You either love him or you hate him. The American rapper from Chicago is one of the most successful, controversial and remarkable figures of our time. It’s nearly a decade since Kanye West released his debut album, ‘The College Dropout’ but no one could have expected the memorable events, ground breaking music and extreme talent that West has gifted the world thereafter; apart from himself, of course…
The 36 year old is constantly a major discussion point in the media, whether it be for his music, love life, fashion or the outrageous stunts he pulls, it is fair to say Kanye deserves the spotlight and is here to stay for a long while yet. These, I believe, are the reasons why:
Music
6 albums, 21 million of those sold and 66 million digital downloads in the United States alone, makes West one of the best digital selling artists of all time. Yeezy made a name for himself firstly as a producer when he collaborated on Jay Z’s sixth solo album, ‘The Blueprint’, he then signed onto Shawn Carter’s record label ‘Roc-A-Fella Records’ and aspired to become an iconic rapper/music artist in his own right. Kanye’s music has evolved through the ten years he has been in the music industry from his revolutionary Hip-Hop albums, ‘The College Dropout’ and ‘Late Registration’, which are similar in terms of instrumentals, through to ‘Graduation’ released in 2007 which was significantly more sonic and futuristic. ‘808s and Heartbreak’ came shortly after in November 2008, a year after his Mother died, the juxtaposition between this and his other albums is most notable; a very dark, emotional album drowned out with heavy auto-tuned singing, consisting of only a couple of songs worth of rap. His fifth and arguably most prestigious album is ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ which critics have considered to be ‘perfect’ and one of the best Hip Hop albums of all time; it is certainly one of his most honest albums with hit singles such as ‘Runaway’, dissecting both the deepest flaws in his personality as well as his insecurities surrounding women in his life, pleading with them to, “Run away fast as you can.” West’s latest album ‘Yeezus’ was released earlier this year, it was critically acclaimed due to its creative, visionary approach which I’m sure will become a landmark for the future of Hip Hop.
Fashion
Seeing as Kanye is an ‘ego maniac’, you’d think he’d have the style to compensate for this. You’d be right. Snazzy glasses, tweed tuxes and even diamond infested masks. His innovative music runs parallel with his fashion; many have seen Kanye wear outlandish outfits which have subsequently been copied years later. The rapper’s sixth album ‘Yeezus’ is said to be inspired by his pure frustration with the fashion industry, blaming top fashion icons for being, “Classist; racism’s cousin.” The song ‘New Slaves’ reflects this as West cries, “Doing clothes you would have thought I had help, but they wasn’t satisfied unless I picked the cotton myself.” Kanye further claims that he can’t progress further into the fashion industry due to the lack of assistance he is receiving to produce his own products as a result of his stereotypical rapper image which fashion designers feel could impair the industry’s reputation. This reveals how Kanye has become a vital, gutsy celebrity figure for raising sensitive issues within our society.
Engagement
Recently, Kanye proposed to currently one of the most well-known women in the world, Kim Kardashian. If you are not aware of the existence of Kim, which is hard to believe, she is a reality television star/model whose fame was spread from a humiliating sex tape with American singer Ray J. Kim’s career has been mostly reliant on the frenetic media attention she captures daily; somewhat fuelled one feels by her own ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’ reality show. Whether he likes it or not, Kanye looks like he is going to be blessed with as much, if not more, media attention.
Outrageous moments
Kanye West has always been known to speak his mind, which has spurred hatred across the globe. Back in 2009 at the MTV awards, West discourteously interrupted Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech for ‘best video award’ and declared, “Beyonce has one of the best videos of all time!” Similar to this at the EMA’s the ‘Runaway’ rapper caused havoc on stage at his fury of losing out on an award to ‘Justice’, who attempted to placate Kanye’s selfishness, proposing, “Now you’re going to have to share.” Further controversy was sparked on a TV fundraising program for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, without hesitation West defiantly stated that, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” Witnessed by millions across America, there was nowhere for Kanye to hide…as if he cares!
So, what is all the fuss about Kanye West? Well, the man is a creative and passionate genius, categorically proven by his vast catalogue of hit songs and albums and validated by his peers and critics alike as well as sporting an eccentric but exquisite fashion taste. His engagement to one of the most famous women on the planet and his sometimes somewhat vulgar behaviour may not be to all tastes but most certainly is a source of our entertainment. You’ve simply got to love him.
Kanye West – Bound 2 on MUZU.TV.