Car Lyric of the Week: Kanye West on "See Me Now" and "Run This Town"

"See Me Now":

"'Tention to detail is so uncanny
And the whip's on the Sprewells, it's so un-Camry"

"Run This Town":

"I bought my whole family whips; no Volvos"
"What you think I rap for, to push a f****n' RAV4?"

When rappers boast about their expensive cars, they tend name-drop famous supercars and luxo-barges: Ferraris, Rolls-Royces, and Maybachs to name a few. But in his verses on "See Me Now" and Jay Z's "Run This Town," Kanye West uses a different approach: explaining what he's not driving by insulting more ordinary cars. West takes shots at Toyota in both tracks, pointing out that he wouldn't still be rapping if all he could afford was a measly Toyota RAV4. He also drops hints about his immense net worth, claiming that he bought his relatives something more luxurious than a Volvo. West may have a point about the Toyotas, which are reliable but quite bland, but when it comes to the Volvos, he might want to reconsider. During the 1970s, Volvo earned a reputation as the perfect family car with its 200 Series. These boxy sedans and wagons were spacious and more importantly safe--and ever since Volvo has been a pioneer when it comes to safety. While a a Bentley may look more elegant, West might want to look at new Volvo, especially now that he is a father of two.

2015 Toyota Camry at NYIAS

Volvo 200 Series in Alaska

2016 Toyota RAV4 at NYIAS

Car Lyric of the Week: Can't Tell Me Nothing and Mercy by Kanye West

     Can't Tell Me Nothing:

     "Let up the suicide doors
     This is my life homie, you decide yours"

     Mercy:

     "Let the suicide doors up
     I threw suicides on the tour bus
     I threw suicides on the private jet
     You know what that mean, I'm fly to death"










     On the defiant, yet introspective "Can't Tell Me Nothing," Kanye calls out the haters while reflecting on the consequences of wealth and fame. However, Yeezy also makes a small blunder: he mistakes scissor doors for suicide doors. Suicide doors are hinged at the rear and open backwards, and can be found on modern Rolls-Royces. Scissor doors are what Ye actually meant to rap about, as these open vertically, and these expensive contraptions have been made famous by Lamborghini. This is an excusable mistake on West's part, but unfortunately he made the exact same error five years later. On "Mercy," a Lamborghini Murcielago-dedicated banger off his collaboration album Cruel Summer, Kanye yet again messes up. Making the mistake once is understandable, but the fact that he spits essentially the same line five years later makes me wonder if no one told him he was wrong in the first place in fear of bruising his sensitive ego.

Suicide doors on a Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe at the 2015 New York Auto Show

Scissor doors on a Lamborghini Murcielgao at the 2015 New York Auto Show