Jeremiah McCurtis

Samantha Atty
Instructor Hankerson
English 1010
30 March 2016
I Anit Sayin She A Gold Digger
A person who dates someone in order to extract money from that person is considered a
Gold Digger. In the music video by Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx called Gold Digger,
he emphasizes his problem with women who use men as a token to success. In the song, Kanye
says 18 years, 18 years, she got one of yo kids got you for 18 years..and on his 18 birthday he
found out it wasnt his. In this line Kanye is showing how some women will trap men with a
child that is not even his, in order to extract money. The song Gold Digger is a has been a very
popular song in our culture since it has released, and is best understood under the terms Logos,
Ethos, Pathos.
The Logos in the song is very evident. In the song Kanye says I anit saying shes a gold
digga, but she anit messing with no broke n***a. What Kanye means by this is that the women
that he is referring to in the song is always with some man with an abundant amount of money.
Kanye also in the song says She was supposed to buy your shorty TYCO with your money,she
went to the doctor got lipo with your money, she walking around looking like Michael with your
money. Should've got that insured got GEICO for your money, money,money. If you ain't no
punk holla we want prenup WE WANT PRENUP! Yeah. He talks about giving women money
and them not spending the money on whats important, but instead on themselves.
Additionally,that men should sign a prenup to avoid gold digging women. Other lyrics in the
song are very descriptive as type of lifestyle Kanye lives. This sends a message that gold diggers
look for men with that type ofhigh class economic status. For example I pulled up in the Benz,

we all went to din, and then I had to pay. Just that line alone shows how there is male
dominance by him paying for the meal, and that he has money and nice material items like a
Mercedes Benz. These are the things that attract gold diggers. As you can see the logos is pretty
evident in the song, now let's talk about the ethos.
Although Ethos it is not always a characteristic in music videos, it is definitely used in
the music video Gold Digger. Ethos is the characteristic spirit of culture, era, and community,
and how those are incorporated in ones beliefs. Kanye West was born June 8, 1977 in Atlanta
Georgia. Kanye spent most of his life in Chicago, but as he began his music career he started off
as a producer then decided to rap and produce as well. As Kanye began to rap, he become one of
the most influential artist of our generation.Kanye West was not always huge in the spotlight, or
around the rich and famous. He grew up a normal man just like the rest of us. It is no surprise
that he made this song, as he was exposed to many more people recognizing and women wanting
him because of the material things he then had, and still does.Hip hop is a genre of music that
has always stood out. People of all ages and cultures listen to it. With the hit Gold Digger in
2005, he opened up the world's eyes to how some women get with men based strictly off their
economical status. Kanye being the huge rapper he is, had the whole world saying two words
Gold digger. From there the term gold digger was being said by all old and young. The ethos
of this song really opens peoples eyes to be watchful of who is around you and for what reason.
His message is a protective one and a truthful one. As much as a big part ethos is apart of this
song let us lastly look at the pathos of this song.
The pathos of the song really shows people how fed up Kanye is with the Gold digging
women he sees day to day. The song is a very upbeat song, but by listening to the lyrics of the
song you can get a feel that hes slandering these women who only marry men for one thing. In

the music video you can see women in the video dressed really skanky and wearing colors like
black, which means dark or evil or corrupted. Also, in some scenes you see Kanye wearing white
as well as Jamie Foxx, which is showing them on behalf of men being pure while the women
wearing black are evil. Even though the song is upbeat and good to dance too the lyrics are
meant to show how upset and fed up Kanye is with gold diggers. Through the lyrics he uses and
the way the women are dressed in the video, the logos in this song depicts what many women in
todays culture act and look like. Their clothes are quite skimpy, and show a lot of skin. He is
persuading those who listen to this song and watch the video that the type of women that look
like the women in the video are typically gold diggers, and men should watch out. He is trying to
show men that these women will trap them. The tone in his voice gets louder and more
aggressive in certain parts when he talks about certain things women do to scam men. This is
how pathos is used to emotionally convince the audience to watch out for certain types of
women, and things that may be red flags that a gold digger is present.
Kanye Wests Gold Digger was a hit song, and was #1 on the billboard charts in 2005.
Even today the song still gets played at clubs and social gatherings. The message in the song still
holds true even in todays society. Kanye was just simply exposing a certain group of women and
felt like a song was the best way to do it. Kanye being a famous rapper, it is pretty obvious he
has had his fair share of women that tried talking to him based off his financial status. Logos,
Ethos and Pathos were all very evident in his song and Kanye does a great job voicing his
opinion as well as making a catchy song. I anit sayin she a Gold Digger!