Now that the dust from stans and fickle fans has settled. Let me ask you this question. How would Drake and Kanye West’s b-side songs stand up in a concert setting?
After Jay Z shook up the industry and the internet with his extraordinary B-Sides show held at Terminal 5 in New York City, it left me wondering how the other two prominent artist would fare. Considering I’m a huge fan of all three, the whole idea is something that gave me a brain-gasm by simply thinking of the litany of singles neither one of them performs. And if they have, it’s very rare.
If you’ve seen the concert (or attended, you lucky S.O.B.) then the timeless pieces of street literature spoken by poet laureate Shawn Carter are well embedded in your subconscious. Like, Hov pulled a Leonardo DiCaprio-esque inception on us over the years. So to think of any other living artist in the rap genre ever coming close to having such a catalog is like everyone Usain Bolt has raced his entire life.
Alas, Kanye West blesses the world with hit after hit, even on the much maligned Yeezus. Scratch all the commercial joints we’ve heard over Ye’s career; the b-sides he has are monsters. Let’s not even mention G.O.O.D Friday, which we still need by the fucking way.
What I’m doing here is throwing up what I would deem songs worthy of a Kanye West B-Sides concert; which is comprised of 41 tracks.
“Good Morning”
“We Can Make It Better” ft. Common, Talib Kweli, Rhymefest, Q-Tip
“Lost In The World” ft. Bon Iver
“Two Words” ft. Mos Def & Freeway
“Cold” ft. DJ Khaled
“White Dress”
“Street Lights”
“Christmas In Harlem” ft. CyHi Da Prynce
“Welcome to Heartbreak” ft. KiD CuDi
“I Am A God”
“Hold My Liquor” ft. Chief Keef
“Never Let Me Down” ft. Jay Z & J-Ivy
“The Food” ft. Common
“So Appalled” ft. Jay Z, RZA, Pusha T, Swizz Beatz, CyHi Da Prynce
“We Are The Champions” ft. Cam’ron, Twista, Dame Dash, Beanie Sigel, Young Chris,
“Child Rebel Soldier” ft. Lupe Fiasco & Pharrell
“Amen” ft. Pusha T
“Hold On” ft. Pusha T & Rick Ross
“The Morning” ft. Pusha T, Common, Raekwon, KiD CuDi, D’Banj, 2 Chainz, CyHi Da Prynce
“New God Flow” ft. Pusha T
“Deuces (Remix)” ft. Drake, T.I., Fabolous, Rick Ross, Andre 3000
“Good To You” ft. Talib Kweli
“Jesus Piece” ft. The Game & Common
“Number One” ft. John Legend
“The Glory”
“Crack Music” ft. The Game
“Gone” ft. Cam’ron & Consequence
“Runaway” ft. Pusha T
“Devil In A New Dress” ft. Rick Ross
“US Placers” ft. Pharrell & Lupe Fiasco
“I See Now” ft. Little Brother
“Murder To Excellence” ft. Jay Z
“I Won” ft. Future
“Who Gon Stop Me” ft. Jay Z
“Say You Will”
“Late”
“We Major” ft. Nas & Really Doe
“Barry Bonds” ft. Lil Wayne
“The Joy” ft. Pete Rock, Jay Z, Charlie Wilson, Curtis Mayfield & KiD CuDi
“Big Brother”
“Walking On The Moon” ft. The-Dream
And Yeezy closes the show out with “Last Call.” Mind you, I didn’t sequence these songs.
Next up we have the God of the 6 (Toronto), Drake. As of now he is the king of the hill. With the anticipation of the album Views From The 6 and a few leaks, compounded by the bevy of features along with the release of IYRTITL, Drizzy is inescapable. Ok, enough of rambling, let’s get to the list.
“Club Paradise”
“Lord Knows” ft. Rick Ross
“My Way (Remix)” ft. Fetty Wap
“Fear”
“Where To Now”
“Scriptures”
“Paris Morton Music 2”
“10 Bands”
“I Get Lonely Too”
“Energy”
“9AM In Dallas”
“5AM In Toronto”
“6PM In New York”
“Know Yourself”
“Jodeci (Freestyle)” ft. J. Cole
“Tuscan Leather”
“You Know, You Know”
“Worst Behavior”
“Furthest Thing”
“Versace (Remix)” ft. Migos
“Lust For Life”
“Uptown” ft. Bun B & Lil Wayne
“Underground Kings”
“Unforgettable” ft. Jeezy
“Trophies”
“Stay Schemin” ft. French Montana & Rick Ross
“We Made It” ft. Soulja Boy
“Over My Dead Body”
“Aston Martin Music” ft. Rick Ross
“Shut It Down” ft. The-Dream
“The Calm”
“Houstatlantavegas”
“Over Here” ft. PARTYNEXTDOOR
“Forever” ft. Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Eminem
“The Zone” ft. The Weeknd
“Dreams Money Can Buy” ft. 40
“Amen” ft. Meek Mill & Jeremih
“Live For” ft. The Weeknd
“Blessings” ft. Big Sean & Kanye West
“Poetic Justice” ft. Kendrick Lamar
“Throw It In The Bag (Remix)” ft. Fabolous
Do I feel that both lists can stand in the same room with Jay Z’s performance? Absolutely. However, Carter has a slight edge of both due to the fact that his songs stood the test of time. Sadly, Drake fans have to endure the fact he’d place in third this mythical showdown. That said, we’ll be saying whose going to challenge Aubrey 5 years from now.
If you feel differently leave comments in the section below and let’s get this all sorted out.
