If Kanye West was white, people wouldn’t hate him half as much as they do.
The extreme ego and confidence that Mr. West expresses has previously been the province of rock stars. Yeah, hip-hop is typically brash, but most of Kanye’s career has been spent taking “brash” to an entirely new level. Despite his tendency towards verbal diarrhea and his (seemingly) unhinged personality (random Twitter posts, Taylor-gate) I give him props because a) he knows how to get people talking (I stand firm that the Swift situation at last year’s VMAs was staged…I know I’ve said it a million times and I’ll get off of it now), and b) he backs up his antics with excellent music. Most rappers (these days) have no sense of artistic commitment to their craft, no desire to make a statement. While I think getting paid is a happy consequence, Kanye’s one of the few current emcees who I feel still would be making music even if he didn’t get rich and famous because of it.
OK, I lied about not bringing up Taylor-gate again? Lots of folks in the mainstream press are saying this is a “comeback” song and video for Kanye, as though sales of his music are going to suffer because of his antics. First off, if “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” didn’t kill his career, then nothing will. Secondly, how many Kanye fans give a flying fuck about Taylor Swift? Seriously.
Which brings me to his latest mini-video for “Power”. I have to admit, I don’t get it. Totally not sure what the theme is, but also totally on board with the song. Typical Kanye production (which is to say that the beat is sick), typical Kanye swagger, and I can’t wait for the album-whatever the hell it’s called.