One of the most common devices that songwriters use to emphasize an idea or a motif in their work is repetition, both of standard words and onomatopoeias, written out sounds. In Kanye West’s song “Famous,” the speaker wants to emphasize some of the difficulties that go with being famous and dealing with famous people, particularly the disconnect between the idea that famous people have somehow come to deserve their fame on a moral level, as opposed to the often significant moral lapses in their lives. In the video that West made to accompany this song, there are nude representations of such figures as Donald Trump, Taylor Swift, Bill Cosby, Rihanna, George W. Bush, Ray J, Kim Kardashian, and others, all in wax statues.
In the lyrics, repetition of different words and phrases represent some of the outrage that the speaker feels when the fame of others is thrust in his face. For example, when he talks about Taylor Swift in the song, he repeats the phrase “I made that bitch famous” (West, web) to show that her fame is primarily arbitrary, the result more of his own intervention than anything that she might have accomplished. The repetition of the phrase “Let me see” (West, web) shows interaction between the speaker and the audience, as he wants to see some sort of emotional response. The repetition of the phrase “bam bam dilla, bam bam” (West, web) throughout builds a sense of rhythm, an emotional momentum that works its way from the instrumental portions into the lyrics and provides an overall level of energy for the listener to enjoy as he or she interacts with the song.
Works Cited
West, Kanye. “Famous.” n.d. Web. 2 February 2017.
