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Through the Wire: Lyrics and Illuminations
This is a rare partnership between two geniuses at the top of their crafts -- Kanye West, who was named "the smartest man in hip-hop" by Time magazine, and Bill Plympton, an Academy Award-nominated animator, cartoonist, and illustrator.Through the Wire is a graphic memoir that illustrates the lyrics of twelve Kanye West songs to tell his story, from his decision to drop out of college to pursue his dreams in music, through his days spent folding chinos at the Gap while struggling at night to make a name as a producer, through the pivotal car accident that eventually set him on the course to stardom and the epiphany of realizing exactly who he had"...They say people in your life are like seasonsAnd anything that happens is for a reason..."Plympton illustrates each of the songs in detail, his vision of Kanye's world. The songs are annotated with explanations of the references in the songs, biographical components that illuminate the lyrics, and their meaning on a deeply personal level.The result is a one-of-a-kind book that initially grabs you and stays with you forever.
80 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 4, 2008
4 people are currently reading
146 people want to read
About the author
Kanye West
41 books97 followersKanye Omari West is an American rapper, record producer, author and singer. He released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, his third album Graduation in 2007, and his fourth album 808s and Heartbreak in 2008. His first three and fifth albums (and his fourth to a lesser extent) have received numerous awards and critical acclaim. All have been very commercially successful, with 808s and Heartbreak becoming his third consecutive #1 album in the U.S. upon release. West also runs his own record label G.O.O.D. Music. West's mascot and trademark is "Dropout Bear," a teddy bear which has appeared on the covers of three of his four albums as well as various single covers and music videos.
West gained fame by producing for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album, The Blueprint as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson. His style of production originally utilized pitched-up vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments. However, subsequent albums saw him broadening his musical palette and expressing influences ranging from '70s R&B, to synth-pop, and classical music.
About.com ranked Kanye West #8 on their "Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers" list. On May 16, 2008, Kanye West was crowned by MTV as the year's #1 "Hottest MC in the Game."
West gained fame by producing for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album, The Blueprint as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson. His style of production originally utilized pitched-up vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments. However, subsequent albums saw him broadening his musical palette and expressing influences ranging from '70s R&B, to synth-pop, and classical music.
About.com ranked Kanye West #8 on their "Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers" list. On May 16, 2008, Kanye West was crowned by MTV as the year's #1 "Hottest MC in the Game."
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 11, 2014
This is an awesome book for Kanye fans. It lists the lyrics from the "Through The Wire" album and gives the reader a commentary on how Kanye came up with the lyrics for the song(NOTE: Homecoming is about Chicago, not a girl). I read this book by first reading the commentary and listening to the song as I followed the lyrics, and I got a lot out of it. If you wanna gain insight into Kanye West and his music, definitely pick this up
April 22, 2022
This short read surpassed my expectations and was extremely enjoyable. I read this 2009 book due to my love for Kanye West’s discography and deep lyricism. Using illustrations, the book manages to beautifully provide deeper context to Ye’s iconic lyrics. The tone used feels personal and real. Although it only covers Ye’s older songs, the book made me change my perspective on his earlier albums. I would recommend this to any fans of Kanye West who want a better insight on his storylines.
September 15, 2015
"We all self-conscious I'm just the first to admit it" ("All Falls Down," 27)
To understand Kanye West, look to his music.* That is the message of this book, a sort of memoir through the lens of twelve of his songs' lyrics. Though West's vision has inspired him to build numerous bridges between his music and the world of high art, this is not his best effort. (His best effort to this end would be his short film Runaway.)
In this book, each song's lyrics are given a total of six pages and paired with a single full illustration. The art, styled somewhere between storybook and political cartoon, seems a mere reaction to the lyrics, like a literal-interpretation music video car crashed into a single image. (My favorite is the image detail for "Jesus Walks" on page 41.) This approach does not elevate the lyrics to a new level as hoped. It's unfortunate that parts of the images are cut off because they are positioned over the spine, but the biggest slight is how the full-page illustrations are not even put side-by-side with the lyrics.
As for the words themselves, the lyrics are preceded by West's mini-memories associated with the songs. Functionally (if not aesthetically), these would have worked far better as footnotes; at the very least, they could have been written and structured into something resembling a continuous thought, rather than the jump cuts they are. Some of these mini-memories are insightful glimpses of the artist's life before he made it big; others are explanations one could deduce themselves without the artist's help or by going to rap.genius.com. Related separate thought: Embarrassingly, there are typos throughout the book (as opposed to the artistic license taken in the lyrics).
Finally, there's the choice of songs. If the purpose was to create a sort of pseudo-memoir in which lyrics that speak for themselves are given a little closer attention--in my opinion, the best reason to do this book--why include any songs for which West has no comment? "New Workout Plan" and "Gold Digger" may have been included simply for their notoriety, but "Heard 'Em Say" seems a random inclusion. All three (which have no accompanying comments from West) seem far from the more personal snapshots in the rest of the book. Why not include West's most sensitive song, "Roses"? Or his song that made Jay-Z, the song's inspiration, emotional, "Big Brother"? Why none of the more political songs like "We Don't Care" or "Crack Music"? Or, if representing songs that are about life before fame ("Spaceship") or reaching for the stars ("Touch the Sky"), why none of the songs about the realization of all he'd worked for ("Last Call," "We Major")?
Overall, the book asks readers to take a closer look at the lyrics of one of music's most influential producers. Even just three albums into his career, the man was good. But the overall presentation is overinflated: not enough new, meaningful content to legitimize the project.
*Don't look to his personality, his braggadocio, his marketing exploits and his general clickbait/tabloid coverage. Don't formulate opinions about him as a person before you've experienced his art. Or avoid his media coverage altogether, even after you hear his art. Or, if you choose to formulate your opinion of him based on anything other than his art, learn to shut up. Thank you.
To understand Kanye West, look to his music.* That is the message of this book, a sort of memoir through the lens of twelve of his songs' lyrics. Though West's vision has inspired him to build numerous bridges between his music and the world of high art, this is not his best effort. (His best effort to this end would be his short film Runaway.)
In this book, each song's lyrics are given a total of six pages and paired with a single full illustration. The art, styled somewhere between storybook and political cartoon, seems a mere reaction to the lyrics, like a literal-interpretation music video car crashed into a single image. (My favorite is the image detail for "Jesus Walks" on page 41.) This approach does not elevate the lyrics to a new level as hoped. It's unfortunate that parts of the images are cut off because they are positioned over the spine, but the biggest slight is how the full-page illustrations are not even put side-by-side with the lyrics.
As for the words themselves, the lyrics are preceded by West's mini-memories associated with the songs. Functionally (if not aesthetically), these would have worked far better as footnotes; at the very least, they could have been written and structured into something resembling a continuous thought, rather than the jump cuts they are. Some of these mini-memories are insightful glimpses of the artist's life before he made it big; others are explanations one could deduce themselves without the artist's help or by going to rap.genius.com. Related separate thought: Embarrassingly, there are typos throughout the book (as opposed to the artistic license taken in the lyrics).
Finally, there's the choice of songs. If the purpose was to create a sort of pseudo-memoir in which lyrics that speak for themselves are given a little closer attention--in my opinion, the best reason to do this book--why include any songs for which West has no comment? "New Workout Plan" and "Gold Digger" may have been included simply for their notoriety, but "Heard 'Em Say" seems a random inclusion. All three (which have no accompanying comments from West) seem far from the more personal snapshots in the rest of the book. Why not include West's most sensitive song, "Roses"? Or his song that made Jay-Z, the song's inspiration, emotional, "Big Brother"? Why none of the more political songs like "We Don't Care" or "Crack Music"? Or, if representing songs that are about life before fame ("Spaceship") or reaching for the stars ("Touch the Sky"), why none of the songs about the realization of all he'd worked for ("Last Call," "We Major")?
Overall, the book asks readers to take a closer look at the lyrics of one of music's most influential producers. Even just three albums into his career, the man was good. But the overall presentation is overinflated: not enough new, meaningful content to legitimize the project.
*Don't look to his personality, his braggadocio, his marketing exploits and his general clickbait/tabloid coverage. Don't formulate opinions about him as a person before you've experienced his art. Or avoid his media coverage altogether, even after you hear his art. Or, if you choose to formulate your opinion of him based on anything other than his art, learn to shut up. Thank you.
January 7, 2014
My lil brother gave this to me for Christmas. I liked the art a lot, but I wish there was even more information about Kanye's inspiration. I also miss College Dropout/Graduation/Late Registration Kanye. COME BACK KANYE.
November 19, 2011
An interesting read. Fascinating to read the lyrics, along with their interpretation and influence.
April 21, 2012
A brief exploration of the meaning behind Kanye's lyrics, written by the man himself.
December 7, 2012
Being able to read the lyrics and the meaning behind them made me appreciate The College Dropout CD more than I did. Good read.
August 31, 2016
Kanye is a musical genius
May 16, 2014
Printing lyrics to 8 or 9 songs and commenting 3 lines to half of them is not what I expected.
October 5, 2014
Thank you Yeezus!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews