Kanye West and the Poetics of Excess

Strays from the Same Shade

Written May, 2017

Its time for us to stop and redefine Black power. In a society where the capitalist system

has subjugated African Americans, what does it mean for a Black American to accumulate

wealth? This question has always been important to the work of Kanye West, an artist who grew

up in middle class family outside of Chicago but would come to define the term luxury rap.

Throughout his career, Kanye has both lauded and critiqued institutions of capitalism. Nowhere

is this conflict more present than in the song Murder to Excellence, the thematic centerpiece of

Watch the Throne, Wests 2011 collaboration album with Jay Z. Watch the Throne is the

pinnacle of luxury rap, an ode to societys most coveted paintings, name brands, and vacation

destinations. But where the album has a tendency to hover above the inner-city roots of rap

music, Murder to Excellence moves from the violence-plagued streets of Chicagos South Side

to the penthouses of Manhattan, tracing the Black American experience from the perspective of

two men who have achieved rarefied success. Four years after Watch the Thrones release,

another artist documented this same experience with a vastly different outlook. Kendrick

Lamars The Blacker the Berry, is about exploitation and racial hatred, but it also serves as

confessional art for Kendrick, whose wealth brings him guilt and isolation. The juxtaposition of

these two artists and songs paints a portrait of what it means to be rich and Black in America

while demonstrating that political music comes in many forms.

True to its name, Murder to Excellence can be broken cleanly into two parts. The first

portrays the violence that plagues many inner-city communitiesareas predominantly populated

by people of colorespecially Chicagos South Side. The paper read murder, black-on-black
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murder Kanye begins, singing the tracks dark hook. Black on Black violence is common

conservative taking point, a discussion that ties the prevalence of violence in Black communities

to a culture of poverty, absent parents, and the influence of rap music. Kanye and Jay Z are

reclaiming this subject, using their positions as Black men and artists of stature to draw attention

to an issue that has affected both of their lives, as products of Chicago and Brooklyn. Jays first

line acknowledges that the song is dedicated to the memory of Danroy Henry, a student-athlete
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at Pace University who was killed by a police officer in October, 2010. Already, this song has

become a conversation about the barriers that prevent Black men from escaping poverty and

violence, a theme that will be echoed in the songs second half. And while Kanye will later cite

the statistic that 509 people were killed in Chicago in 2007, his music personalizes those figures.

He reacts to the news of a friends death by saying, Damn I was just with him after school.

Instead, Murder to Excellence characterizes violence as networks of kinship driven apart by

friendly fire, focusing on what connects the people who are affected by violence. To Jay and

Ye, the gangs of Chicago and New York are strays from the same shade, members of the same

community. Kanye concludes Murder with a call for Black communities to redefine Black

power. As a wealthy, successful Black man, Kanye is acknowledging that he must use his

platform to demonstrate a different vision of power, one that doesnt rely on violence.

Where Murder to Excellences first chapter is a lament of interracial violence, its

second half is a celebration of Black excellence, a portrait of Black wealth. In this section, Jay

Z and Kanye shop at the stores of Belgian fashion designer Dries van Noten, pronounce Paris

West, Kanye, and Jay Z. Murder to Excellence. Roc-A-Fella Records, 2011

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Crook, Lawrence. Family of Student Shot and Killed by Police in 2010 Accepts $6 Million Settlement. CNN
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like a true Parisian, and wield the American Express Black Card. The name drops are abundant,

the status symbols omnipresent. But what distinguishes Excellence from the rest of Watch the

Thrones luxury rap is the sense of isolation that hangs over the track, themes that will appear

four years later in The Blacker the Berry. As Jay acknowledges, he and Kanye are the new

black elite, members of Americas first generation of Black millionaires. That Jay Z can name

check most of his peersfrom President Obama to Oprah to Will Smithevinces just how

selective of a cohort this is. That aint enough / we gonna need a million more, Jay declares.

Conservatives often point to Barack Obama and Oprah as evidence that African Americans can

succeed in the United States, as proof that institutional racism does not exist. Kanye refutes that

claim, acknowledging that the few who achieve success does not negate the barriers trapping

millions more in poverty.

In the past if you picture events like a black tie

What the last thing you expect to see, Black guys?
Whats the life expectancy for Black guys?
The systems working effectively, thats why!

In this context, Kanye and Jay Z see themselves as trailblazers, leaders who made the capitalist

system work for them, leading the way for more Black millionaires. In his last verse, Kanye

discusses responsible parenthood, commitment to God, and romance, demonstrating the type of

leader and man he views himself to be. He signs off, Black excellence, truly yours. For Black

men who have achieved wealth, flaunting the newest Gucci is not a perk of success, but a

requisite. Kanye is letting the decision-makers and power-holders in America know that African

Americans who have reached the T-O-P are just the first of many, and that they intend to stay.

Despite their thematic similarities, Murder to Excellence and The Blacker the Berry

could not be more different sonically. Where the first half Murder to Excellence is buoyed by

an excited sampled from the Indigo Girls La La La, Kendricks The Blacker the Berry
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molds dissonant piano notes with guitar reverb and a beat that hits like a bullet. Later,

Kendricks track adds an electric keyboard above the cacophony, aiding the sense of paranoia

that hangs over the song. Few instruments in The Blacker the Berry remain pure or

undistorted, where the Murder half of Murder to Excellence accentuates clean key notes, guitar

strokes, and individual drum beats. The richness of the piano carries over into the songs second

half, which sees Kanye return to his chipmunk rap roots by sampling and distorting Quincy
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Jones Katutoka Corrine. The instrumentals in Excellence denote solemn reflection, music

fitting of Ye and Jays confessional lyrics. And the background of Blacker the Berry creates a

vision of Kendrick alone and alienated, surrounded by both Black and White faces full of hate.

The Blacker the Berry portrays Black wealth in a vastly different light; for Kendrick,

the accumulation of wealth is a betrayal, a dividing force that inspires guilt in the holder and

hatred in the beholder. The hook, sung by Jamaican DJ Assassin, draws parallels between the

roots of Black oppression and current Black status symbols. The chains of slavery become big

gold chains full of rocks, while the whip that left scars on the backs of so many slaves has been

replaced by the big whip parked pon the block. Where Kanye and Jay Z portray these material

possessions as symbols to be reveredevidence of long-deserved successKendrick is ridden

with guilt. Im the biggest hypocrite of 2015, Kendrick opens the track. The Blacker the

Berry came on the heels of i, a buoyant anthem of self-love and peace in the black

community. It is also no coincidence that Kendrick released The Blacker the Berry, just hours

after winning the Best Rap/Hip-Hop Song at the Grammy Awards, an institution with a long

Jay Z and Kanye Wests Murder to Excellence WhoSampled. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.
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Ibid.
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history of ignoring the artistic contribution of African Americans. In this context, Kendrick is a

hypocrite, someone who is a leader of the Black community but has profited from White

institutions, someone who preaches self-love but feels immense guilt at the success he has

achieved. Success breeds alienation, separating Kendrick from his community.

You hate me don't you?

I know you hate me just as much as you hate yourself
Jealous of my wisdom and cards I dealt
Watchin' me as I pull up, fill up my tank, then peel out
Muscle cars like pull ups, show you what these big wheels 'bout, ah

Kendricks muscle car is seen through the eyes of someone without wealth, for whom this car is

a reminder of a lifestyle that is so categorically out of reach. Inherently, the capitalist system

creates winners and losers. Though they have joined the circle of winners, both Kendrick and

Kanye are making music for the losers of the capitalist system because that is where they believe

their roots lie. Murder to Excellence sees Kanye admiring the view from the top, waiting for

more African Americans to join him. But The Blacker the Berry is Kendricks admission

thatin the American capitalist systemhis position at the top inherently insures others cant be.

The irony in the similarities of Kendricks The Blacker the Berry and Kanye and Jay

Zs Murder to Excellence, is that Kendrick and Kanye have been painted as polar opposites.

Kendrick is the darling of the White, critical discourse, an artist that is seen as political and

self-aware. Kanye is painted as the narcissistic pop star, concerned only with the injustices he

perceives to be done to him. But Murder to Excellence proves that Kanyes braggadocio is an

inherently political act. The track is the unrecognized thesis of Wests work, addressing

structural racism, acknowledging Kanyes power, and providing an action step: Black

excellence. This means busting down the door of the black tie event in the freshest suit,

refusing to apologize for anything, and then waiting for the homies to arrive. Black excellence

indicates neither humbleness, contrition, nor decorum. Kanyes political act is not just to act

wealthy, but to believe that he belongs at the party, even when that party has long included a No

Blacks Allowed sign, explicitly or implicitly. Because when you believe you belong at the

party, you will.

Work Cited:

Ansari, Azadeh, and Rosa Flores. Chicagos 762 Homicides in 2016 Is Highest in 19 Years. CNN 2

Jan. 2017. Web.

CNN, Lawrence Crook. Family of Student Shot and Killed by Police in 2010 Accepts $6 Million

Settlement. CNN. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.

Jay Z and Kanye Wests Murder to Excellence - Discover the Sample Source. WhoSampled. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.

Lamar, Kendrick. The Blacker the Berry. Top Dawg Entertainment, 2015. Audio Recording.

The Blacker the Berry by Kendrick Lamar Feat. Assassin (Reggae) on WhoSampled. WhoSampled.

N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.

West, Kanye, and Jay Z. Murder to Excellence. Roc-A-Fella Records, 2011. Audio Recording.