Kanye West Raps Through His Broken Jaw, Lays Beats For Scarface, Ludacris
Interview with Kanye West talking about his new mixtape and his car crash.
Summary
2002 Interview After Car Crash
Kanye West talked about getting better after a near-fatal car crash in Los Angeles a month earlier. West was seriously hurt; his jaw was broken in three places and his nose was injured. His jaw had to be wired shut. Even though he was in a lot of pain and found it hard to talk, West said the crash was important because it "opened up my eyes." He remembered feeling terrible pain, having trouble breathing because of blood, and being very uncomfortable right after the crash. West also said he was treated badly right after the accident. He claimed the LAPD gave him many tests for alcohol even though he was clearly hurt, which he felt was because of his race. He also described problems with the emergency workers, saying they put on a neck brace that hurt and dropped him when moving him on a stretcher. An LAPD spokesperson said giving several tests is normal if they think someone drove drunk and can take the tests. A person from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center said they didn't know about any complaints about ambulance workers, who work for private companies, not the hospital.
Healing and Making Music
West faced problems while getting better. He claimed doctors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center wired his jaw wrong at first, meaning they had to fix it. (A hospital spokesperson couldn't talk about patient details). About two weeks after going into the hospital, he left and went straight back to making music. While his jaw was still wired, he recorded a song called "Through the Wire." This song uses a sample from Chaka Khan's song "Through the Fire" and talks about the crash and his recovery. He put the song on his mixtape called Get Well Soon....
First Album and Producing Beats
This whole experience shaped the ideas for West's first album, which he planned to call The College Dropout. He said the album was about making your own choices and not just doing what society tells you. He mentioned liking John Mayer's song "No Such Thing" because it shared a similar message. West said Jay-Z was on a song called "Never Let Me Down," and that Jamie Foxx and Twista would also be on the album. At the same time, West kept busy producing music for many other artists. He made beats for Scarface, Ludacris, Twista, Beanie Sigel, Donell Jones, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Mystic, and Dead Prez. He also said he was making another mixtape called Rehabilitation, which would have him rapping over beats like the one he made for Jay-Z's song ” ’03 Bonnie & Clyde.”
*There may be errors on this page.
Event Date: December 9, 2002
Timelines Involved
