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 songs 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 song 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 Through the Wire 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 "Jesus Walks" 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 All Falls Down, 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: Kanye West] 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, I won'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.