
a review by ccrl

a review by ccrl

The song Good Morning by Kanye West is a revolutionary track that opens his critically acclaimed album Graduation. The song is about waking up on the day of graduation, looking forward to the future and what lies ahead, while also looking back on the legacy you will leave behind and the self reflection of things you did over the previous years. Kanye speaks as if graduation is a new step into life and the beginning of a new era. We can see this when he talks about being afraid of what comes next, showing that even though he has made it this far, he is still nervous about the future and unsure of how to face it.
This honesty is what makes Good Morning so powerful, unlike other songs or topics of graduating, Kanye's song shows worry and uncertainty towards the future, unlike the typical feeling of pride and pure success. This song tries to capture how it feels at graduation, the confidence of finally completing the start of your life mixed with the anxiety of starting a new chapter.
This song is the perfect song to start of the album with as it introduces the theme of transition that defines Graduation. The production and background voices add to this song a lot, with it being one of the best on the album.
I remember when I first watched the Good Morning music video, I thought the animation was absolutely stunning, even by standards nowadays. The distinct art style that defines Takashi Murakami. At the start we can see the graduation bear wake up late, as Kanye his saying his "Good morning" line. After this he tries to get in his car to go to his graduation, but realises it's engine is malfunctioning, then when he tries to take the bus he realises the queue is way too long, as he tries getting a taxi but then it starts to rain and he gets splashes by a Taxi he wanted to get picked up in. Things keep going wrong for the graduation bear up until the 1:50 mark, as when he is on the ground tired and battered by all the previous challenges the sun comes out and he puts on his shutter-shade glasses and runs to university, I especially like this as what Kanye and Takashi were trying to show is that even when you are faced with multiple challenges you have keep going, which is what happened to graduation bear, and after all his challenges things turn out better for him and he ends up making to university on time for his graduation.
When graduation bear makes it to university he makes it right on time as his name is called out, he takes off his jacket revealing his academic dress underneath, as he walks up to the front and receives his graduation certificate as his peers in the back clap and cheer for him. After this you can see him and his friends walking out the school, then running and throwing their graduation hats in the air with an excited expression on their faces. This is Kanye and Takashi's way of showing success, that even if there are struggles coming up it will all be worth it at the end.
I believe the Good morning music video and song are some of the greatest music-related things created. It shows upbringing and self reflection and in my opinion deserves a 10/10 rating.
12 out of 15 users liked this review