“Never See Me Again” by Kanye West

As of this writing, Kanye West probably serves as the quintessential example, as far as the public eye is concerned, of how being rich and famous doesn’t automatically translate into a simpler life. He has in fact been dealing with such issues, if you will, since way back, as in even during the time this song (“Never See Me Again”) was recorded circa 2010.

As such, analysts have concluded that what inspired this outing were incidents such as the following:

• Kanye’s mother’s untimely passing in 2007
• Yeezy wildin’ out during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards

He had dealt with public relations’ issues prior, such as that (in)famous “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people” quote from 2005.

But it can be said that the backlash Kanye dealt with due to the way he treated Taylor Swift at the aforementioned VMAs was the first time in which he really contended with cancel culture, in a manner of speaking.

The Lyrics of “Never See Me Again”

That said, it doesn’t appear that any of the above are referenced in this song. But as indicated by its title even, you can tell that at that time Kanye was faced with some serious negativity/criticism. This is something that the vocalist admits from the onset, that ‘they want him to hold his head in shame’.

In the first verse, he also goes about noting that his “life” for the most part “sucks”.

And yes, the chorus does reveal that the weight of the world has Kanye contemplating going into exile for a while. But in expressing such a potential plan of action, he’s not looking for anyone’s sympathy.

Instead, what West is putting forth is along the lines of saying that just as he’s pondering on his own matters, others should respectively do the same instead of being preoccupied with what he’s doing. Furthermore, it is also made known in the chorus that whom it is he’s addressing specifically are “haters”.

The second verse kicks off with Kanye admitting that he “needs some time to meditate“. But afterwards, the rest of this lengthy piece consists of primarily braggadocious and confrontational lyrics, again with West’s rivals being the ones who he’s most specifically addressing.

To make a long story short, all wording considered the thesis sentiment revolves around Yeezy recognizing that he is in fact a top-notch musician and an A list celebrity. But conversely, he is also reminding those who are criticizing him or what have you that they are nowhere near his status. He is therefore telling them to focus on their own jobs instead of his own.

And yes, to some degree, it does read as if he may be more specifically speaking to the likes of fellow mainstream musicians.

Final Thoughts…

In conclusion, looking at what Kanye is going through here and now – an unwanted yet well-publicized divorce, self-sabotaging of business ventures and many people believing he isn’t totally sane – it seems as if it would have been a good idea if he did disappear from the public spotlight back when the idea first presented itself. But he didn’t, and in a way it can be said that he’s dealing with even more issues now (in 2022) than he was in 2010.

When was “Never See Me Again” released?

Genius lists the release date of this track as being 23 October 2010. However, according to other sources, “Never See Me Again” has yet to be officially released, if ever.

Either way it does date back to the aforementioned era. The said era would be around late-2009/early-2010. To note, it is not to be confused with “See Me Now”, a song that came out as part of Kanye West’s 2010 album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”.

Credits

Kanye West, who produced “Never See Me Again”, isn’t the only credited writer on it. According to Genius, a deceased Japanese singer by the name of Yukiko Okada (1967-1986) is also a credited writer of this song.

This is reportedly due to the fact that it samples a track she dropped in 1985 called “Futari Dake no Ceremony“.

Shortly after said dropping, Yukiko proceeded to commit suicide. She was just 18 at the time of her tragic death.

To Note:

Up until now, the reason behind Yukiko’s suicide remains unknown. However, according to reports, shortly before her tragic death, she was extremely depressed. The primary cause of her depression was believed to be from a case of unrequited love.

This sadness consumed her to the point where she felt dying was the only way out. She therefore jumped off a story building to her death. Her shocking death inspired multiple copycat suicides all over Japan.

By referencing Yukiko in “Never See Me Again”, some listeners concluded that Kanye was likewise contemplating following Yukiko’s footsteps out of depression.