There’s nothing like a hungry emcee. Prior to rapping, when he was just a producer working with many of the greats of the early aughts, Kanye was eager to prove himself as a capable artist. Many labels were unlucky to sign him, including Rocafella, the label he was producing for at the time. In a recently unearthed video, Kanye lets loose a ferocious freestyle that sounds unlike anything we’ve heard from him in damn near ten years. It’s tenacious, thrilling, and, at the same time heartbreaking.

Kanye looked much younger here, but also hungrier. You can see the murderous gleam in his eyes; he’s out to prove himself. When he gets the mic, he goes off. His profanity-laced sermon reeks of the vistas of talent stored within his bow. After only a minute, the freestyle cuts, but the effect stays with you. This Kanye West endured throughout the early 2000s and until around 2010 before he became much too full of himself.

In recent years, Kanye has become a parody of everything he used to hold dear. From endorsing President Trump to saying that slavery was a choice, he’s nowhere near the iconoclast that he used to be. Even his raps are filled with corny punchlines and lazily-structured songs. It seems like the final curtain has been cast on Kanye the creative. From here, it looks like it’s only going to go downhill.

Let’s admire the once hungry Kanye one last time with this clip below.

UNRELEASED Kanye West Freestyle

September 22nd, 2000. 10:45pm. Live from Kanye's home studio on 95th and Longwood. Beverly. Konman Productions HQ.

via ChannelZeroTV pic.twitter.com/h1LN8O5Ts5

— Andrew Barber (@fakeshoredrive) August 10, 2018