Through The Wire

(album: College Dropout - 2004)

[Music video intro:]
Last October Grammy-nominated producer Kanye West was in a nearly fatal car accident. His jaw was fractured in nearly three places. Two weeks later he recorded this song with his mouth still wired shut... so the world could feel his pain!

Yo, Gee, they can't stop me from rapping, can they?
Can they, Hop?

[Chaka Khan:]
Through the fire, to the limit, to the wall
For a chance to be with you, I'd gladly risk it all
Through the fire, through whatever, come what may
For a chance at loving you, I'd take it all the way
Right down to the wire, even through the fire

I spit it through the wire, man
There's too much stuff on my heart right now, man
I'd gladly risk it all right now
It's a life-or-death situation, man
Y'all, y'all don't really understand how I feel right now, man
It's your boy, Kanye to the…
Chi-Town, what's going on?

I drink a Boost for breakfast, an Ensure for dessert
Somebody ordered pancakes, I just sip the sizzurp
That right there could drive a sane man berserk
Not to worry, Mr. H-to-the-Izzo's back to wizzerk
How do you console my mom or give her light support
Telling her her son's on life support?
And just imagine how my girl feel
On the plane scared as hell that her guy look like Emmett Till
She was with me before the deal, she'd been tryna be mine
She a Delta, so she'd been throwing that Dynasty sign
No use in me tryna be lying, I been tryna be signed
Trying to be a millionaire, how I used two lifelines
In the same hospital where Biggie Smalls died
The doctor said I had blood clots, but I ain't Jamaican, man
Story on MTV and I ain't tryna make a band
I swear, this right here, history in the making, man

[Chaka Khan:]
Through the fire, to the limit, to the wall
For a chance to be with you, I'd gladly risk it all
Through the fire, through whatever, come what may
For a chance at loving you, I'd take it all the way
Right down to the wire, even through the fire

I really apologize for everything right now
If it's unclear at all, man
They got my mouth wired shut
For like… I dunno, the doctor said like six weeks
Y'know, he had, I had reconstructive surgery on my jaw
I looked in the mirror
And half my jaw was in the back of my mouth, man
I couldn't believe it
But I'm still here for y'all right now, man
This what I got to say right here, dawg
Yeah, turn me up, yeah, uh

What if somebody from the Chi' that was ill got a deal
On the hottest rap label around?
But he wasn't talking 'bout coke and birds
It was more like spoken word, 'cept he's really putting it down?
And he explained the story 'bout how blacks came from glory
And what we need to do in the game
Good dude, bad night, right place, wrong time
In the blink of a eye, his whole life changed
If you could feel how my face felt
You would know how Mase felt (Mason Betha!)
Thank God I ain't too cool for the safe belt
I swear to God, driver two wanna sue
I got a lawyer for the case, to keep what's in my safe safe
My dawgs couldn't tell if I…
I looked like Tom Cruise in Vanilla Sky, it was televised
There's been an accident like GEICO
They thought I was burnt up like Pepsi did Michael
I must got a angel, 'cause look how death missed his ass
Unbreakable, what, you thought they'd call me Mr. Glass?
Look back on my life like the Ghost of Christmas Past
Toys "R" Us where I used to spend that Christmas cash
And I still won't grow up, I'm a grown-ass kid
Swear I should be locked up for stupid shit that I did
But I'm a champion, so I turned tragedy to triumph
Make music that's fire, spit my soul through the wire

[Chaka Khan:]
Through the fire, to the limit, to the wall
For a chance to be with you, I'd gladly risk it all
Through the fire, through whatever, come what may
For a chance at loving you, I'd take it all the way
Right down to the wire, even through the fire

Y'know what I'm sayin'?
When the doctor told me I had, um
That I was gonna have to have a plate in my chin
I said, "Dawg, don't you realize I'll never make it on a plane now?"
"It's bad enough I got all this jewelry on!"
You can't be serious, man