Interpretation of “Heard ‘Em Say” by Kanye West
In Kanye West’s “Heard ‘Em Say” the narrator paints a bleak picture of life in
urban America and how difficult it is to stay hopeful when everything seems impossible.
By using figurative devices, such as rhetorical questions, pun, and alliteration, West
drives home the idea of hopelessness and despair in urban America.
West uses a rhetorical question to create the tone of song. It is obvious that the
narrator is referring to somebody who is promising, demanding and teasing the ‘we’ of
the song. By the colloquial language, it is safe to assume that the ‘we’ are people who
live in the ghettos of America. The ‘somebody’ is less obvious, but could be the
conservative politicians of America, who often criticize the lifestyle of those who live in
the ghetto. West’s rhetorical question of “Before you ask me to go get a job today/ Can I
at least get a raise on the minimum wage?” is indicative of how those who live on
assistance are viewed as lazy, but as the narrator says, the minimum wage is not enough
to make a decent living.
Next, West uses the literary device of the pun. He uses it two times, but the most
obvious is when he writes that “But they can’t cop cars without seein’ cop cars/I guess
they want us all behind bars, I know it.” Before this line, West describes how people
living the ghetto see things they want on TV and often look up to “dope boys”, or “drug
dealers”, who usually own nice things. West makes the comparison between dope boys
and rock stars but says that unlike rock stars, dope boys can not ‘cop,’ or get, cars without
seeing running into the police. Copping cars can mean two things here—either driving a
nice car will get someone in the ghetto pulled over or that someone has stolen a car. In
either instance, it is an accurate pun.
Lastly, West uses alliteration and the repetition of words in the chorus to convey
the unpromising future of living in the ghetto. West begins the song with an echo of
“Wake up Mr. West,” implying to the listener that Mr. West was possibly asleep and
dreaming; possibly dreaming of a better life in the ghetto. The echo continues throughout
the song as the words of the chorus, “And I heard ‘em say, nothin’s ever promised
tomorrow today” repeat, conveying to the listener that the promises given today may not
be valid tomorrow. At the end of the song, West uses alliteration at the beginning of the
chorus stating, “With these worthless words” conveying that whatever has been promised
to the ‘we’ is not worth anything.
West’s use of figurative language illustrates to the listener what life is like when
all hopes and promises are gone. By continually stating that “…it hurts but it may be the
only way” the narrator tells the listeners that life is never easy, especially life in the
ghetto. Although the upbeat tempo of the chorus and reprise mask the gloom and
depression of the song, West is able to show through the verses that life in the ghetto is
hard.