So, my work BFF is leaving. I mean it was inevitable. I’ve known for the longest time that he’s been looking for a new job, but I thought we had more time 😦 … I didn’t think it’d be this soon. Who am I supposed to talk to about football now? Who am I supposed to rant to about Hip Hop? Who am I supposed to make fun of other coworkers with? Honestly, I’m heartbroken. We had such a connection. He really was more than a coworker. He was more than just my subordinate. I would go so far as to call him a friend and a confidante. I mean I can still text him, and I have him on Instagram and Snapchat.
But it’s not the same. I’m not gonna see him everyday. We’re not going to have those moments of understanding where no words are required. We can’t just sit there complaining about annoying & stupid shithead customers. We can no longer share poop jokes with each other and laugh continuously for 10 minutes. I have a feeling the message isn’t easily conveyed via text. We had a solid year and a half together, but now it’s over. I will always cherish our conversations, the laughs we shared, and the inside jokes that we had. I feel lost and in despair, and this is sad news that is hard for me to bear. But life moves on. I’ll meet someone else, somewhere else, and develop a connection. Eventually I will move on, and maybe the roles will be reversed.
And you know what? People come and go. It’s the way of life. Nothing lasts forever, and you shouldn’t expect anything to. Change is hard, but change is good. You have to do what’s best for yourself. Cause honestly, no one is going to look out for you. No one is going to be there to hold your hand at all times. You need to make decisions for yourself and grind & grind & grind for your come up. That being said, congratulations and good luck Tom. You did it homie! You made it out. You’re finally free and on the up & up. You did what I couldn’t do (yet). You’re making your money moves and I’m proud of you. Eventually it’ll be my turn. The risk is definitely worth the reward, and when I’m ready I’ll make the move. Make the transition. Make a money move. Stop being so goddamn lazy and do better for myself. But until that time, I just have to make it through the next day and the next and the next. That’s just the way it is.
I hope to stay in touch with Tom. I’ve really never met a bigger hip-hop head, and I’m going to miss talking about all the new rap albums as soon as they come out. But at the very least, we’ll be leaving on a good note. And I still owe him a homework project. I had assigned it to him originally, but he had assigned it back. It’ll be a lengthy research piece but will be well worth the time. It started with a hot take that I gave him. A declaration if you will. This is a truth that I believe and it’ll be nearly impossible to sway me from this opinion. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, and I’ll keep saying it. Even after 14 years, Get Em High is still one of the top 5 Kanye beats of all time. You CANNOT tell me differently, and Ye has recorded dope beat after dope beat. Some of his tracks are straight fire, but you still cannot tell me that Get Em High is not a top 5 beat. Kanye is a musical genius, and although I don’t agree with everything he says or does, he remains one of the most influential people in my life, and his art is forever.
His music is transcendent. What other rapper who came up in the mid 2000s and rose to such prominence has stayed recording, creating, and rapping at such a high level? Who else has created this much music and has not had a single shitty, letdown album? There has not ever been a single Kanye album that was pure garbage. Sure, he has some tracks that are out there and are just meh, but there is not one album that is just bad through & through. That being said, my top 5 rappers right now: Kanye, Kendrick, Meek Mill, Drake, Big Sean. And back to the task at hand. The assignment is to rank our top 5 Kanye beats, which seems daunting. So I am taking a methodical approach. I will be listening to each Kanye album and ranking the songs on each one. Once I’m done with that, I will take the top 5 songs from each, re-listen to each of them, and rank them that way. Some caveats to this are: I’m omitting all skits and songs shorter than 2 minutes, and included is Kanye’s discography only. There’s way too much Kanye production on other artist’s records, whether it be features (credited & uncredited), side projects, or work for GOOD Music. Kanye music only makes it simpler. Well enough said, here comes part 1.
The College Dropout
- Get Em High
- The New Workout Plan
- Through the Wire
- Slow Jamz
- Jesus Walks
- We Don’t Care
- Breathe in Breathe Out
- Two Words
- Spaceship
- Last Call
- Family Business
- Never Let Me Down
- All Falls Down
- School Spirit
Late Registration
- Gold Digger
- Gone
- Roses
- Diamonds from Sierra Leone (Remix)
- Heard ‘Em Say
- Crack Music
- Addiction
- Touch the Sky
- Celebration
- Hey Mama
- We Major
- Bring Me Down
- Drive Slow
JHUMWRITES—A Mental Health Blog 