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THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHREYER HONORS COLLEGE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION ARTS & SCIENCES “I THOUGHT ABOUT KILLING YOU”: CONSIDERING THE UTILITY OF RHETORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL CRITICAL APPROACHES TO KANYE WEST’S YE CORY N. STEINLE SPRING 2020 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for baccalaureate degrees in Communication Arts and Sciences and Labor and Employment Relations with honors in Communication Arts and Sciences Reviewed and approved* by the following: Bradford Vivian Professor of Communication Arts & Sciences Thesis Supervisor Lori Bedell Associate Teaching Professor in Communication Arts & Sciences Honors Adviser * Signatures are on file in the Schreyer Honors College. i ABSTRACT This paper examines the merits of intrinsic and extrinsic critical approaches to hip-hop artifacts. To do so, I provide both a neo-Aristotelian and biographical criticism of three songs from ye (2018) by Kanye West. Chapters 1 & 2 consider Roland Barthes’ The Death of the Author and other landmark papers in rhetorical and literary theory to develop an intrinsic and extrinsic approach to criticizing ye (2018), evident in Tables 1 & 2. Chapter 3 provides the biographical antecedents of West’s life prior to the release of ye (2018). Chapters 4, 5, & 6 supply intrinsic (neo-Aristotelian) and extrinsic (biographical) critiques of the selected artifacts. Each of these chapters aims to address the concerns of one of three guiding questions: which critical approaches prove most useful to the hip-hop consumer listening to this song? How can and should the listener construct meaning? Are there any improper ways to critique and interpret this song? Chapter 7 discusses the variance in each mode of critical analysis from Chapters 4, 5, & 6. Finally, Chapter 8 synthesizes and suggests a preferred framework for criticizing and analyzing modern hip-hop music relative to ordinary listeners’ needs and interests. The paper concludes by discussing how the rapid technological enablement of consumers (“readers”) to access the realities in which authors’ artifacts are born out of suggests extrinsic critiques are becoming increasingly more useful than purely intrinsic critiques. Additionally, I argue for a more careful reevaluation of critical cultural approaches in wake of technological advances in the mediums through which artists create and promote their art. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................... v Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................. 6 QUESTION 1: THE USEFUL CRITICAL APPROACH ............................................... 6 QUESTION 2: CONSTRUCTING MEANING .............................................................. 10 QUESTION 3: THE IMPROPER CRITICAL APPROACH .......................................... 19 DEVELOPING AN INTRINSIC CRITICAL APPROACH ........................................... 20 DEVELOPING AN EXTRINSIC APPROACH .............................................................. 24 Chapter 3 THE STORY OF SAINT PABLO .......................................................................... 33 BIOGRAPHICAL ANTECEDENTS TO YE .................................................................. 33 CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE........................................................................... 34 RISE TO FAME ............................................................................................................... 38 LIST OF MAJOR CONTROVERSIES PRIOR TO FALL 2016 .................................... 40 ANTECEDENT CONDITIONS TO YE .......................................................................... 46 Chapter 4 “I THOUGHT ABOUT KILLING YOU” .............................................................. 64 INTRINSIC CRITICISM ................................................................................................. 64 EXTRINSIC CRITICISM ................................................................................................ 75 Chapter 5 “YIKES” .................................................................................................................. 84 INTRINSIC CRITICISM ................................................................................................. 84 EXTRINSIC CRITICISM ................................................................................................ 93 Chapter 6 “ALL MINE” .......................................................................................................... 101 INTRINSIC CRITICISM ................................................................................................. 101 EXTRINSIC CRITICISM ................................................................................................ 110 Chapter 7 DISCUSSION ......................................................................................................... 121 THE MORE USEFUL FORM OF CRITICISM .............................................................. 122 HOW TO CONSTRUCT MEANING FROM THE MUSIC ........................................... 126 IMPROPER WAYS TO CONSIDER THE MUSIC ....................................................... 129 Chapter 8 SUPPORTING FRAMEWORK AND CONCLUSION ........................................ 131 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................... 139 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. West Renames Himself 'Ye' on Twitter .................................................................... 26 Figure 2. West Calls Out Taylor Swift on Twitter Over 'Famous' (2016) Drama ................... 44 Figure 3. Taylor Swift Responds to 'Famous' Drama on Instagram ........................................ 45 Figure 4. Twitter Founder @Jack Welcomes West Back to Twitter ....................................... 50 Figure 5. West Announces His New Book on Twitter, Break the Simulation ......................... 50 Figure 6. West Announces Pusha T's Forthcoming Album Daytona ...................................... 51 Figure 7. West Announces Teyana Taylor's Forthcoming Album K.T.S.E. ............................ 51 Figure 8. West Announces a Collaborative Album with Kid Cudi, Kids See Ghosts .............. 51 Figure 9. West Announces Nas's Forthcoming Album Nasir .................................................. 52 Figure 10. West Announces His Eighth Studio Album ye ....................................................... 52 Figure 11. West Engages in a Tweeting Spree Prior to his Infamous TMZ Interview ............ 54 Figure 12. Donald Trump Thanks West for his Support .......................................................... 57 Figure 13. Kim Kardashian West Asks Kanye to Clarify his Support of Trump .................... 57 Figure 14. John Legend Rebukes "Slavery was a Choice" Comments .................................... 59 Figure 15. West Rebukes his Own Infamous Ego for the First Time Publicly ........................ 79 Figure 16. West Comments on his Pride and Identity ............................................................. 80 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Components of the Intrinsic Critical Approach Evaluating ye (2018) ....................... 23 Table 2. Components of the Extrinsic Critical Approach Evaluating ye (2018) ...................... 28 Table 3. Appropriate Criteria for Critical Cultural Examination of Hip-Hop Artifacts .......... 132 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Long nights and days spent writing this thesis epitomize the polarity and extremity of ye. When I began this project, I thought I understood what it meant to conduct rigorous, academic research. I was wrong. I quickly learned of the difficulty of conducting meaningful research in the humanities, but too its value - and I am thankful for the faculty, staff, and friends who supported me throughout this endeavor. This thesis would not be possibly without the incredible and unending support of my honors advisor and RCL 137H professor, Dr. Lori Bedell. Thank you for challenging me to pursue a topic of genuine interest, and guiding what started as a RCL 137H paper examining Kanye West and Male Emotionality to what became my penultimate academic endeavor. You have had the most tangible and impactful impact on my development as a scholar and professional, and I owe you so incredibly much for inspiring me to never sacrifice myself and my values in the pursuit of a better life. To Dr. Bradford Vivian, thank you for guiding the rhetorical theory justifying my ultimate conclusions in this paper. Your CAS 201H course inspired my interest in rhetorical and literary theory, and I owe you a great many thanks for sending so many readings and challenging me to write an academic thesis grounded in theory. Thank you for enabling me to express my ideas and cultivating my theoretical interests. I thank Dr. Jon Nussbaum for providing feedback on Chapters 1 & 2, and wish him a wonderful retirement from the academy. Thank you, Dr. Kristin Olson, for serving as an initial sounding board during the early stages of this project, and providing a valuable