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Music

I Went to the Club Night That Only Plays Kanye West and Tested People's Kanye Knowledge

Yeezy forgot to teach some of them.

This article originally appeared on Noisey UK.

Kanye West has a pretty complex following. There are the hip-hop heads, the hipsters, the late Lou Reed, the industrial types who only like Yeezus, chart types who only like "Stronger," loyalists who see the future of music within him, and some people who just like to stand on the table and yell “get down girl, go ‘head, get down” after six ciders. So, to get a real feel for this disparate fan base, I went to their church mass: a club night in Notting Hill called Dedicated to Kanye that prides itself on playing Yeezy and nothing but Yeezy all night long.

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By arriving pretty early I was able to witness the true dedicated core noodle their way in: a few diligently nodding faces around tables, a middle-aged married couple at the bar, and a lone break dancer in the center of the club. Basically, it was one red curtain short of a David Lynch scene. And to reflect the dedication of the early crew, the night began with obscure deep cuts. Graduation bonus track “Bittersweet” anyone? “Runaway Love” with Bieber? Kid Cudi’s “Make Her Say”?

Cut to two hours later, though, and the place was going off. The remix of Beyonce’s “Ego” gave way to “Jesus Walks,” and the brothers and sisters of Ye started wilding the fuck out in their safe space, a million miles away from evil Glastonbury petitions and nasty South Park memes. It felt like how I imagine a Star Trek convention would be if they all got gassed and did gun fingers while shouting Spock quotes at each other.

But away from the dancefloor, I wanted to see how deep this love went. Were these people as dedicated as the night suggested? Or were they just weeknight ravers looking for the cheapest pint and the shortest line? I decided to turn the smoking area into a low budget gameshow, with abstract questions that covered everything from Kanye's lyrics to his life. It was time to sort the monsters from the gods, the College Dropouts from those ready for Graduation. And if you want to have a go, the answers are at the very bottom. Here's how they did:

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IZZIE AND AMY

Noisey: What she order?
Izzie: What? What’s that. Oh my god I’m so drunk.
Amy: Let’s just guess something. Fried chicken.
Izzie: No, I know this, it’s so gone right now though. You shouldn’t do this while people are drunk. Go with fried chicken. KFC is right there.

Who hasn’t got the answers?
Izzie: SWAY! FUCK! Sway is the one.

Give head, stop, breathe, get up…
Izzie: Isn’t that from "Workout Plan"? You know how you can love an artist but there is one song you absolutely hate? That is the one I hate. It is so bad. I hate it.

What does Kanye describe as his greatest pain in life?
Amy: His mum dying?
Izzie: Why am I laughing? That is not funny.

What year was 808s and Heartbreaks released?
Izzie: I talked about this today! Um… 808.

The year 808…?
Amy: Wait, what do you win from this actually?

You win pride!
Izzie: Okay, I’m going to say 2006.

According to Kanye, who is the new Marilyn Monroe?
Izzie: Himself.
Amy: Kim Kardashian? Is it? Ayyyyyyyyy.

Kanye describes himself as a soldier of what?
Izzie: Soldier of life… no… love… no… rap. Solider of rap.
Amy: Think about it. What would Kanye do? WWKD.
Izzie: Soldier of rap.

Which film did Kanye describe in a tweet as easily one of his favorite films of all time?
Izzie: I deleted Twitter.
Amy: Isn’t it one with big robots? The one with Shia La Beouf. Not Terminator. Transformers!

What is Kanye’s favorite Kanye song?
Izzie: All of them? Fuck, I have no idea. I forget the song titles because I download them all illegally. Shall I have a random guess? "All You Need is Love" by the Beatles?

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What is Kim’s favorite Kanye song?
Izzie: I know this! "Only One"!

SCORE: 3/10 - WELCOME TO HEARTBREAK

JURI AND MARLON

What she order?
Juri: What? Is it a lyric? She ordered something? A drink? Sorry. I don’t know.

Who hasn't got the answers?
Marlon: God. In Odd Future lyrics it is always God.

Give head, stop, breathe, get up…
Marlon: So many lyric questions. You must understand we are Germans, so we don’t always understand the lyrics.

You're supposed to be fans! What does Kanye describe as his greatest pain in life?
Juri: That his mother died? I’m wrong? But he did a song with Paul McCartney?

What year was 808s and Heartbreaks released?
Marlon: What is that?

You've never heard those words before have you?
Marlon: No.

OK, according to Kanye, who is the new Marilyn Monroe?
Marlon: Miley Cyrus?

Kanye describes himself as a soldier of?
Marlon: Love? Peace?

Which film did Kanye describe in a tweet as easily one of his favorite films of all time?
Juri: I know the ten favorite movies of Mac Miller. Is it American? The Lego Movie?

What is Kanye’s favorite Kanye song?
Marlon: It could be… is there a definite answer? "Empire State of Mind"?

Mate, that's not even a Kanye West song! What is Kim’s favorite Kanye song?
Juri: We are such experts. Something from the Jesus album?

You should be ashamed of yourselves.

SCORE: 1/10 - ONLY ONE

DEL

What she order?
Fish filet.

Who hasn't got the answers?
Sway.

Finally! We're cooking here. OK: Give head, stop, breathe, get up…
Can I come back to this? It’s from "Workout Plan." Is it lyrics? Give head, stop, breathe, get up… oh oh oh… hold on… something about knees?

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What does Kanye describe as his greatest pain in life?
I don’t know.

What year was 808s and Heartbreaks released?
2008.

According to Kanye, who is the new Marilyn Monroe?
Um, is it really obvious? Kim?

Kanye describes himself as a soldier of what?
Hip-hop?

Which film did Kanye describe in a tweet as easily one of his favorite films of all time?
Don’t know.

What is Kanye’s favorite Kanye song?
His favorite? Has he said? OH YEAH. Drunk and… no… CAN’T TELL ME NOTHING.

What is Kim’s favorite Kanye song?
"Bound 2"? Oh "All Day"?!

SCORE: 5/10 - GOOD LIFE

LOIS

OK shall we…
Lois: Hello Moriiiiiii!!!

Can I begin?
Eurgh. Yeah OK.

What she order?
Fish filet.

Who hasn’t got the answers?
I don’t knooooow. I don’t know. It’s from a radio interview? I’m not that kind of person.

Give head, stop, breathe, get up…
Check your weave!!!

What has Kanye described as his greatest pain in life?
Music?

What year was 808s and Heartbreaks released?
2010? Was it 2008? I was going to guess that, but I thought it was too obvious.

According to Kanye, who is the new Marilyn Monroe?
I couldn’t tell you.

Kanye describes himself as a soldier of what?
Peace.

Which film did Kanye describe in a tweet as easily one of his favorite films of all time?
Step Brothers.

What is Kanye’s favorite Kanye song?
"Monster."

What is Kim’s favorite Kanye song?
Ummmmm. It’s gonna be one of the bait ones, so I’m going to say "Black Skinhead"?

SCORE: 4/10 - WE CAN MAKE IT BETTER

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JACOB

What she order?
Jacob: Fish filet.

Who hasn’t got the answers?
Sway.

Give head, stop, breathe, get up…
CHECK YOUR WEAVE, DON'T DROP THE BLUNT AND DISRESPECT THE WEED, PICK UP YOUR SON!

All right, it's cool man, chill.
Sorry.

What has Kanye described as his greatest pain in life?
Um, not seeing himself perform?

What year was 808s and Heartbreaks released?
2008.

According to Kanye, who is the new Marilyn Monroe?
KIM OBVIOUSLY!

Please stop shouting. Kanye describes himself as a solider of what?
Culture. We culture!

Which film did Kanye describe in a tweet as easily one of his favorite films of all time?
Pacific Rim.

What is Kanye’s favorite Kanye song?
"Can't Tell Me Nothing".

What is Kim’s favorite Kanye song?
"Only One".

Wow.

SCORE: 10/10 - CHAMPION

So what have we learned? Well, the quiz proved that, aside from one aggressively excited bloke in a hoodie, being a Kanye fan doesn't necessarily require being Kanye expert. Based on the love that was filling a tiny arts center in Notting Hill, it seems that his music inspires more in the way of celebration than it does revision. Perhaps this is the most important lesson to take away from the evening, following Yeezy is an all inclusive exercise, after all: Being a fan of Kanye West means you a fan of yourself.

Correct answers: FiSH FILET//SWAY//CHECK YOUR WEAVE//NOT SEEING HIMSELF LIVE//2008//KIM KARDASHIAN//CULTURE//PACIFIC RIM//CAN'T TELL ME NOTHING//ONLY ONE

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