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  • Home
  • Monthly Issue
    • January 2019 >
      • Honoring the Legacy of MLK
      • Get in Touch with Culture
      • Celebrating MLK Day
      • An Easy Way to Build Your Vocabulary
      • Getting to Know Your House of Reps
      • iPrep Survival Guide
    • December 2018 >
      • Disco Night at iPrep
      • 2018: A Year to Pay Respect to Activism
      • The Piano Slam was Full of Crescendos >
        • Middle School Poetry Slam
      • Give Love on this Holiday Season
      • Middle School Corner >
        • National Impaired Driving Prevention Month
        • National Teenage Homeless Month Awareness
        • 8th Grade at The Wynwood Walls
    • November 2018 >
      • Let's Honor Them In A Different Way
      • National Adoption Awareness Month
      • 2018 Midterm Elections Were Closer Than A Snail's Race
      • The First Thanksgiving (Is Not What You Think)
      • Internship at the Frost
      • T.H.U.G. L.I.F.E.
      • Middle School Corner >
        • Midterm Mashup
        • Local Businesses in Miami
        • Teen Stress
    • October 2018 >
      • October is iPrep's Busiest Month?!
      • Teens Can Get Breast Cancer, Too
      • Events that Make Autumn a Reality
      • Swing into Fun!
      • Which Teacher Are You??
      • Newsflash: History is Gay
      • Middle School Corner >
        • Halloween Origins
        • Cultural Appropriation
        • Childhood Cancer Awareness
        • Depression Awareness
    • September 2018 >
      • You Won't Believe What's Happening This Month!
      • Your Teacher's Race Affects Your Learning
      • Where Do Your Monsters Hide?
      • Mi Pequeño País
      • How to Teleport to Cuba
      • New Way to Procrastinate?
      • Crises and Cultures
      • Mi Corazón, Mi Amor, My Home, Ecuador
    • August 2018 >
      • Advice for Freshmen
      • What's New?
      • Summer Academic Programs
      • Summer Employment
      • Middle School Tablets
      • Clubs @ iPrep
  • Archives
    • Archives 2017-2018 >
      • May 2018 >
        • Academic Reflection
        • From Your Editor
        • Guess That Senior Baby
        • Scholarship Thank Yous
        • Senior Activities Recap
        • Senior Advice
        • Senior Journey
        • Senior Reflection
      • April 2018 >
        • Alumni Advice
        • Day of Silence
        • Holocaust Remembrance Day
        • March For Our Lives
        • Miami Zine Fair
        • National Poetry Month
        • National Siblings Day
        • Poetry: Metaphors
        • Silver Knight Spotlight
      • March 2018 >
        • What is a Woman?
        • #MeToo
        • Silver Knight Spotlight
        • Women in Science
        • Women of Tomorrow
      • #iPrepStandsWithMSD >
        • Artistic Reactions
        • From the Editor
        • Informative Articles
        • Letters to Representatives
        • Middle School Responses
        • Opinion Pieces
        • Pain in Poetry
      • February 2018 >
        • Black History Month Poetry
        • Eva Williams Mack
        • GatorMUN Recap
        • GSA Weddings
        • Movie Review: Spirited Away
        • NBA All-Star Game
        • Senior Column: GradBash
        • Silver Knight Spotlight (February)
        • Super Bowl Sunday
      • January 2018 >
        • Affordable Arts in Miami
        • CodeArt Miami
        • Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Day
        • NEHS Literacy Challenge
        • New Year's Resolutions
        • Representation in Media
        • Senior Column: Acceptances & Expenses
        • Silver Knight Spotlight
        • Time's Up Movement
      • December 2017 >
        • Club of the Month: Model UN/Social Studies Club
        • iPrep Happenings: Junior Class Field Trip
        • Politics: Net Neutrality
        • Senior Column: Silver Knight
        • Sports: Miami Heat
        • World AIDS Day
      • November 2017 >
        • Black Friday History
        • Editor's Corner: Traditions
        • Memorable Thanksgiving Meals
        • National Adoption Awareness Month
        • Native American Heritage Month
        • No-Shave November
        • Senior Column: Applications
        • The Real History of Thanksgiving
        • Transgender Awareness Month
      • October 2017 >
        • Breast Cancer Awareness Month
        • Club of the Month: Robotics
        • Columbus Day
        • Harvest Festival
        • IT Movie Review
        • LGBTQ+ History Month
        • LGBTQ+ Poets
        • October Editorial
        • Red Ribbon Week
        • Senior Column
        • Sports
      • September 2017 >
        • Editor's Corner: September Editorial
        • iPrep Happenings: United Way
        • Senior Advice Column: Welcome Back
        • The Power of Twitter Fingers
        • My Cuban Heritage
        • An Afro-LatinX's Perspective
        • Havana and Miami's Musical Merge
        • Concert of a Lifetime: Coldplay
        • International Day of Peace
    • Archives 2016-2017 >
      • May 2017 >
        • Academic Signing Day 2017
        • Freshman Firsts
        • Junior Jubilance
        • Ms. Arnold's Retirement
        • Poetry Slam
        • Sophomore Success
        • Teacher Appreciation Week 2017
      • April 2017 >
        • Day of Silence
        • Earth Day
        • Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade
        • Senior Advice: College Acceptances
        • Why Study Abroad?
        • 9,700 Miles
      • March 2017 >
        • Dealing With Test Stress Anxiety
        • iPrep's Women Marchers
        • Wondrous Women
        • Pi-Ku Competition
        • Poetry Corner
      • February 2017 >
        • Articles
        • Who Inspires Me?
        • Lunch Date
        • Mini Biographies
      • January 2017 >
        • Articles
        • Staff
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        • Articles
        • Staff
      • November 2016 >
        • Articles
        • Staff
      • October 2016 >
        • Articles
        • Staff
      • September 2016 >
        • Articles
        • Staff
    • Archives 2015-2016 >
      • Editor's Choice
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      • Miami News OpEd
      • It's in the Game
      • The Artist Corner
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The Artist Corner
​

FACTS Behind Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo

3/1/2016

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By Justin Madison, Senior
Picture
This past week the almighty music messiah, Kanye “Yeezus” West has once again blessed us with a new album. His last album, Yeezus, was released over two years ago in 2013. In spirit of the 17th track on the album, “FACTS”, this article will reveal many facts about everything that has to do with Kanye’s new release.  
 
The journey for his album was not an easy one. Originally, the release date was slated for February 11th, 2016, but due to unfinished songs, the album was pushed back one day. On the 12th  of February, fellow Chicago rapper Chancellor Bennett, or as many know him, Chance the Rapper, pressured Kanye to add one more song on the album called “Waves,” so the release was again pushed back.  Then, the infamous entrepreneur Martin Shkreli attempted to prevent the release of the album by offering Kanye 15 million dollars for his rights to the album. Of course, Kanye refused, but the album still did not officially get released until Valentine’s Day. Legally the only way to listen to the album is through Jay-Z’s Tidal streaming service. However this has not stop over 500,000 people from illegally downloading the album according to Pirate Bay’s, the torrenting website, records.
 
Also, the album name was changed a total of three times before its release. The title of the album was “So Help Me God” when initially announced in mid 2015.  Not too long after the announcement of the album, Yeezy decided that So Help Me God didn’t accurately fit his music, so he opted for the title Swish. However, it’s apparent that geniuses can’t make up their minds because he changed the album title one more time to Waves before confirming that official album title would be The Life of Pablo (T.L.O.P.).

​
Now why the life of Pablo? Unfortunately, I’m not entirely sure because he hasn’t actually confirmed himself, but many hiphop-heads like myself believe that the album’s title is alluding to one of three historically renown men: Pablo Picasso, Pablo Escobar, or Pablo Neruda. Yeezy’s only real reference in the entire album to this ambiguous album title is in the 16th track of the album “No More Parties in L.A.” when he says:

   I feel like Pablo when I'm workin' on my shoes
   I feel like Pablo when I see me on the news
   I feel like Pablo when I'm workin' on my house
   Tell 'em party's in here, we don't need to go out
 
Those who believe the obscure Pablo is Pablo Picasso, the 19th century Spanish artist cite that Kanye has mentioned him before in his lecture at Oxford University when he said:
 
   My goal, if I was going to do art, fine art, would have been to become [Pablo] Picasso or greater.
 
Believers in Picasso’s link to the title of the album use the first line from the above excerpt from “No More Parties in L.A.” to support their claim because Kanye refers to his fashion designing as art. Others who cite Escobar, as the inspiration for the album title, mention Escobar’s huge success as a Colombian drug lord. They also mention that Escobar built his own prison to serve a 5-year sentence in. This prison was filled with many different amenities such as a soccer field, bar, and waterfall. Believers in Escobar’s link to the title of the album use the second and fourth lines to support their claim because West is villainized in the media and does not have to leave his house like Escobar. Also, Neruda, a world-renown poet and diplomat of the early 1900’s, designed 3 houses towards the end of his life. Many believe the third line from above is referring to him. Knowing Kanye, I would not be surprise of the referred to Pablo is all three men.
 
Regardless of whom the album is referring, Kanye’s self-proclaimed “gospel album with a whole lot of cursing” was something that he put his heart into.  As he said in one of his Twitter rants,  “This was made with love. Only God can judge me. So I only expect love back.”
 
            For those of you who have yet to listen, regardless of your music preference, I challenge give this album a listen at least once. You will at least find one song you like. For those of you have listened to album in pieces, I challenge you to try to listen to the album in its entirety and pick out common themes. Among the ones you will find include: acceptance, happiness, reconciliation, and maturity. And for those of you have heard the album multiple times, I challenge you to not listen to any T.L.O.P. songs for a few days, and then the next week listen again. You will find yourself noticing a multitude of new topics discussed. And those are facts.

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