"Through The Wire" tells us two things about this song.
First, it tells us that it's a reinterpretation of "Through the Fire," Chaka Khan's love song from the early '80s.
Second, and more importantly, it tells us what the song is all about—literally and metaphorically.
The song was recorded just weeks after Kanye West suffered a near-fatal car accident, at a time when his jaw was still wired shut following extensive facial reconstruction surgery; the vocal track thus had to be recorded with Kanye rapping "through the wire."
Beyond this obvious literal meaning, the song's title also serves, more broadly, as a metaphor for Kanye's determination to succeed in the music industry, no matter what obstacles might get in his way. As he raps in the song's final verse:
But I'm a champion, so I turned tragedy to triumph
Make music that's fire, spit my soul through the wire
First, it tells us that it's a reinterpretation of "Through the Fire," Chaka Khan's love song from the early '80s.
Second, and more importantly, it tells us what the song is all about—literally and metaphorically.
The song was recorded just weeks after Kanye West suffered a near-fatal car accident, at a time when his jaw was still wired shut following extensive facial reconstruction surgery; the vocal track thus had to be recorded with Kanye rapping "through the wire."
Beyond this obvious literal meaning, the song's title also serves, more broadly, as a metaphor for Kanye's determination to succeed in the music industry, no matter what obstacles might get in his way. As he raps in the song's final verse:
But I'm a champion, so I turned tragedy to triumph
Make music that's fire, spit my soul through the wire