Personally, I’ve never really been able to work out what Kanye is all about. I guess that’s the point though. All I can really be certain about is that I love the sound of his hip-hop, soulful, sometimes whiney music, but I disagree profusely with the content of a lot of his lyrics and what they appear to symbolise. The controversial nature of Kanye’s new album is nothing new. From the first minute of Yeezus (which is a rather interesting choice of title…) Kanye is boasting about wanting to “get this b*tch shaking like Parkinsons,” which seems to be a portent for a certain ‘un-PC’ tone which pervades the rest of the album.
At points during Yeezus, Kanye appears almost heroic, telling the powers that be to “fuck you and your Hampton house”, criticising the rich and powerful and using ‘Black Skinhead’ to hit out at aversion to interracial relations. Yet just a few songs earlier in ‘I Am A God’, we find him up on his pedestal rejecting all criticism he has ever received and raving about himself in no uncertain terms as to say he is the best in the biz and wants his croissants ASAP. Whatever Kanye’s intentions are, for me his seemingly justified rant in ‘Black Skinhead’ is only dampened by excessively aggressive use of lyrics such as “fuck up your whore after noon shit.” I mean – seriously?! For me, someone who can create such intricate and innovative music should be able to create lyrics with a little more weight. But then again I guess that’s part of Kayne’s ‘charm’.
I find more hope in ‘Blood On The Leaves’. The Nina Simone sample Kanye is using comes from her cover of Billie Holiday’s ‘Strange Fruit’, which highlights the USA’s horrific racist lynching past. Using this sample and rapping over it about materialism, drugs and groupies is interesting to say the least. Whether intentionally or not, Kanye creates a brilliant contrast between the height of political, racial comment and the trivial nature of the music industry and society today.
I would like to think that Kanye is also being clever with his misogynistic lyrics and shockingly sexually assaulting content, but somehow I get the feeling that’s not what he’s aiming for. In a cultural generation where watching aggressive porn is seemingly the norm, is it completely justifiable that Kanye boasts about putting “my fist in her like a civil rights sign” as if this woman is a kind of trophy?
Again, Kanye’s apparent attitude towards sex and women is nothing new in Yeezus. In fact, his borderline sexism is nothing new for the entire commercial hip -hop, new wave music industry.
His constant use of “pussy” and other degrading lyrics is not only tiresome but unfortunately presents us with the impression that the use of such words is completely acceptable. While Kanye stating that all he “needs is sweet and sour sauce” when involved in sexual relations with an Asian woman may seem slightly comedic, witty even, for some reason I’m not 100% sure that women of Asian decent would particularly agree. But of course this is all defensible by saying ‘Oh – that’s just Kanye, that’s just the way he is’.
It seems to me that Kanye raps in relation to whatever he feels in that moment, which possibly makes his music more ‘real’, but are we seriously meant to take his play on words: “Yeezus” for example, as something ‘real’ and relatable? People might say Kanye can say whatever he wants, he’s controversial, he’s just expressing himself. Agree or disagree, I’m sure Kanye will always be hailed as a musical genius and people will use his lyrics in a way which aren’t relevant to their own lives.
But when expression becomes offensive it’s not just about the artist, it’s about how their fans use their music and lyrics.
“Personally, I’ve never really been able to work out what Kanye is all about.”
“I disagree profusely with the content of a lot of his lyrics and what they appear to symbolise.”
– this is like watching a film but hating all of the actors, why are you pretending to like his music, it doesn’t put you in a better position to slate Kanye.
“For me, someone who can create such intricate and innovative music should be able to create lyrics with a little more weight” – he’s done that already and now he is writing stuff like this to cause a stir so student publications and the Daily Mail get all upset.
“In a cultural generation where watching aggressive porn is seemingly the norm” – remember who his fiance is.
“Again, Kanye’s apparent attitude towards sex and women is nothing new in Yeezus. In fact, his borderline sexism is nothing new for the entire commercial hip -hop, new wave music industry.” – Commercial hip-hop ‘new wave’ music is the least sexist it’s ever been.
“are we seriously meant to take his play on words: “Yeezus” for example, as something ‘real’ and relatable?” – no, that’s the whole point.
“But when expression becomes offensive it’s not just about the artist, it’s about how their fans use their music and lyrics.” – I heard ‘Black Skinhead’ used on a trail for a BBC period drama, I think they should have an article written.