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The makeup of a Kanye West rant

Yeezus Talks: The Anatomy Of A Kanye West Rant

December 30, 2013 - 4:19 pm by Chris Yuscavage

Kanye West is done ranting. At least, for now. During a Yeezus tour stop in Toronto last week, 'Ye announced that he will not be giving any more "motivational speeches" for the next six months. "This might be the last time y'all hear me talk shit for a long time," he told the crowd. "Might be another, like, six months. At least. You're just gonna have to run back the interviews and shit if you wanna hear some realness."

We highly doubt that Kanye is going to stay silent for six months. But if he does, that's OK. Because as he mentioned, Kanye gave us lots and lots (and lots!) of material over the course of the last few months through the rants that he went on during radio interviews and Yeezus tour stops. And in the process, we learned that there are a few key ingredients that seem to go into every single Kanye West rant. To prove it, we dissected all of Kanye's recent rants and listened closely to what 'Ye says and does during his rants. Then, we put together this anatomy of a Kanye West rant that features the common elements found in (almost!) every single rant Kanye has ever gone on. Enjoy...

Photo Credit: Getty Images

The makeup of a Kanye West rant
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Kanye stays mad
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Every Kanye West Rant Needs: A source of frustration The Purpose It Serves: Whether Kanye is mad at the fashion world for not embracing his ideas or mad at the Grammy organizers for not recognizing the greatness of Yeezus, every Kanye West rant is born out of a frustration that Kanye has. The point of every rant is to get that frustration out and try to make the rest of the world understand why Kanye is so upset. Photo Credit: Getty Images
Kanye hates the media
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Every Kanye West Rant Needs: A series of shots at the media The Purpose It Serves: Kanye West doesn't get along with media. Sure, he'll sit and do an interview with a magazine once every five years or hop on the radio to promote a concert. But he doesn't enjoy doing it and, worse, he doesn't like the fact that the media twists his words around whenever he speaks with them. So he frequently takes shots at the media, the reporters who ask him questions, and the paparazzi that follows him around. Photo Credit: Getty Images
Is Kanye really the next Walt Disney?
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Every Kanye West Rant Needs: A delusional comparison of himself to an iconic person The Purpose It Serves: Kanye believe that he's a very important person. And he wants to let you know just how important he believes that he is. So one night, he might compare himself to someone like Steve Jobs. The next, it might be Michael Jordan. And the night after that, it might be Walt Disney. It's not really all that important which icon he picks. The important part is that you realize that he's putting himself in a class with someone who in some way changed the world, which is what he wants to do. Photo Credit: Getty Images
Kanye West isn't above namedropping
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Every Kanye West Rant Needs: A name-drop that the average Kanye West fan probably won't recognize The Purpose It Serves: Even if it sounds like Kanye is just ranting and raving for the sake of ranting and raving, Kanye wants you to recognize that he knows what he's talking about. So he'll occasionally name-drop, say, Saint Laurent designer Hedi Slimane (like he did on Jimmy Kimmel's show) or Deepak Chopra (like he did at the Yeezus tour stop in Toronto) just to keep you on your toes and show you that he's not just making stuff up as he goes. He knows what he's talking about when he's going off. Photo Credit: Getty Images
There's no shaking Kanye's confidence
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Every Kanye West Rant Needs: A pat on the back—er, or make that, multiple pats on the back—for himself The Purpose It Serves: Kanye isn't lacking in the self-confidence department. So when he goes on his rants, he's quick to point out all of the great things that he's accomplished. Eff being humble! He'll go on and on and on about how great his last verse was, what a great idea he had six years ago for some leather shorts, or why he thinks people need to take him more seriously. And if anyone tries to get him to stop him, he'll just go even harder and give himself even more props. Photo Credit: Getty Images
Kanye's favorite word: marginalize
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Every Kanye West Rant Needs: The word "marginalize" The Purpose It Serves: Kanye wants you to know that, at times, he feels marginalized. So he throws that word out—a lot!—when he's talking about large companies that have "marginalized" him or designers that have "marginalized" him or media members who have "marginalized" him. He sure does love that word. So he uses it early and often when he's ranting. Photo Credit: Getty Images
Do not interrupt Kanye
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Every Kanye West Rant Needs: An angry interaction with someone who attempts to interrupt the rant The Purpose It Serves: Kanye wants to let everyone know that he is in control when he's talking. So whether he's yelling at Sway and telling him that he doesn't have the answers or threatening to kick a fan out of his concert for daring to yell, "Take your mask off," during his rant, he's not having it. Kanye is ranting and, dammit, you're going to listen! Photo Credit: Getty Images
Kanye's rants are all littered with curses
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Every Kanye West Rant Needs: Curse words. Lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of curse words The Purpose It Serves: During his most recent rant in Toronto, Kanye used some variation of the word "fuck" (fuck, motherfucker, fucking, etc.) 19 times. He used the word "shit" 16 times. And while he didn't use "asshole" at all during that particular rant, that word has become pretty commonplace in Kanye's rants, too. There's nothing PG, here. Photo Credit: Getty Images
Kanye is a family guy
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Every Kanye West Rant Needs: Several references to his girlfriend Kim Kardashian, his daughter North West, and his family as a whole The Purpose It Serves: It wasn't always like this for Kanye. Before Kim came into his life, there were very few mentions of Kanye's family. But now that he has a kid and a fiancée, a lot of his rants include him saying things like, "I have a family to feed" or "I have a daughter to protect," or something along those lines. Kanye has become a family-oriented guy in recent months, so his family gets mentioned early and often during his rants. Photo Credit: Getty Images
Sorry Kanye's not sorry.
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Every Kanye West Rant Needs: A completely unapologetic attitude The Purpose It Serves: Sorry, but Kanye's not sorry! And if you're waiting for an apology to come out of his mouth, you're going to be waiting for a long time. Sometimes that comes across in the tone that he uses during his rants and other times he comes right out and says that he's not sorry. "I started thinking about everything I said!" he yelled during his show in Toronto," and I just want to apologize FOR ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!" Well, okay then. Rant on. Photo Credit: Getty Images
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