Kanye West Gives Back to Iraq War Vets in "Choose or Lose" Special

Kanye West is hooking up with MTV for the new documentary Choose or Lose & Kanye West Present: Homecoming. In the hour-long doc, West and MTV VJ Sway Calloway will go to the homes of recently returned Iraq war veterans to hear their stories about their service and how they're re-acclimating to civilian life. At each stop, West will present the soldiers with a gift, with the rapper paying their rent, taking care of their debt or funding their tuition. "There are hundreds of veterans out there who are falling through the cracks. They make the ultimate sacrifices for us by laying down their lives, but it seems like a lot of them just get forgotten about" said West. "I know my music inspires and helps a lot of people but you can always do more. I teamed up with MTV and took the opportunity to share the spotlight with these veterans and hear their stories." The Choose or Lose special will air on MTV on Monday, July 28th, at 10PM EST.

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

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