Is This Thing On: The college drop-in

https://twitter.com/officiaikanye/status/699777691117965312

This is where a college drop-in will attempt to teach you something once a week about the pop music we know and love and will be embarrassed to show to our children someday. In the spirit of another semester already underway, I found it most appropriate to revisit the original Big Man on Campus himself, Kanye West. Now I realize that, for some, the mention of Yeezy might conjure words like “ass----,” “complete douchebag” or “f--king crazy as s---.” Yes, we all watched the 2009 MTV VMAs. Yes, we’ve ironically retweeted his tweets. But despite his outrageous personality, Mr. West remains one of the most critically-acclaimed artists of the 21st century.

Let’s set the scene: it’s a Friday night. You’re in some dirty Boston Avenue basement party, wondering if it’s time to head home and order Helen’s with a side of "30 Rock" (2006 - 2013). Then the DJ, who is really just some kid with a MacBook and an Aux cord, decides to throw it back to old faithful: “Gold Digger (feat. Jamie Foxx)” (2005). Just like that, people are breaking out their best Jamie Foxx impressions, and your friends are breaking it down. You probably would have seen this exact reaction from a crowd of Aeropostale-clad tweens when the clean version was played at your middle school dance seven years ago.

But hold up for a sec; that killer beat you’re hearing deserves a little more credit. It’s actually a sample from a song over fifty years old: “I Got A Woman” (1954) by Ray Charles. Adapted from the gospel record “It Must Be Jesus” by Bob King (released by The Southern Tones in 1954),Ray’s track is full of wholesome lines about a very different kind of woman than the one in Kanye’s tale. Instead of “taking [his] money,” Ray’s girl “gives [him] money when [he’s] in need.” Not a “trifling friend indeed” but “a kind of friend indeed.” This woman “saves her lovin’ just for [him]" and is "never runnin’ in the streets leavin’ [him] alone." In "Gold Digger,"Jamie’s derivations of Ray’s chorus create a comical juxtaposition between the loyal girlfriend and one who’s just after 'Ye’s money.

In the lyrics, Kanye introduces his lady friend with a baby Louis Vuitton under her underarm — an immediate Ralph Lauren satin red flag. She quite literally cradles a handbag like an infant; until Kayne says “Vuitton,” it almost sounds like he’s referring to an actual baby named Louis. She explains to 'Ye that she can tell he rocks "by his charm," a word play on the riches she’s really after. The problem is, Kanye’s looking for “the one.” Despite his concerns about her, however, he still is interested, so is it love or is it lust? Now I’m not sayin’ she’s a gold digger, but boy you better hold onto your JumboCash.

Want to hear what I’m talking about for yourself? Check out the original and the sample; while you’re at it, give the "Gold Digger" music video a watch for a young John Legend cameo.

Song: “Gold Digger (feat. Jamie Foxx),” by Kanye West (2005)

Sample: “I Got A Woman,” by Ray Charles (1954)