Kanye West and The Art of Being a Jeen-Yuhs (Genius)

Side note: Jeen-Yuhs means Genius.

Most people know Kanye West as the controversial rapper who had a fallout with his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian. A lot of people know him as that very loud guy that doesn't filter his thoughts and says things as they are.

But do people know Kanye though?

Truth be told, I was never really a “ye” fan. I mean, his music is cool and I love the fact that he is wealthy and he builds businesses, but there was just something off about him. I couldn't place my thoughts on it and besides, I am a huge fan of conscious rap so MCs like JCole, Kendrick Lamar, Logic and the likes are always at the top of my playlists.

Anyways, back to Kanye West. I think one of the reasons I didn't like Ye was due to what the media was saying about him and we know how the mainstream media shapes culture and perception. I never took my time to study him and know his story or maybe it was because Jcole dissed him in his track “False Prophet” track and I am a Stan of Cole. lol

Whichever reason it was, for years I didn't know why I never liked ye and he felt a bit off to me but just recently after I saw his documentary on Netflix, I realized that the only thing off about Kanye is that he is just a?human?like you and I and if being human makes Kanye off, then we are all “off”

After seeing Kanye’s “Jeen-yuhs” documentary, I have learned never to judge a man until I get to know his story, his upbringing and where he comes from.

In that documentary, I did a learn a lot about life, success and grit from Kanye. I have documented some of my lessons below and I hope you get to learn a thing or two from it.

In that documentary, I did a learn a lot about life, success and grit from Kanye. I have documented some of my lessons below and I hope you get to learn a thing or two from it.

Closed mouths don’t get fed!

After being signed to Roc-A-Fella as an artist, he was still seen as a producer and he so bad wanted to be a rapper - scratch that - he wanted to be known as a rapper. After producing some records for Jay Z, he knew that his only shot of being taken serious was to hop on a track with Jay Z popularly known as HOV. If you ever hopped on a track with Hov and you delivered well, your story in the music industry will change.

There was a particular day HOV was in the studio recording a track for his album and Kanye knew that if he wanted in, he had to take a shot! He went into the studio and told HOV if he could “spit some rhymes” for the track and Hov gave him a shot. After Kanye left the recording boot, HOV loved it and when Kanye’s videographer asked him (HOV) what he thought about Kanye and he said, “Whooooo! Hot! Fire! I will put my money on him any day, anytime”. After the recording session, Hov told Kanye, “Closed mouths don’t get fed. If you didn't said that, you wouldn't have been on that” and couple of years later, Jay Z and Kanye West made “Watch the throne” album together.

The thing is, Kanye’s “loudness” is what has given him most of the opportunities he has today and we can take a huge lesson from his story. Don’t be too shy to SAY WHAT YOU WANT AND WHEN YOU WANT IT. Be bold enough to go for opportunities and TALK your way into the “table”. If you want something, send that pitch, send that DM, make that enquiry, shoot that shot! Closed mouths don’t get fed.

Kanye is very vocal about his dreams and what he wants. If you’ve seen some of his interviews you will know how bold he is and more often than not I wonder why creatives, entrepreneurs and creators are not as bold as he is. Being bold and audacious about your dreams is not pride! Stop keeping quite about your greatness. Closed mouths don’t get fed. Take pride in your success no matter how little they are. You have to put your Selar Kuti on and blow your own trumpet.

Being bold and audacious about your dreams is not pride! Stop keeping quite about your greatness. Closed mouths don’t get fed. Take pride in your success no matter how little they are. You have to put your Selar Kuti on and blow your own trumpet. - Milton Tutu

Make S*hit happen for yourself.

Just like I said recently, when Ye got signed to Roc-A-Fella, lots of people knew him as a producer and not necessarily a rapper. Maybe because he produced Jay Z’s “The Blueprint” Album and that launched him into the mainstream media as a producer but Kanye wanted more than being known as a producer. He didn't want to be kept in a box. He wanted to be known as an MC!

When Kanye wasn't getting attention from his record label, he had to create his own attention and he made shit happen for himself. Sometimes we wait for people to spoon feed us but not Kanye! Ye knew what he wanted and he went for it! He wanted to penetrate the market as a rapper and not just a producer. His record label was not giving him the “shot” he needed. What did he do? He recorded his own album by himself and had to beg different producers for studio time. There was this part in the documentary that he even had to ask Pharrael Williams to lend him some studio time.

He was that hungry for success that he had to do what was necessary despite the odds! He was making shit happen for himself. This also reminds me of another documentary I saw about Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine . When Dr Dre released his album “The Chronic”, he struggled to find distribution channels for it because most media outlet wouldn't play his song on air due to the controversy going on around him from his previous record label “NWA (Niggas with attitude)”. He had to find his way to New York to meet Jimmy Iovine who gave him a shot and made sure his songs got to every distribution channel there was and gave him that mainstream success that he needed! Dr Dre made shit happened for himself. Are you making shit happen for yourself too?

Most people complain that things are not going their way but for how long will you keep complaining? Yes people are not giving you a shot but are you taking a shot on yourself? Maybe you’ve sent your pitch deck to your investor and they aren't paying attention. The doesn't mean that you shouldn't focus on growing your revenue, getting more customers and just building a product that people love to use! Eventually investors will come around but you have to “MAKE SHIT HAPPEN FOR YOURSELF”

Another example of someone that made things happen for himself is Jcole! He left his home town at Fayetteville, North Carolina and got a scholarship to school in a University in New York. As a rapper he knew that New York was the place he could make it! He recorded a mixtape and stalked Jay Z, he tried giving the mix tape to Jay Z while waiting for him for hours outside his office but Jay ignored him. He didn't give up. He kept on making music and mixtapes and was building a fan base for himself. Eventually, he got signed under Jay Z’s Roc Nation record label and since then, Cole has been a mainstream success!

If you pay attention to JColes digital footprint, he made his first track when he was 16. See, you are not to young to make shit happen for yourself!

The idea here is to bet on yourself and make things happen for yourself! Start projects that will make you known, put yourself out there consistently, write that book, start that podcast, build that software and just get things done! Brick by brick your actions are building up your success.

You are too talented to keep your talents hidden. If no one gives you a shot, give yourself a shot!

The idea here is to bet on yourself and make things happen for yourself! Start projects that will make you known, put yourself out there consistently, write that book, start that podcast, build that software and just get things done! Brick by brick your actions are building up your success. - Milton Tutu

Make lemons out of lemonade - or maybe just win a Grammy out of your tragedy?

October 23rd, 2002, Kanye had one of the most devastating experience of his career - He fell asleep while driving and he got involved in a car collision. That accident caused his jaw to be fractured in three places.

This happened just 2 weeks after got signed to Roc-A-Fella and while he was even working on his “College Dropout” Album.

While he was admitted in the clinic, he recorded a song “Through the wire” telling his story about his near death experience. He literally recorded that song with his mouth still wired shut

Imagine someone that wants to be known as a rapper but his career almost ended because he got into an accident and fractured his jaw. That could have been the end of Kanye. There was another Hip Hop artist “The Doc” that lost his voice after he got into a car accident so I am sure Kanye was scared because he really wanted to do this thing - be one of the best MCs

So he turned his experience into music. When he got discharged from the hospital he produced the song “Through the wire” and took the record to all his studio sessions and played it for whoever cared to listen. A lot of people got moved by it.

He didn't stop there. He went ahead to make a video out of the song (with his money and some borrowed funds) and had an exclusive music video premier with his recording label managers and some top people in the industry. When they saw what he did despite all he went through, they decided to put money behind finishing his album and gave him all the support he needed to make the album a success.

Guess what happened next?

He won a grammy.

This is the best definition of turning lemon into lemonade or maybe win a grammy out of it? Your story can make you a fortune. Don’t sleep on it! Commercialize it, and make it a success!

This also reminds me of one of my early mentors, Remi Owadokun, she turned her wight loss journey into a book and became an Amazon best selling author having translated the book into different languages and sold millions of copies worldwide.

The question here is, what are you doing with your story? What are you doing with all those hurt you are going through or you've been through? Don't let it hurt you for free! It has to pay you somehow. You have to win a grammy out of it and become a best selling author.

Again, what are you doing with your story? Will you turn those lemons into lemonade or just win a grammy out of it?

Lastly, Kanye found different expressions to his creativity. He didn't just stop at being a rapper and a producer, he went into the fashion industry and disrupted it also!

He started out as a producer and rapper but now he is a business man. Jay Z, started out as a rapper, became a record label owner and right now, well, he is a business, man! What about Sean ‘P Diddy” Combs? Same thing!

Sometimes what you start your career with isn’t what you will spend the rest of your life doing but you have to take that first step and give yourself a shot while making shit happen! Give yourself the permission to grow beyond your comfort zone.

In summary, just like Kanye West, you can become a Jeen-Yhus (Genius) but the questions is, are you willing to bet on yourself? , make shit happen for yourself, turn your misfortune into a grammy and give yourself the permission to evolve?

You too can become a genius so... become!

MT