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| Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia Kanye West 2016: All rights reserved to Mr. West |
Before Kanye West was a signed artist, my friends and I followed his unreleased mixtapes and argued about his lyrical brillance and genius behind producing intoxicating beats for big name Hip Hop Icons of the day. It seemed, Kanye was destined to make the big time to us, but it appeared he needed more than style, fresh lyrics, and dope beats. Kanye needed "the juice," which only comes with street credibility and the right endorsement by Hip Hop's top echelon performers. Freestyling, line for line, with Common on local Chicago radio, featuring the Chicago Rap God, Twista on tracks, and rubbing shoulders with big name Rappers and celebrities was the sign. But to the common Hip Hop fan in the streets, it was baffling. It's hard to pick a favorite song made by Kanye West during this time as an underdog, under appreciated artist. From "Hey Mama," or "Two Words" featuring Mos Def and Freeway, "Apologize," "The Good, the Bad, the Ugly," and the original, "All Falls Down," featuring Lauryn Hill. So when Kanye, dropped the "Through the Wire," video, we all knew, he'd arrived. Regardless, of the politics behind the scenes and in the backroom deals of powerful record Labels like Rawkus, Sony, Def Jam, it seemed only right, that the people who benefited the most from Kanye West beats, Rockerfella Records, give him the shot he deserved. In show of support, my friends and I, pooled our pennies to check him out, alongside his piano player, John Stephens. We left the concert, fully convinced and wondering who was that piano guy? And thanks to fate, seizing the opportunity, and the Hip Hop Gods, they signed Kanye West. It's been Rock history ever since.
Top Five:
Ask any true Hip Hop fan, what is their favorite Kanye West album, and you get a variety of answers. College Dropout (2003) was classic and Graduation (2007) was cool, but my favorites are Late Registration and My Beautiful Dark Fantasy. Between the two, I can't decide, both are pure lyrical and timeless pieces of art. Ask any true Hip Hop fan where Kanye ranks in their top rapper category and most place him at least in their top 10. With all honesty, at one point (around the time of Graduation) Kanye West was Top Five, behind Jay-Z, Nas, Eminem, and Common. The Hip Hop & Rock world went crazy over Watch The Throne (2011), the classic collaboration with legendary Jay-Z. who he arguably line for line, more than matched. It was like watching a tennis match between two great giants of Hip Hop and it was for lack of a better word, Ham. So where did he go wrong? We loved 808s and Heartbreak, which style marked the beginning of "rapper autotune singing," in the current After School Rap generation (2008 to present). Was it Yeezus? The album went platinum and even the flaky Hollywood producers who "love you when you hot and drop you when your not," featured songs from the album, "Black Skinhead," and "I am a God," on major movie productions. And lets be honest, "Black Skinhead," was needed by America, to explain the disillusioned by the status quo of injustice and white politics of Black America. The song is timeless and brillant. One of the reasons, Mr. West was awarded an honorary Doctorate, by The School of Art Institute of Chicago for his contributions to music, fashion, and art. In one of his latest works, "Famous," the newly knighted, Dr. West, breaks every rule of decency and in the same vein of Leonardo Di Vinci's The Last Supper (1495), brings you into the bedroom of America's Socio-political scene, exposing the faces in the intermingling and backroom morality of ideas and life in post modern America. The Life of Pablo Album Tour, for which this single was created, is scheduled for late 2016.
Where Did It Go Wrong?
Where Kanye West went wrong can't be pinpointed. How about when Kanye West spoke up alongside Michael Meyers during the Hurricane Katrina Telethon and said, "George Bush doesn't care about Black people?" To White America, Kanye had instantly committed the original sin, publicly criticizing the then, President of the United States. To Black America, he was their voice, an unlikely hero and champion. So, as I ran out of the room in a hilarious burst of laughter and pure astonishment to the world, it was apparent that Kanye West had reached a level that no other Hip Hip rapper had ever been. He became larger than Hip Hop at that moment because in an instant, he represented Black America, and their feelings of distrust, injustice, and sorrow for their constant situation of oppression in the United States. This position is a two edged sword for Black leaders in the United States. To White America, Kanye became a symbol of an unspoken truth and a target. And as the political fallout for the statement ensued, and Hollywood, major Networks, and even friends began to distance themselves, Kanye continued to do what he did best, make dope music for Hip Hop fans to love. In this relentless drive to success and his ability to overcome in a situation, that would have ended the average rapper's career by sparing with a President, Kanye West became larger than life, destined for greatness. Again, this position for a Black American in America is a two edge sword. It is a position to be loved and hated at the highest public level and Kanye West weathered the fallout storm to continue to a destination of prestige and international celebrity. Almost like the the Colored Heavy Weight Champion, Jack Johnson defeating the Great White Hope, James Jeffries, to become the World Heavy Weight Champion in 1910. Or Joe Louis defeating James Braddock in 1937 to become the World Heavyweight Champion in 1937, it was a success in the midst of racial tension. And just like the old Harlem days of Joe Louis, Black America stood by the millions alongside Kanye West and his statement. President George W. Bush, wrote about the incident in his Presidential Memoirs saying,
"I faced a lot of criticism as president. I didn't like hearing people claim that I lied about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction or cut taxes to benefit the rich. But the suggestion that I was racist because of the response to Katrina represented an all-time low." -President George W. Bush
Kanye West became an American icon. So, again, where did Kanye West go wrong? Was it when he snatched the microphone from Taylor Swift at the 2009 VMA Awards Show and said "I'm really happy for you and Imma let you finish, but... Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time?" Kanye was not lying, Beyonce did later receive the highest VMA award for the night, but at the time, it seemed like the largest Black American Artist in the world, or rather, the largest Artist in the World, was being cheated out of recognition. It was the feeling by many people in the moment, which later changed when Beyonce won the highest VMA Award for the show. Again, I ran out the room in a burst of laughter and pure astonishment. Again, the political fallout and Hollywood, Networks, Fans, and friends distancing themselves. At the moment, it was the right thing to do as a champion and voice of Black injustice, but a little short sighted, as the obvious purpose of the VMA producers was to give smaller artist like Taylor Swift, a chance to shine, in the shadow of the more dominant spotlight of Beyonce, who otherwise in honest competition, would have sweep every award in her categories. Many artists understood by the end of the night. But by the end of the night, there was Kanye West, a symbol of the unspoken truth, and the two edge sword that comes with it. Publicly, no one wanted to touch Kanye, it was celebrity career suicide. And it was unfortunate, I mean, it was not the first time an award show had been interrupted by a Hip Hop Icon. Remember when Ol' Dirty Bastard from the Wu Tang Clan, feeling cheated by the Grammy's back when the Grammy's did not air Hip Hop Awards on television, interrupted the show and said the infamous phrase, "Wu Tang is for the children." In the words of the late Joker to his victims and public at large, "why so serious?" Kanye was vilified, crucified, and hung by the media. Southpark, the politically charged cartoon, even dedicated an episode to Kanye West. It was a bad time to be Kanye. It was hard to defend him as a die-hart fan, especially in circles where I intersected with White America. It seemed like everyone had abandoned Kanye West, except for his true friends and fans.
There was one moment that seemed to apex the entire situation both from the Bush statement to the Taylor Swift mishap. It was his appearance on the Jay Leno Show with Jay-Z to promote the Run This Town single (Blueprint III), a few days later, when Leno in an interview gave Kanye the opportunity, that no other show, radio station, or network would give to get both sides of the story. No one wanted to touch Kanye West with a ten foot pole for fear of the repercussions, but Jay Leno gave him the opportunity. Kanye rose to the occasion and perfectly explained what happened from his view. Only, one question by Leno gave him the opportunity to stop defending his statements, and finally reflect on the entire situation. You see, Kanye was grieving the recent loss of his mother, so when Leno dropped the question, I knew your Mom before she passed away, she was a great woman, and was always there to help you during all your success. How do you think she would've felt about your statement? And in his response, Kanye became human again, dropped the facade, defense, and his legitimate valid truth, and said his peace.
Too Late? You Can't Take Back Greatness...
Now, it was too late, even with the success of Jay-Z's Blueprint 3, which ultimately marks a distinct new era in Hip Hop, the After School Generation. Kanye West, the symbol, the voice, the champion, had gone too far in the eyes of White America and Popular Media. President Barack Obama called Kanye, “a jackass,” and sent a powerful sound bit through the media, which did two things, distanced the first Black US President from being a symbol of “Blackness,” to White America (a two edge sword), and publicly made Kanye West a trivial professional agitator on the highest level, not to be taken seriously. Again, the ordinary Hip Hop Artist would have folded under this level of criticism, but the opposite affect occurred for Mr. West. For the second time in history, a sitting President had to address the actions of Kanye West, who still as an ordinary 'extraordinary' American citizen, seemed to cause White America and the major established powers to respond. Kanye West, the Icon, was now, Infamous...
To Be Continued... For the rest of the double article, including sections Mr. Infamous and A Message to Kanye 2020, email Mr. Cowan Amaye-Obu at WestOaklandImports@gmail.com. Article written by Cowan Amaye-Obu, All rights reserved to West Oakland Imports Publishers 2016
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