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what exactly is impressive about kanye west vs every other pop "artist"? does anyone have any examples?

jriddycuz 17y ago
He's probably the only male in the hip-hop world that makes music with a lot of personal, emotional content. Also he has a pretty good ear for hooks, and is widely regarded as a good producer. Not a big fan myself, but I think that's basically why he's well liked. Then again, maybe it's the shutter shades.
- zoba 17y ago
  I think Eminem covers a lot of his own, personal issues. Eminem does hooks well too...
  - jriddycuz 17y ago
    Perhaps I shouldn't have said "only". But Eminem presents himself as a gangsta, and while he does cover a lot of his own issues, he doesn't strike me as particularly introspective. I'm not necessarily preferring one guy over the other here--I'd much rather listen to OutKast or Mos Def than either Eminem or Kanye--but I think Kanye's merger of the traditional content of a lot of singer-songwriters with hip-hop is what makes him stand out.
ebun 17y ago
I hated his latest album (808 and Heartbreak) and the one prior to that (Graduation) was mediocre, minus a hit or 2. But if you listen to his first two albums, "The College Dropout" and "Late Registration", and compare it to what was being released at the time, you find something completely different. In addition to the new sound (summary: sped up soul samples), he came with emotion as well as acceptance of his being a upper/middle-class guy (his mom was a college professor) while others would try to masquerade as gangsters. Basically, what he did was bring relevant hip-hop to the mainstream, showing suburban kids, college students and yuppies that you can relate to rap music without having to act like someone else.
mrtron 17y ago
He is a self-made pop artist. He was a producer, and then wrote, performed and produced his own album. Creating pop rap is not particularly common - and he leads the genre with creativity that everyone follows for a few years after.

He's probably the only male in the hip-hop world that makes music with a lot of personal, emotional content. Also he has a pretty good ear for hooks, and is widely regarded as a good producer. Not a big fan myself, but I think that's basically why he's well liked. Then again, maybe it's the shutter shades.

zoba 17y ago
I think Eminem covers a lot of his own, personal issues. Eminem does hooks well too...
- jriddycuz 17y ago
  Perhaps I shouldn't have said "only". But Eminem presents himself as a gangsta, and while he does cover a lot of his own issues, he doesn't strike me as particularly introspective. I'm not necessarily preferring one guy over the other here--I'd much rather listen to OutKast or Mos Def than either Eminem or Kanye--but I think Kanye's merger of the traditional content of a lot of singer-songwriters with hip-hop is what makes him stand out.

ebun 17y ago

I hated his latest album (808 and Heartbreak) and the one prior to that (Graduation) was mediocre, minus a hit or 2. But if you listen to his first two albums, "The College Dropout" and "Late Registration", and compare it to what was being released at the time, you find something completely different. In addition to the new sound (summary: sped up soul samples), he came with emotion as well as acceptance of his being a upper/middle-class guy (his mom was a college professor) while others would try to masquerade as gangsters. Basically, what he did was bring relevant hip-hop to the mainstream, showing suburban kids, college students and yuppies that you can relate to rap music without having to act like someone else.

mrtron 17y ago

He is a self-made pop artist. He was a producer, and then wrote, performed and produced his own album. Creating pop rap is not particularly common - and he leads the genre with creativity that everyone follows for a few years after.