"I Love Kanye" (originally titled "I Miss the Old Kanye") is the ninth track from Kanye West's seventh studio album, The Life Of Pablo (2016). It was released as a single on March 29, 2016, serving as the second single from the album.[1] The song was written by Kanye and Malik Yusef and features no instrumental music.[2]
Background[]
The lyrics of the song parody Kanye's changing public image and references an internet meme where he loves himself. The day before the album released, Kanye sang the song in his rap battle against Kyle Mooney, albeit with slightly different lyrics, during an episode of Saturday Night Live.
After the song released, it has become very famous amongst Kanye's fans. The line "I Miss the Old Kanye" was the inspiration for a craft beer (also titled I Miss the Old Kanye) created by Stillwater Artisanal.[3] In October of 2016, Jay-Z admitted to "missing the old Kanye" after he ranted about Jay during the Saint Pablo Tour. In May of 2018, Meek Mill posted a picture on Instagram that featured a mock memorial of "old Kanye", featuring text that says "02-01-04" and "09-11-07", the release dates of The College Dropout (2004) and Graduation (2007), respectively.
Lyrics[]
[Verse]
I miss the old Kanye, straight from the Go Kanye
Chop up the soul Kanye, set on his goals Kanye
I hate the new Kanye, the bad mood Kanye
The always rude Kanye, spaz in the news Kanye
I miss the sweet Kanye, chop up the beats Kanye
I gotta say, at that time I'd like to meet Kanye
See, I invented Kanye, it wasn't any Kanyes
And now I look and look around and there's so many Kanyes
I used to love Kanye, I used to love Kanye
I even had the pink polo, I thought I was Kanye
What if Kanye made a song about Kanye
Called "I Miss The Old Kanye"? Man, that'd be so Kanye
That's all it was Kanye, we still love Kanye
And I love you like Kanye loves Kanye