When it comes to divisiveness, no one does it better than Ye. Myriad events have cemented him as one of the most controversial figures in pop culture-- dressing up as Jesus for Rolling Stone didn't do it for him, so he had to malign the speech of a universally loved pop princess, say the POTUS is racist, and generally let his ego get the best of him. The mainstream media dismisses him as an egomaniac who's talking to a fanbase that isn't there, the general public mocks him, and South Park calls him a gay fish (I haven't seen the episode, so this makes no sense to me, other than showing how puerile and homophobic South Park can be). Why hasn't Ye been discarded, relegated to playing in casinos and dive bars?
Listen to his music. Really listen to it. Go deeper than "Gold Digger" and "Stronger" (even though both are fantastic songs). Listen to his albums in chronological order. Read and watch some interviews of him. Let the man speak for himself, let him explain his flaws and shortcomings. Think he's not aware of who he is? Listen to "Runaway" or "Family Business", and why Ye is Ye will explain itself. At this point in his career, he's looking to be the greatest artist of his generation, and he's only 36. That's to say nothing of his producing some of the best hip hop albums and songs ever. He's committed, and if that makes him an asshole, he's an ingenious, necessary, bombastically incredible asshole.
Through his long and fruitful career, that's been his savior and demon-- he's committed, dammit, and it gets him in trouble, but his immersion in his craft has created the best music that the 21st Century has to offer. In this interview with the New York Times, Ye explains that his mentality is that of greatness-- he doesn't have time to waste believing that he's anything else than the apex of the rap game, and culture, and fashion, and whatever he puts his mind to. That integrity eschews marketability, lowest common denominator content, or any other obstacle in his single-minded quest for the best music he can make. The fashion questions and answers of the interview particularly intrigued me--artists, particularly those in pop music, work to cultivate an image through what they wear, but the dedication that Kanye puts towards his look transcends mere aesthetics-- it goes to a lump sum of x's and y's that add up to an icon. He spares no detail, no minutiae that walk the line between greatness and near religious experiences for the listener. He talks about being inspired by a lamp. If any other musical artist said that, I would scoff. How the hell can they be inspired by a lamp? But said by Kanye, it somehow works. Everything is pushed through a filter that results in things like "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy." I remember when Kanye got a Twitter account, and the tweets he sent out were mostly about the troubles of finding rare luxury items. People laughed and mocked. Here's the thing, though-- they were paying attention. Newspapers were writing articles about his tweets. Now there's room to criticize the media, but there's not room for that here. Why would Kanye make such outrageous statements? Even as a fan, some of them were out there. He sent them out while making MBDTF, an album that deals heavily with the nature of fame. It starts off lauding what he's done, before everything falls apart, and he's left with nothing but his ego. He had to get in the zone, and if being humiliated by internet lowlifes was the price, he was more than willing to pay.
It's clear that Kanye doesn't have a comfort zone. I've listened to other artists (it's not my place to criticize here, so no names) who get lazy after some time in the game. They put out records that aren't necessarily bad, and I've enjoyed them, they just play it safe. They have a formula to success, and they stick with it. I don't see this as a negative, as I often enjoy these albums. There's always a nag, though. They could be doing more with their talent, they could be growing, but they're not, and it frustrates me (whether or not it should, once again, is another question for a different day). Kanye lives on the edge of the knife in this regard. All 5 of his solo albums differ greatly. People thought he had taken a serious misstep with 808's and Heartbreak. It was so different from the rest of his music. And he was singing! He wasn't very good at it! I had been a fan of him at that point, and this baffled me. I liked the album, but it didn't connect with me the same way his previous work had done. However, looking back in a non-Autotune dominated era, I see how important the album is. It allowed for hip hop to be more introspective and moody than it ever had been before. It's difficult to see Drake or Frank Ocean come to such prominence without the stepping stone of 808s. In a lot of ways, this album did for hip hop what Bob Dylan did for pop music-- it allowed for new subject matter to be explored in existing formulas.
This is why Kanye matters. He's the first one to put his foot in the water and see if it'll work or not. He's dedicated himself to his art, and to being the best, and even when he suffers, he allows it to create beautiful things. There are great artists who play by the rules, and they succeed. Then comes a Picasso, a Dylan, a Kanye, who knows the rules so well, and can play by them just as well, and decides to deconstruct it all. This isn't a 9 to 5 arrangement, this is jumping off the cliff. Kanye does what's needed for his art. He's an ideologue, not a pragmatist, and when people hate him for it, he makes their catcalls his theme song. It's so much more than "fuck what the world thinks", though, he's too self aware for that to be the case. he accepts what he is at the moment, makes what he needs, and moves on. He's transcended being a pop star. He's an icon, despised, adored, idolized, and we need that. There seems to be a camaraderie between artists today, patting each other on the back, saying "damn, we're special, aren't we?" They make good, not overly challenging music, then Kanye comes along and switches up the formula while cranking it to eleven. While he doesn't always succeed (and even he'll admit that he's fallible), he's a catalyst for a whole genre of music. Who else can get away with broadcasting his new song on the sides of billboards? Who else can say "I'm not playing my music on the radio anymore" and have it work? Only Ye. He's shooting us into the unknown, and we can't help but enjoy the ride.
And when it comes to his ego, well, the man says it best: "it's hard to be humble when you're stunting on a Jumbotron."
Here's to the 18th, Kanye. Amaze us once again.
No comments:
Post a Comment