Showing other artists love in the hip-hop genre is rare, so Joyner Lucas’s brand new song “Ye Not Crazy,” giving props to the living icon Kanye West is something special. The song comes at a specially tumulous time in Ye’s personal life, being divorced from his wife Kim Kardashian and having to be separated from his kids.
Joyner Lucas went on social media to talk about the inspiration behind his new song; “I created #yenotcrazy after I watched the Jeen-Yuhs documentary. Probably the dopest sh*t I’ve ever seen.”
Kanye released ‘Jeen-Yuhs,’ a documentary based on his life from the early days of his career. The documentary includes raw footage from the life of Kanye from his humble beginning in his music career, controversies, and tragedies that followed him. The documentary has received exceptional reviews from fans and critics alike.
Oftentimes, Kanye’s awkward actions have been labeled as ‘crazy’ or ‘childish.’ Joyner Lucas attempts to highlight that often the line between crazy and genius is blurred.
Listen to “Ye Not Crazy” by Joyner Lucas
Joyner Lucas “Ye Not Crazy” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
The song starts with Joyner Lucas spazzing on the mic about the successes in his career. Joyner, despite being immensely talented, has always been an underdog in the hip-hop game. He is yet to receive the proper flowers he deserves.
My Lambo got too many options, I don’t even know what mode this in (Ayy)
Next, Joyner turns his attention towards Ye, who has a few things in common with Joyner.
How do you spell “Crazy”? G-E-N-I-U-S
Often ‘genius’ can be mistaken as ‘crazy’ for the untrained mind. Most of the scientists were labeled crazy and even paid with their lives for the inventions and discoveries that we rely on today. The unknown is always crazy and scary. This line is also a reference to Kanye’s 2016 song “Feedback” in which he raps “Name one genius that ain’t crazy.”
What you know about mental health when you live in hell and you out of meds?
This line alludes to the mental health issues Ye has been diagnosed with; specifically bipolar disorder. Joyner himself has been diagnosed with ADHD since his childhood. Joyner’s debut studio album was titled ‘ADHD’ in an ode to this. Joyner compares the world we live in to ‘hell’ and themselves being out of medications for their mental issues. The medication for mental health issues is compassion and understanding by others around the patient. And the world is not ready for such a thing yet. So, they do look ‘crazy’ to others.
In the chorus of the song, Joyner emphasizes the title of the song: he announces that Kanye is not crazy, despite a lot of people labeling him as such. Even if he is crazy, what of it? As long as he does not hurt anyone! The chorus also references Kanye’s 2004 song “Jesus Walks.”
In the second verse of the song, Joyner continues to talk about his success in the music game and how he is still overlooked and undermined by many. Despite this, he keeps on winning.
I’m havin’ dinners with billionaire hitters, they lookin’ at me like a small change
This verse also references the infamous interview done by Kanye West on the ‘Sway In The Morning’ podcast with Sway Calloway, where Kanye West got angered by some of the questions asked by Sway. The prolonged questions about Kanye moving to the fashion industry kicked a nerve in Kanye which made him repeat the now-famous line “You ain’t got the answers, Sway!” Watch the clip below.
Joyner Lucas ends the verse by saying how being a celebrity had a massive impact on his mental health, negatively. This is the same for Kanye and every other artist out there. Joyner also sings “broke up the family, but kept all the realest ones,” alluding to the music industry. But this might be a reference to the recent divorce between Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, and Kanye’s claims that he does not get to see his children as much as he wants to.
The third verse of the song is a braggadocious ending exemplifying the luxurious and dangerous life Joyner leads. It is a cutthroat industry and one would be lucky to get by without losing their sanity.
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Check out the complete lyrics on Genius.