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Ugh, most people stopped focusing critical attention on Kanye's work because Kendrick gives the public what Kanye promised. No one is upset by Kanye's contradi

Ugh, most people stopped focusing critical attention on Kanye's work because Kendrick gives the public what Kanye promised. No one is upset by Kanye's contradictions. They're upset with his opportunism. Ye rapped on Pusha T's latest that MAGA Hats let him slide past police officers who would otherwise stop him for D.W.B. That's not the flex he thinks it is. You don't invoke historic struggles against oppression selectively and then brag that doing so affords you special treatment. Ye used to rap about working at the Gap and experiencing the indignities of tokenism -- now he's totally fine with fronting for any politicians whatsoever if it gets him access to capital. You don't get to don the aesthetics of a movement that was built on the backs and souls of millions of people working to better align the country's institutions with the dream of equality, only then to turn around and politically endorse all of that movement's sworn enemies because they have "dragon energy." Look, some people are innovators in one historic moment, the product of a special set of forces and a unique upbringing, and then find themselves out of touch with the next historic moment. What worked in the 'aughts doesn't work now. I'm glad Kanye sampled a bunch of old stuff that no one else would have brought to the fore. I appreciate that I'm familiar with both Gil-Scott Heron and King Crimson's catalogues. I appreciate that Otis Redding and Curtis Mayfield are more popular today than they ever would have been without Kanye. I'm even glad Kirk Franklin has yet another tie to popular culture. But that's about as far as it should go.

Slow_Hand 5y ago
I'd add that Kanye's music has been slipping for the last few records. That could also just be my taste, but he's had a few cuts since 2018 that definitely weren't ready for release. I imagine his attentions were focused elsewhere. I mention it as a partial explanation for his diminished critical attention. The idea that Kendrick gives the public what Kanye promised is something I'd never considered. I'd love to hear you unpack that a bit more. Kanye's circumstances have changed and in a lot ways he's no longer the person he once was. He's achieved a great deal, and for better or worse his priorities have shifted. That seems to happen when you become a mega-influential billionaire celebrity artist. I agree that it seems to have put him out of touch with his roots and I can see why that might feel like a betrayal of sorts. In that sense it's understandable to be disappointed in him. I think there's something special to his trajectory and maybe when it's all said and done his legacy won't be one of social change that fostered equality, but one that blew open the door on what a creative individual is capable of doing with THAT much influence. He's not the only billionaire artist, but when it comes to that class of hyper-ambitious creators with these resources he's in a very small minority who have both the influence AND have retained the mindset of a "Capital-A Artist" along the way. I'm curious to see how far he can take it. Maybe his destiny is to explore THAT possibility to it's extreme. Maybe that's his legacy.
- scotuswroteus 5y ago
  Thanks for this. I'd want to think a bit to figure out how where I'd want to start from in unpacking the point about Kendrick. Happy to though, just give me a bit. As for Kanye's ambition, in 2016 he asked Zuck for Medici-level support. (https://www.theverge.com/2016/2/15/10995374/kanye-west-mark-zuckerberg-debt-twitter https://www.theverge.com/2016/2/15/10995374/kanye-west-mark-...) What happened next? We don't know yet, and I'm anxiously awaiting some serious reporting that should come out in the next few years. By 2019, he's deeply involved in coordinating with some nefarious GOP donors, such that his fingerprints are all over the famous phone call between the former president and the Ukranian ambassador that was central to impeachment. (https://time.com/5734601/asap-rocky-impeachment/ https://time.com/5734601/asap-rocky-impeachment/) So it's 2019, we're reading about Sondland name checking the Kardashians in the transcript, and it's at that point that we simply are no longer talking about Kanye' ambitions in terms of art: he's now a political player who is lending his fame to a partisan project and putting on a public show of supporting Trump, which was expressly designed by the President's son-in-law to give the reelection campaign a bump: (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/black-men-drifted-democrats-toward-trump-record-numbers-polls-show-n1246447 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/black-men-drifted-democr...). If the scales hadn't yet fallen from the consuming public's eyes about whether Kanye has any artistic integrity left, 2019 was when we had documented confirmation that he's a pure opportunist. During that stretch, Kanye becomes a billionaire: https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/2020/04/24/kanye-west-is-now-officially-a-billionaireand-he-really-wants-the-world-to-know/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/2020/04/24... If there's any historical legacy, I'd expect it to be more the way we talk about Wagner.

Slow_Hand 5y ago

I'd add that Kanye's music has been slipping for the last few records. That could also just be my taste, but he's had a few cuts since 2018 that definitely weren't ready for release. I imagine his attentions were focused elsewhere. I mention it as a partial explanation for his diminished critical attention. The idea that Kendrick gives the public what Kanye promised is something I'd never considered. I'd love to hear you unpack that a bit more. Kanye's circumstances have changed and in a lot ways he's no longer the person he once was. He's achieved a great deal, and for better or worse his priorities have shifted. That seems to happen when you become a mega-influential billionaire celebrity artist. I agree that it seems to have put him out of touch with his roots and I can see why that might feel like a betrayal of sorts. In that sense it's understandable to be disappointed in him. I think there's something special to his trajectory and maybe when it's all said and done his legacy won't be one of social change that fostered equality, but one that blew open the door on what a creative individual is capable of doing with THAT much influence. He's not the only billionaire artist, but when it comes to that class of hyper-ambitious creators with these resources he's in a very small minority who have both the influence AND have retained the mindset of a "Capital-A Artist" along the way. I'm curious to see how far he can take it. Maybe his destiny is to explore THAT possibility to it's extreme. Maybe that's his legacy.

scotuswroteus 5y ago
Thanks for this. I'd want to think a bit to figure out how where I'd want to start from in unpacking the point about Kendrick. Happy to though, just give me a bit. As for Kanye's ambition, in 2016 he asked Zuck for Medici-level support. (https://www.theverge.com/2016/2/15/10995374/kanye-west-mark-zuckerberg-debt-twitter https://www.theverge.com/2016/2/15/10995374/kanye-west-mark-...) What happened next? We don't know yet, and I'm anxiously awaiting some serious reporting that should come out in the next few years. By 2019, he's deeply involved in coordinating with some nefarious GOP donors, such that his fingerprints are all over the famous phone call between the former president and the Ukranian ambassador that was central to impeachment. (https://time.com/5734601/asap-rocky-impeachment/ https://time.com/5734601/asap-rocky-impeachment/) So it's 2019, we're reading about Sondland name checking the Kardashians in the transcript, and it's at that point that we simply are no longer talking about Kanye' ambitions in terms of art: he's now a political player who is lending his fame to a partisan project and putting on a public show of supporting Trump, which was expressly designed by the President's son-in-law to give the reelection campaign a bump: (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/black-men-drifted-democrats-toward-trump-record-numbers-polls-show-n1246447 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/black-men-drifted-democr...). If the scales hadn't yet fallen from the consuming public's eyes about whether Kanye has any artistic integrity left, 2019 was when we had documented confirmation that he's a pure opportunist. During that stretch, Kanye becomes a billionaire: https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/2020/04/24/kanye-west-is-now-officially-a-billionaireand-he-really-wants-the-world-to-know/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/2020/04/24... If there's any historical legacy, I'd expect it to be more the way we talk about Wagner.