the problem with mr. west
I do not like Kanye West. I don't think I'm alone in that opinion either. Love him or hate him, everybody still talks about Kanye West (and his wife Kim Kardashian). Of course, as you probably know, West will be heading up the Pyramid Stage at this year’s Glastonbury, which came with mixed, but mostly negative views.
When Kanye West came out with Through The Wire in 2004, there was nothing but praise for him. And that continued with the release of his debut album, The College Dropout, which entered the charts at number 2 in the US Billboard 200. Mojo gave it 4/5 stars, whilst Pitchfork’s Rob Mitchum said it is a “flawed, overlong, hypocritical, egotistical, and altogether terrific album”. We were witnessing the birth of an international star. But what did I know, I was twelve.
I remember loving the music of Kanye West - All Falls Down is still one of my favourite songs. But then again, I haven’t listened to much of what he’s been up to these days. I still enjoy tracks from Late Registration and Graduation, but then something happened, not to him, to me. I grew up. Now, I’m not saying that I became more mature, I just became more aware.
A lot of conversations in reference to Kanye West tends to be pretty negative, talking about his personality rather than his music. One of the interesting points people make with regards to West is that they liked his music in the early years, but they're not much of a fan of his now.
I have the same problem - and it comes from the negative viewpoint I have of West as a person rather than the music he’s been producing, to the point where I can’t actually comment on his musical progression as I stopped caring.
I stopped caring because I became aware of his personality. Kanye West hasn’t changed. I just didn’t know what kind of a person he is. And I think that’s the case for many people my age who don’t like him. My first impression of Kanye West: "The Personality" came from the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards when West infamously stormed the stage when Taylor Swift won the award for Best Female Video. I wasn’t a fan of Swift, but I thought it was tactless from West.
“flawed, overlong, hypocritical, egotistical, and altogether terrific...”
But that wasn’t the first time Kanye West had made a show of things when his opinion differed from those of others. For those who are older than me, probably remember that at the 2004 American Music Awards, West left the auditorium after losing out to Gretchen Wilson for Best New Artist. In 2006, he charged the stage when his video for Touch the Sky didn’t win at the MTV Europe Music Awards and the list goes on.
People might not like the fact that Kanye West is at Glastonbury, but I wonder if it's about his music or in fact him. I didn’t know about his antics back then, but had I known, I wonder if I would have still liked his music.
Ultimately, the problem with Kanye West is us.