“Can’t Tell Me Nothing” by Kanye West

Trying to succinctly summarize the meaning of Kanye West’s “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” can be honestly quite challenging. And the reason this is the case is because it features so many topics and utilizes plenty of diverse, even religious references. But ultimately, we can say it centers on Kanye, who was a superstar artist by this point, reflecting on his come-up. And he does not take the usual approach his peers do, i.e. comparing his pre-fame days to his current, elevated status. Rather it’s more like he’s detailing the challenges he faces as a successful pop musician, more specifically a conscious one. 

So for instance even though he is rich and famous, he alludes to the idea that he doesn’t engage in wild partying. Also, as noted earlier he is very religious-minded. In other words, it can be ascertained that he possesses a level of discipline many of his peers do not. However, at the same time he also acknowledges his personal flaws, especially when it comes to splurging money shall we say. Indeed the title and chorus of the track apparently points to the idea that Kanye is a hard-headed chap, someone who knows right from wrong but at times chooses the latter. But at the end of the day, it can be said that whereas such hardheadedness sometimes lends to him making questionable decisions, it also allows him to retain his somewhat-moralistic individuality, even as a celebrity.

Creation of “Can’t Tell Me Nothing”

This song features additional vocals from a singer named Connie Mitchell as well as rapper Young Jeezy, who recites the track’s catchy hook. In fact according to Jeezy, the song was originally intended for one of his own projects. He revealed that it was supposed to be a remix of the track “I Got Money”, which he dropped in 2006 and is sampled into “Can’t Tell Me Nothing”. And upon letting Kanye hear it, West modified the song (alongside its original producer, DJ Toomp) sort of behind Jeezy’s back. 

But Jeezy did eventually give Kanye permission to use his vocals on the hook. And according to Toomp, Young wasn’t overly-enthused about the aforementioned remix anyway. Also West did drop a couple of remixes of “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” where Jeezy was given an actual verse.

The song itself was officially written and produced by Kanye West and DJ Toomp.

Cover Art

The somewhat unusual cover art to “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” was actually created by a Japanese artist named Takashi Murakami, who West personally visited on a trip to Japan in 2006. Additionally Murakami contributed artwork to the entirety of the album this song is featured on. And the said album is Kanye’s “Graduation”.

Kanye Loves “Can’t Tell Me Nothing”

As recently as 2013, Kanye identified Can’t Tell Me Nothing as his personal favorite track amongst his entire catalog.

Fellow rap music superstar 50 Cent also expressed favoritism towards this song. He even personally told Kanye it was the best track on “Graduation” after being treated to an early listen of the album. And that is why West decided to issue it as the lead single from the project. And this was achieved via Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Records on the date of 15 May 2007.

Achievements

Releasing this song as a single proved to be a sound decision. And this is because it went on to become one of the most-celebrated tracks of 2007. For instance, it was nominated by BET at their 2007 Hip Hop Awards. And the following year it also received a Grammy nomination. However, it lost to another song from “Graduation”, that being “Good Life” featuring T-Pain.

“Can’t Tell Me Nothing” charted in the following places:

• UK
• Russia
• United States 

And in the latter case it has been certified triple-platinum by the RIAA.

Music Videos

Hype Williams directed the primary music video to this track. The said clip was filmed in the Mojave Desert at a location known as El Mirage Lake. There is also a second official music video. This second clip’s directing duties were handled by Michael Blieden. Popular comedian by name Zach Galifianakis alongside actor Will Oldham appear on the clip. In the clip, both of them lip sync the lyrics.