CIU110.4

Liam Lyttle Student # : 1010623 Tutor : David Page

(West, Power : Music Video, 2010) Total Word Count : 4865 Quote Word Count 2700 Word Count : 2165

Intro

Fame has two distinct impacts on Creativity, the initial search for recognition drives the creative spark, and the attainment of fame then garners negative attention, draining the positivity out of the artistry.

Kanye West’s artistic growth is inseparable from his rise to infamy in the mainstream media. His outlandish and controversial statements make himself an easily provoked target for tabloid journalists and while this alienates people outside of his target audience, his loyal fan base of artists and hip-hop heads appreciate his craft enough to identify with his message. “Understanding why Kanye is Kanye first requires understanding what worldwide popularity does to people. To paraphrase an expression, fame crazies, absolute fame crazies absolutely” (Westhoff, 2015)

In order to highlight the different creative influence’s before and after attaining fame we will juxtapose two moments in Kanye’s career; his first album The Collage Dropout and his latest album Saint Pablo. In between these two points are 12 years in the scrutiny of the public eye. I chose this topic because as a massive fan of West, I couldn’t understand the near universal disapproval he receives from people who don’t appreciate his music, and how he has managed to incorporate it into his uniquely creative identity in a self- empowering way.

Major Point 1 – The search for fame, and the cultural barriers therein

To start the essay, it is essential to cover African American culture and Hip-Hop importance in it. “The political struggles of freedom summer and the civil rights movement or the violence of the war resistance and black power movements are … often reduced to a series of gestures, political positions without history or substance, or styles” (Forman, 2002). These strides toward equality were celebrated as the herald of change however in reality the mainstream perception of black America was still one of poverty, deviance and crime.

West was born right before the era of Gangsta Rap. Raised in Chicago, “an environment where one out of twenty-two black males will be killed by violent crimes, where the black high-school dropout rate is as high as 72 percent and where 86 percent of black children grow up in poverty” (Epstein, 1995). While West was from a fortunate family it is important to mention the impact of growing up in a culture where his role models often engaged in crime, either through necessity, addiction, or as a way to further themselves in the “rap game”.

Years of degradation, welfare handouts, institutional racism, and discrimination have created a community where little hope, low self-esteem and frequent failure translate into drugs, teen pregnancy, and gang violence. These are the social, cultural, and economic conditions which have spurred rap’s paradoxical position within American popular culture. (Epstein, 1995)

Whilst being from this environment, West was alienated from his peers in school and then the studio due to his lack of street credibility. He was bullied in high school for “having braces and teeth the size of Chiclets. Even West's year in Nanjing with his mother, a visiting professor, was joke fodder". When he came back he was teased frequently, through it all West maintained a mask of self-assuredness” (Ogunnaike, 2006). Even though he was revered as a producer, having produced 4 on mentor and close friend Jay-Z’s album, The Blueprint, widely regarded as one of the greatest rap albums of all time, his disconnect from gangsta culture made it difficult for him to find a record label. After a deal with Capitol fell through he was rescued by Roc-a-Fella, West later reflected that "I'm sure Dame (Damon Dash, co-founder of Roc-a-Fella) figured, 'if he do a whole album, if his raps is wack at least we can throw Cam('ron) on every and save the album" (Ogunnaike, 2006).

Kanye was met with more cynicism when two weeks into the recording process he broke his jaw in a car crash on the 4 am drive home from the studio. He went on to record with his jaw wired shut, referencing the accident mid-song.

[Over Hook] In the blink of a eye his whole life changed I really apologize for everything right now If you could feel how my face felt If it's unclear at all, man You would know how Mase felt They got my mouth wired shut Thank God I ain't too cool for the safe belt For like… I dunno, the doctor said like six weeks I swear to God, driver two wanna sue Y'know, he had, I had reconstructive surgery on my jaw I got a lawyer for the case, to keep what's in my safe safe I looked in the mirror My dawgs couldn't tell if I… And half my jaw was in the back of my mouth, man I looked like Tom Cruise in Vanilla Sky, it was televised I couldn't believe it There's been an accident like GEICO But I'm still here for y'all right now, man They thought I was burnt up like Pepsi did Michael This what I got to say right here, dawg I must got a angel, ‘cause look how death missed his ass Yeah, turn me up, yeah, uh Unbreakable, what, you thought they'd call me Mr. Glass?

Look back on my life like the Ghost of Christmas Past [Verse 2] Toys "R" Us where I used to spend that Christmas cash What if somebody from the Chi' that was ill got a deal And I still won't grow up, I'm a grown-ass kid On the hottest rap label around? Swear I should be locked up for stupid shit that I did But he wasn't talkin' about coke and birds But I'm a champion, so I turned tragedy to triumph It was more like spoken word Make music that's fire, spit my soul through the wire Except he's really puttin' it down? (West, Through the Wire, 2004) And he explained the story

About how blacks came from glory And what we need to do in the game Good dude, bad night, right place, wrong time

The post traumatic growth West went through after this experience forced him to re- evaluate his understanding of the world and his place in it. The growth that resulted from the trauma was a deeply meaningful and life-affirming psychological improvement. The near-death experience led to a revitalized and uncompromising pursuit of his goals. (Kitson, 2016)

This skepticism was compounded when the album leaked two weeks before its slated release date. West responded by improving it before release “he revised and rewrote songs and refined the production, adding stronger drums, gospel choirs and strings which he paid for out of his own pocket. (Biography.com, 2017)” A process he would repeat on several subsequent releases. This creative genius poured his heart and soul into his debut release. It broke the gangsta- rap mold, with themes including consumerism, racism, higher education and his religious beliefs. On the single "" he rapped:

So here go my single dog, radio needs this " [Verse 2] They say you can rap about anything except for To the hustlers, killers, murderers, drug dealers, even the scrippers Jesus (Jesus walks for them) That means guns, sex, lies, videotape To the victims of welfare feel we livin' in Hell here, hell yeah But if I talk about God my record won't get (Jesus walks for them) played, huh? Now, hear ye, hear ye, want to see Thee more clearly Well if this take away from my spins I know he hear me when my feet get weary Which'll probably take away from my ends Cause we're the almost nearly extinct Then I hope this take away from my sins We rappers is role models: we rap, we don't think And bring the day that I'm dreamin' about I ain't here to argue about his facial features Next time I'm in the club, everybody screamin' Or here to convert atheists into believers out I'm just tryna say the way school need teachers (Jesus walk) The way Kathie Lee needed Regis, that's the way I need Jesus (West, Jesus Walks, 2004)

West managed to be lyrically controversial and in touch with the streets artistically, without having to compromise on his values as a person. In , he touted his beliefs of systemic cultural inequality, and how consumerism effects black people. Kanye’s lyricism always seeks to connect on an personal level his audience, he achieves this through the use of slang terms.

“[Verse 3: ] But I ain't even gon' act holier than thou I say, "Fuck the police," that's how I treat 'em 'Cause fuck it, I went to Jacob with 25 thou We buy our way out of jail, but we can't buy freedom Before I had a house and I'd do it again We'll buy a lot of clothes, but we don't really need 'em ‘Cause I wanna be on 106 & Park, pushin' a Benz Things we buy to cover up what's inside I want to act ballerific like it's all terrific 'Cause they made us hate ourself and love they wealth I got a couple past-due bills, 't get specific That's why shorty's hollerin', "Where the ballers at?" I got a problem with spendin' before I get it Drug dealer buy Jordans, crackhead buy crack We all self-conscious, I'm just the first to admit it” And the white man get paid off of all of that (West, All Falls Down, 2004)

Kanye reflects on his journey throughout his entire discography, but never more intricately than in the 12:40 album outro “Last Call”, after the Jay Z spoken word intro, his bars in the first 2 verses and hooks are of the same quality and content shown in the rest of the album, he takes the track in a different direction, switching to spoken word at 3:55. He leaves the instrumental running for nearly 9 minutes while he explains what happened to him in the process of signing the album covering everything from his move to New York, ghost producing, the initial rejection from Roc-A-Fella, including specific shout outs to people who supported. He finishes the track by stripping the synths out of the track to build tension, leaving only the drums and his voice as he gets to the part where his deal with Capitol falls through then all the instrumentation is taken out of the track, giving the effect of a heart stopping moment, he then asks if the deal with Roc-A-Fella is on the table, and by applying a delay and several other effects and sounds on the word Roc-A-Fella he brings back in the hook of the track to finish off the song.

Now I could let these dream killers kill my self-esteem [Verse 2: Kanye West] Or use my arrogance as the steam to power my dreams Now was Kanye the most overlooked? Yes sir I use it as my gas, so they say that I'm gassed Now is Kanye the most overbooked? Yes sir But without it I'd be last, so I ought to laugh Though the fans want the feeling of A Tribe Called Quest So I don't listen to the suits behind the desk no more But all they got left is this guy called West You niggas wear suits cause you can't dress no more That'll take Freeway, throw him on tracks with Mos Def You can't say shit to Kanye West no more Call him Kwa-li or Kwe-li, I put him on songs with Jay-Z I rocked 20,000 people, I was just on tour, nigga I'm the Gap like Banana Republic and Old Navy, and oooh I'm Kan, the Louis Vuitton Don It come out sweeter than old Sadie Bought my mom a purse, now she Louis Vuitton Mom Nice as Bun-B when I met him at the Source awards I ain't play the hand I was dealt, I changed my cards Girl he had with him - ass coulda won the horse awards I prayed to the skies and I changed my stars And I was almost famous, now everybody love Kanye I went to the malls and I balled too hard I'm almost Raymond "Oh my god, is that a black card?" Some say he arrogant. Can y'all blame him? I turned around and replied, "Why yes It was straight embarrassing how y'all played him But I prefer the term African American Express" Last year shoppin my demo, I was tryin' to shine Brains, power, and muscle, like Dame, Puffy, and Russell Every motherfucker told me that I couldn't rhyme Your boy back on his hustle, you know what I've been up to Killin y'all niggas on that lyrical shit Mayonnaise-colored Benz, I push Miracle Whips (West, Last Call, 2004) The praise he received in the wake of The Collage Dropout further inflated Kanye’s ego. “West received 10 Grammy nominations, winning three awards including Best Rap Song for "Jesus Walks" and Best Rap Album.” (Biography.com, 2017). It became his transcendent moment.

All of the goals he set for himself as a fledgling producer in Chicago years ago have since been achieved, goals that he simply defines as such: "To go gold or platinum," he says, "to have songs that are respected across the board, to have some sort of influence on the culture and to change the sound of music and inspire up-and-coming artists to go against the grain." In West's mind, his mission has already been accomplished: "If I was to say that I hadn't already done all of that, then I'd be on some fake Hollywood bullshit modesty, and that's just plain stupid." (Ogunnaike, 2006)

This was the last time Kanye had relative anonymity before the release of . He was driven to earn the #1 spot with this album after coming so close last time. This album shows a development in Kanye’s artistry, taking his signature blend of diverse production and Hard hitting yet more introspective and self-deprecating Kanye on the vocal, with him reflecting more on his own actions yet still feeling the need to follow the “gangsta rap” mold. “Late Registration’s revolution isn’t just compositional. Four years as an in-demand rap and R&B producer netted Kanye a formidable Rolodex of collaborators, and the album calls in a wide range of them” (Jenkins, 2015), tracks like Gold Digger would raise him to worldwide celebrity status.

“In anyone else’s hands, this suffocating display of the totality of post-MLK black oppression might come across defeatist, but Kanye West’s music is about snatching joy and hope out of the bleakest of circumstances. You can hear more of the same years on in ’ “,” a blast of anti-racist vitriol blown to smithereens by a coda promising to keep fighting, if only out of spite…. Late Registration is a deeply relatable screenshot of a gifted dreamer’s struggle to defy gravity. Small wonder that when a fed-up tech worker’s public display of her resignation went viral a few years back, it was soundtracked by Late Reg’s “Gone.” The fourth verse of the sprightly Otis Redding sampling proper album closer is the Kanye West ethos distilled into just a few words: “I’m ahead of my time, sometimes years out / So the powers

that be won’t let me get my ideas out.” (Jenkins, 2015)

In between his 1st and 7th album Kanye experienced a media scrutiny comparable only to Michael Jackson. He “was already the most polarizing figure in pop music, not only for his never-ending braggadocio, but as his career developed he let the fame turn him into a monster.

His first major public outburst began a “proud history of award show interruptions” storming the stage at the American Music Awards to protest him losing to Gretchen Wilson in the Best New Artist category (Rodriguez, 2009). He then went on to tell the world that George Bush didn’t care about black people during a fund-raiser for victims of Hurricane Katrina in September 2005, 2 days after the release of his second album, Late Registration” (Scaggs, 2006). Shocking the world again, at the 2006 EMAs, Kanye stormed the stage when Justice vs. Simian's "We Are Your Friends" beats "Touch the Sky" for Best Music Video Award: "This video cost a million dollars, fam! I had Pam Anderson! I'm jumping across canyons and shit!" (Barshad, 2010)

He followed this the year after being captured on video backstage at the 2007 VMAs ranting “I don't even get a fuckin' chance. They don't want a fuckin' black man in that position.” after getting shut out in all five categories he's nominated in. West had his most controversial moment at the 2009 VMA Awards where he stormed the stage and interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech with the now infamous line “Yo Taylor, I’m really happy for you, Imm’a let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the greatest video clips of all time”. Whilst undoubtedly narcissistic and self-absorbed, even though he later apologized, and even later retracted the apology, 8 years on this moment remains Kanye’s undoing. He went viral in a way he hadn’t experienced before, "It was almost like wrestling, when the good guy turns bad and the crowd turns on him… Every time his name was mentioned, people booed" (Respers, 2009).

It’s this inability to restrain himself that Kanye prides himself on, he doesn’t believe his outburst or interruptions will “hurt his chances of dragging home a wagon filled with miniature gold-plated phonographs. "Kanye is always opinionated and outspoken” (Ogunnaike, 2006) the VMA’s are simply another day in a lifetime of award shows. The 2007 VMA’s mark the popular public opinion turning against Kanye. “in 2011 he went on another mid-concert rant: "I walk through the hotel and I walk down the street and people look at me... like I'm Hitler" (95-106 CapitolFM, n.d.)

Despite the near constant negative press, he’s seen his label produce hit artist after hit artist in line with his original goal of influencing and inspire his community to go against the grain. He successfully changed the culture and the sound of music in Chicago, without Kanye there would be no Chance the Rapper, Big Sean, or John Legend. He’s been married 3 times, currently to arguably the biggest socialite in the world, has two children and achieved all his wildest dreams. Yet as his celebrity status kept growing, he grew to realize his sphere of influence was incredibly limited.

Kanye has become an entrepreneur off his own narcissism. The constant attention seeking behavior, Jesus complex and dialectical thinking have become his identity. “Kanye seems permanently stuck in the rebellious adolescent phase of “you can’t put me in a box” (Kitson, 2016)

"As a celebrity, as soon as you become a star, as soon as it pops off for you? At that point, you stop growing. As soon as you don't have to wash your own dishes anymore. I was like trying to get somebody to jog for me the other day.” (West, Kanye West Full Interview w/ Funkmaster Flex on Hot97 (11-2-10), 2010)

Major Point 2 – The attainment of fame draining the positivity out of the artistry

The Life of Pablo, TLOP henceforth, is an introspective look at what Kanye has achieved, and at what personal cost. Gospel redemption tracks like Ultralight are juxtaposed with the scandalous Famous and self-loathing FML. In order to maintain lyrical depth and creativity Kanye must continue to bare his soul, warts and all. His enlistment of collaborators broke a personal record with 103 listed in the albums credits. He even broke conventional album practices by changing the track list after the album’s release, not only re-writing several songs such as Wolves “it expanded by “a couple tracks,” which is apparently Yeezy-speak for swelling from 10 to 17. Later that night, it jumped to 18, as he added “Waves,” at the behest of fellow Chi-town deity Chance the Rapper” (Hamilton, 2016) finally finishing at a whopping 20 tracks.

In a lot of ways is a work in its creator’s own current image: combustible, maddening, elusive, brilliant. But it also highlights the relative arbitrariness of the album-as-form, which isn’t the be-all, end-all of recorded music its celebrants often want to believe it is (Hamilton, 2016)

The album still has heavy themes of consumerism, racism, religion that have come to embody Kanye’s music, yet rather than focusing outward on the problems of the greater community, it takes an introspective look into the events of Kanye’s life. In Real Friends Kanye take a vulnerable, confessional tone with minimal production, lyrically, Kanye explores how fame erodes otherwise solid friendships. “Throughout, Kanye questions his own culpability as well as that of his friends: they ask for favors more than ask after him, but he reliably forgets birthdays and is always too busy to call” (Leszkiewicz, 2016). After the betrayal of a family member, Kanye’s trust that the world is good is clearly gone.

“[Verse 3: Kanye West & Ty Dolla $ign] I hate when a nigga text you like, "What's up, fam? Hope you Lookin' for all my real friends good" How many of us? How many of us are real friends You say, "I'm good, I'm great," the next text they ask you for To real friends, 'til the reel end somethin' 'Til the wheels fall off, 'til the wheels don't spin How many? To 3 A.M., callin' What's best for your family, immediate or extended How many real friends? Any argument, the media'll extend it Just to ask you a question I had a cousin that stole my laptop that I was fuckin' bitches on Just to see how you was feelin' Paid that nigga 250 thousand just to get it from him How many? Real friends For the last you was frontin' Huh?” (West, Real Friends, 2016)

If Kanye’s ego is his weakness in public, in the studio he turns it into his greatest strength. On Famous he turned a 9 year old feud with Taylor Swift into the most talked about song in the tabloids, catapulting himself and his album into the limelight. The word “bitch” was purposefully used to antagonize Swift, demanding a response and drawing her into the publicity stunt.

[Verse 1: Kanye West + (Swizz Beatz)] Why? They mad they ain't famous (Goddamn) For all my Southside niggas that know me best They mad they still nameless (Talk that talk, man) I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex Her man in the store tryna try his best Why? I made that bitch famous (Goddamn) But he just can't seem to get Kanye fresh I made that bitch famous But we still hood famous (Goddamn) For all the girls that got dick from Kanye West Yeah we still hood famous (West, Famous, 2016) If you see 'em in the streets give 'em Kanye's best

In Facts, a celebration of Kanye’s Adidas Yeezy Boost line and thinly veiled dis-track of competitor Nike, Kanye analyses his perception by the media (“every time I talk they say I'm too aggressive / I was out here spazzin', now y'all get the message?” (West, Facts, 2016) he understands his own decent into insanity in search of appreciation and recognition.

The nearly titular Saint Pablo was the last track to be added to the album. The 6:12 long epic is one of the bare all moments on the album. The first verse covers his debts, public image, influence and finishes with a reference to The Collage Dropout’s We Don’t Care. For a man that wasn’t supposed to make it past 25, West has achieved more than anyone ever thought he would, leaving him searching for the next barrier to break down.

“The day you wake up and you think you are as good as you can be, you might as well stop because what have you got left to strive for” (Melia, 2015)

Having been at the top of the rap game now for as longer than most, West’s relationship with fame has clearly shaped and molded his career, without the yearly media stunts he probably wouldn’t be as famous as he is, but they have cost him his public integrity and ultimately his privacy. When his wife was tied up and robbed in Paris, West began experiencing nightmares and sleepless nights, before his eventual hospitalization for temporary psychosis. "Seeing Kim close to death did a major number on him, it sent him into a tailspin. He was having nightmares about it and while the experience reportedly prompted introspective rumination on the part of Kardashian, West buried himself in work” (Grow, 2016).

He hit the road for his TLOP tour, continuing to work on designs for his Yeezus fashion line. He'd be up all-night drawing, writing, sketching, or pacing, doing pushups and ranting, he just could not calm down and go to bed. He and Kim were fighting because he was impossible to live with, he hadn't slept in a week and was also having aggressive and terrifying outbursts including smashing his cell phone. Initially he resisted treatment yet eventually the mental exhaustion took its toll, West canceled his upcoming tour dates and was admitted to Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA (Grow, 2016).

Conclusion

The Collage Dropout and The Life of Pablo are two albums cut from the same cloth. Both honest represent their creator at the time of their publication. The frustration West feels in the search of fame and drives his creative passion in The Collage Dropout, yet by the time TLOP is released, West is no longer searching for fame but recognition from his community. West’s early work seeks to change the world, yet once he reached the limits of his sphere of influence, his focus shifted from changing the world to helping himself find redemption. In his own eye’s he is already the greatest of all time, he no longer creates music to prove it, he creates to help him personally work through and explain the issues that the journey to this point caused.

West’s hospitalisation was the culmination of the pressure fame has placed on his mental state. A lifetime under the close watch of the paparazzi has meant his every mistake has been scrutinized in the forefront of the public eye, while his successes receive far less attention as they don’t sell as many tabloids. The unique artist has defined post-modern rap and will continue to challenge the norms of industry and society until he dies, no amount of bad press will stop him speaking his mind, both on the track and off it.

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