Kanye West's "I Feel Like That": When You Feel No One Will Understand

        In recent years, Kanye West has come to be known as a controversial figure due to his problematic comments but many people do not remember that West has not always been like this. West's controversial comments have been attributed to his bipolar disorder which he was diagnosed with during his 2016 The Life of Pablo Album tour but signs of his deteriorating mental health can be seen in his unreleased song I Feel Like That. I Feel Like That was first seen in the unreleased music video for his song All Day from 2015, only a year before his mental health diagnosis. Upon closer inspection of the lyrics, West is asking a series of questions that are commonly seen in mental health screenings. These questions include phrases such as "Do you feel tempered outbursts, that you cannot control?" "Feeling lonely, even when you are with people, feeling blocked?" "Feeling blue, sad, feeling disinterested in things, feeling fearful?" "Are your feelings easily hurt?" "Feeling that people are unfriendly, or do you feel like people dislike you?" 

        West most likely did not look up these questions, he most likely genuinely felt these things. West has always been a person that allows his emotions to influence his creations and this piece is no different. Despite the fact that this song ultimately went unreleased, the point still stands that West's emotions play a large factor in his creative process. Rick Rubin is a long time collaborator with Kanye West and in Rubin's book, The Creative Act, Rubin talks about how an artist's vision must be independent of their duty to society, how the artist must not allow society to limit the meaning behind what they are creating. This idea of freedom that Rubin talks about can be seen perfectly in Kanye West's I Feel Like That as West allows the listener a glimpse into how he truly has been feeling.