Are his ‘I’s particularly pronounced? Does the way he crosses his ‘T’s signify someone who’s unafraid to face public ridicule for claiming back something that’s rightfully Beyonce’s? Is the curve of his ‘G’s that of a man terrified of cranes? When a hand-written Kanye West setlist emerged this week we rushed it to graphologist Tracey Trussell of handright.co.uk for in-depth anaylsis. Here’s what she read in his baseline fluctuations…

https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/691489910293991424

He’s a narcissist

“Kanye writes with a big, thick black marker pen, which makes the writing look bold and pasty-looking, but also partially illegible, even under the microscope, plus there’s neglect. He doesn’t seem to care that other people may not be able to read what he’swritten, even though it’s just a short, but presumably important list. He’sactually gone to the trouble to tweet this list to the world, knowing that it’s unattractive and hard to read, and this already tells us a lot about the writer – it shows the narcissism behind his action. Kanye’s a law unto himself.”

He lives in the moment


“It’s all about the drama. He lives boldly, intensely, and emotionally, in the moment. ‘Emotionally’, because the letters sitting on the baseline fluctuate or vary a lot – both in size and slant – and the ends of some words and letters are falling in places below the baselines. ‘Intensely’ because the writing is pasty, and pressure is all about intensity of feelings, depth of emotion and energy – and by writing the list in thick black marker pen, he is also conveying this intensity and energy without even having to press hard on the surface of the paper. His senses and perception of colour are also highly developed.”

He’s private

“He writes in capital letters throughout, which means that he’s interested in the here and now. It also means he’s wearing a mask – he doesn’t want people to see what goes onprivately – he loves a mystery – so he wants to be inscrutable; he doesn’t want to reveal the real man beneath the layers. Instead he projects a ‘persona’ that fits the bill for whatever he’s doing at that moment in time.”

But he likes to express himself

“For all this ambiguity, verbal expression matters to Kanye. He exudes passion and he means well – there’s no malice intended. But the big, blurry, part-illegible writing means that the paradox is he can be insensitive, and because the letters get bigger and bigger (look at the title ‘SWISH’) this tells us that he’s likely to blurt things out without thinking!

The reason I say that he likes expressing himself verbally (and he means well – see the tail of the letter ‘y’ curls to the right) is because his oval letters (mainly the ‘O’s) are mostly not contaminated or filled in with ink. You’d think that the thick black marker pen would mean that the round ovals letters were filled in, but they aren’t. This also means that whilst he’s keen to get his thoughts and ideas across, he comes across quite forcibly – but it’s all for dramatic effect. Because the size of the letters is large and increasing in size (see also ‘CHOP’), it’s like he’s shouting on paper.”

He’s volatile

“He tries to express himself clearly, but sometimes he just can’t help himself and he has a tendency to be volatile – something unexpectedly pops out and he insensitively says things without thinking (it’s because most of his ovals are clear and uncontaminated, but occasionally they’re filled in and all smeary). It’s also more along the lines of narcissism – It’s all about him.”

He’s original


“The style of the writing may look ugly, but it’s undeniably original and bursting with irregularities. It’s also mainly disconnected or unjoined. All these handwriting movements present more scope for interpretation – it means that he’s highly creative and versatile – loves being recognised for his niche talent – but also he follows the beat of his own drum.”

He’s not always reliable, and he may have issues with friendship

“The widening left margin tells us that he loves a project, but it’s interesting to see that the last letter in most of his words is not joined up and often spaced more widely than the other letters, which means that he’s not always reliable, not always good at commitment. There seems to be some issue with friends too, the word ‘friends’ is the most illegible in the list.”

Bonus: Kylie Jenner is rebellious and musical

“As for the writing at the bottom – “KYLIE WAS HERE” – it’s difficult to analyse so few words, because there are so few clues available – but this snapshot tells us that it’s also capital letters and in a large size, written across the lines, but in a clearer, lighter more legible script, and also the letter ‘I’ drops away beneath her invisible baseline. I’d say this all adds up to mean these three words were written by someone who’s rebellious and sassy, with a strong musical sense, and operating from an instinctive gut level. She’s having a bit of fun, jumping on someone else’s bandwagon. She conveys an upbeat cheerfulness, which may not reflect her true feelings inside.”