Music

Watch 12-year-old Kanye West freestyle for his mom

by Richard Howard

I dunno about you, but at 12 years old I’m pretty sure my freestyling skills would have mostly consisted of rhyming “cool” with “school” and possibly “fool” if I was feeling feisty while battling a school pal for his Reese’s Pieces.

I guess that’s why I’m not a multi-millionaire (or previous multi-millionaire) rapper and producer like Kanye West, who was already showing talent in his Grade 7 days. A video posted on YouTube of a fresh-faced, flattop-sporting West dropping a freestyle for his mom’s video camera has racked up over 120,000 views in just a few days.

Although it’s a little hard to make out every word, 1990 Kanye drops some time period-correct fire like “I have to start my rhymes with the finish/I’ll diminish other MC’s on the Top 10, I bump them” (making his English teacher proud with the internal rhymes) and “I’m def’ and Im fresh and I’m on the rec/Nothin’ less could come from West.”

12-year-old Kanye was also already showing a predilection for bold fashion statements. In the video, the young West rocks what is most likely a shirt with enormous polka dots, but I prefer to think it’s actually a super-comfy onesie complete with covered feet – proving he was always aware of the need to get the maximum amount of Kanye Rest.