m trying to watch my sodium
Die high blood pressure either let the feds catch ya (yeah)
I’m amazing born on a full moon
I was breed to get it in, no spoon
That’s why I’m so goon summer time no joke
Big family small house, no room
They like “Oh God, why he go so hard
Look what he’s been through, he deserves an applause”

[Outro]
So amazing, so amazing, so amazing
It’s amazing, so amazing, so amazing, so amazing (x4)
It’s amazing

In examining the textural representation in part 1 of the piece, the background information on West must be taken into account and built upon. Most notably, if you consider the track record of West and all of the acts of attention-grabbing behavior, you will see what could be considered a very classically insecure artist. Some may say that this song, through its extremely repetitive nature, could be West speaking to himself or thoughts within his own head. No literary works have been published of the lyrical significance of this particular song yet, leaving it up to the listener to decide what they think.

I propose that West, through his rejection at the Grammy's, VMA's, and other prestigious accolades which he strove so passionately to attain, West may have a bit of self-consciousness under that cocky attitude that everyone sees in the media. This song is his ode to himself; "I'm amazing," is what West truly needs to hear in order to feel fulfilled in his accomplishments, whether it comes from himself or a third party.

As far as the verses, they are fairly straightforward enough to understand. West, throughout the song, has realization after realization that, "YES there is something 'wrong'" which is a stark contrast to the positive outlook of the chorus. The ABAB structure of back and forth between self-conscious and empowered Kanye is clear: he is unsure of exactly what he is truly capable of, and because of this, he is aware that what he does produce will be a unique and powerful thing. The neurotic conversation he is having in his head throughout the song is typical of someone with a condition such as split personality disorder, and provides a comical view if looked at in a joking way but at the same time shows an artist clearly anguished by pangs of constant self-doubt. This is considerable for West especially given his previously extremely cocky and at times belligerent behavior that was regarded by many outsiders as extremely mature. In declaring "Never gave up, never gave in," West affirms that he was aware of the pressure to conformity from those around him, but remained vigalent in staying true to what he wanted to do.

While the verses seem to tell a story of sorts of the realizations, both positive and negative, that West has come to over time, his chorus serves as his moment to bathe in the "glory" of his accolades. He preaches to whoever is listening that "No matter what, you'll never take that from me," as though he is constantly at odds with others trying to replace him and become what he worked so hard to create; he is holding onto everything he has done, which is a truly impressive amount of things, as though that is all he has left. Nobody can take it away from him, it is permanent, unlike the relationship with his fiance and the physical presence of his mother.

After examining his text in this way, it is clear that his work is quite possibly all that West has left to hold onto in the first place.

In the development, West's peer, Young Jeezy, takes over with a slow narrative that also seeks to build up personal confidence through the listing of personal struggles dating as far back as his childhood where he proclaims “big family small house, no room … Look what he’s been through, he deserves an applause.” It’s interesting that Jeezy seems to go backwards in time, beginning with times when “we make history” that, presumably, reference his perception of his impact on hip hop to date.

In contrasting the two parts, it is interesting to note the lack of the chorus to break up the verse of Jeezy that appears three times in Kanye’s part. Along with the verse chord progression, we are set up to expect a recapitulation and hear the hook but it doesn’t come and leaves the audience on edge, significantly emphasizing the lyrical content of the second half of Jeezy’s verse:

I’m amazing born on a full moon
I was breed to get it in, no spoon
That’s why I’m so goon summer time no joke
Big family small house, no room
They like “Oh God, why he go so hard
Look what he’s been through, he deserves an applause”

Here, Jeezy exemplifies the stereotypical “rise from the streets” story of so many successful hip-hop artists today. His deliverance of these lyrics in a very relaxed but reassuring tone and rhythm helps to add to his self-proclaimed stature and adds to the overall referential message of the song as a reassuring means to tell people “I’m the shit and it doesn’t matter what you do or think.” Neither artist is rapping for anyone else’s reason besides their own.