Wake Up Mr. West

I miss the old Kanye. Due to his 8-Mile style flip of taking public criticisms and embracing them on the track ‘I Love Kanye’, it’s become somewhat of a meme to reminisce about the soul-sampling producer-turned-rapper’s noughties success that brought the ‘higher education’ trilogy of albums that so many, including myself, bumped on a daily basis and consider his best work. But it’s true, I really miss the old Kanye. I already know what you’re thinking: “oh another Kanye blog about how he ‘changed man’, how original”. Perhaps, yes, this is a subject that has been touched upon a fair amount. But, like West’s long-time collaborator and near-family member Jay-Z, I seem to have reached my moment of clarity.

The first rap album I ever bought was Graduation. Being the youngest of three boys, my brothers introduced me to the works of Dr. Dre and Eminem at arguably too young of an age, but also awoke me to Mr. West through tracks such as ‘Heard ‘Em Say’, ‘Jesus Walks’ and ‘Touch The Sky’; there was less description of severing body parts and spitting in onion rings and more Evel Knievel suits and cruising through Chicago. The music had charm and was for everyone; the chopping and flipping of soul samples appeased the old crowd, whilst the youngsters had someone revolutionising the rap game, exhibited in his collaborative mix of hip-hop legends like Nas and Common to one of the best features in rap history from the fresh blood of Lupe Fiasco. Kanye was taking the genre by storm and nothing was stopping him; merely days after the release of his incredible sophomore album Late Registration, he infamously claimed on live television that George Bush doesn’t care about black people. For some this would be a career-ending moment, but not Kanye. Many were shocked at both the message and the boldness of his actions, but in hindsight it potentially had more of an effect on Kanye than we first anticipated; how much controversy could he get away with that still results in good publicity?

The son of a former Black Panther and English Professor, it seemed perhaps destined for Kanye to use his platform to make a stand for the black community. From his debut album The College Dropout, he rapped about police brutality, black activism and violence in his hometown Chicago and carried this all through his future career. This isn’t to say that these themes are the be-all and end-all of Kanye’s raps; he constantly produced party jams, arena blockbusters and radio-friendly pop throughout his career that addressed romance, success and struggles with fame. He managed to be the people’s rapper whilst also being the biggest popstar on the planet. He was both accessible and glorified, continuously adored and detested as he grew stronger and more notable in both his musical achievements and status. The Grammys Kanye has won are astounding, winning rap album of the year for four of his first five albums with at least one of best rap performance, song or collaboration of the year to go with it; he even beat his team project Watch The Throne with Jay-Z with his own solo album. Yet since 2014, he has only been nominated, most of which only seem to be a sympathy vote for one of the genre’s most influential names.

On reflection, the humour that we found in Kanye’s early arrogance may have been a red flag of what was to come, yet when he came to fruition as a producer he came across as a man confident to achieve every challenge he set for himself. Depicting himself as Jesus may have been a tad controversial, although nevertheless a daring statement to make that could not be challenged by other rappers. He went from selling beats for a hundred or so to a hundred thousand or so in months. He was producing for the biggest names in the game and, when that wasn’t enough, he wanted to transform into a rapper and succeeded in the face of adversity. It seems perhaps natural that some of his grievances about certain awards he was overlooked for hurt him in the way it did, however there came a point where Kanye needed the limelight more than the music. Crashing stages became the norm alongside conspiracy theories, long rants at his shows and a cringeworthy social media presence overtook Kanye’s priorities as he looked for new ways to shock people.

The characteristics that made Kanye became less about pleasing his fans and more himself. So much of the material he has produced recently has been related to his actions and less on his views - the constant jibes at Taylor Swift, the ongoing feud with Nike, the constant drivel on Twitter that seem like the ramblings of a mad man - this isn’t why I fell for the artist formerly known as Kanye West. The changing of his name to ‘Ye’ signals the final transformation of the man, completely devoid of the what made him special and endearing to the public. Ye toys with his supporters like a bully with a microscope, playing a game that pushes how far his ‘stans’ will go to defend him as he makes more and more outlandish remarks for just a second longer in the headlines. The controversies and profile-raisers early in his career could at least be argued that they were driven by a determination to succeed, but the reality has come now that this is a man who will do anything it takes to stay relevant.

Each album comes with a different PR antic to promote the project, which have become increasingly petty and ignorant as time goes on; the pointed finger at President Bush that was an outcry for his own community has ultimately been made redundant as Ye pledges his allegiance to the most detrimental leader his country has seen in generations. Van Lathan’s just remarks on Ye’s insane quote that slavery was a choice summed up the problems surrounding his conservative approach; although Ye may not agree with the racist principles of his words and dedication to Trump, the influence and connotations of his media stunts are inimical to society and particularly youth culture. The ‘poop-diddy-scoop’ fiasco, followed by the dreadful ‘I Love It’ meme tribute, encapsulate the fall from grace Ye has experienced and the penny has dropped on how calamitous both his career and status have become. I could list every cringeworthy controversy and publicity stunt that Ye has done over the years, but frankly it’s just not worth my time and I just don’t care anymore.

This is no longer the story of a champion. The hip-hop God’s dream of the young producer-turned-rapper has dissipated to nothing and entranced a new slave of media attention seeking and controversy that has become so far removed to what made Kanye what he was. All’s fallen down to the point at which Ye is a shadow of his former self, a disconnected man living off the glory of his past, craving one more second that he ain’t insecure. His big brother Jay claims they’re still family, but his long distance relationship he seems to keep with his former prodigy is indicative of how the future will surely become. The prettiest people do the ugliest things for the road to riches and diamond rings and this perhaps was prophetic in the case of Kanye; all of the lights of his legacy have dimmed to and are now gone. A celebration of one of the most revolutionary artists of our time has become a dark, twisted fantasy that his fans beg to be stopped. In my last call to my former hero I plead: that’s enough Mr. West, no more today.