*As always, everything written is my opinion. I am not trying to change your opinion on any music or people that I mention. I don’t want to make this a political issue either.*
I’ve gone back and forth about even doing this review. One of the reasons is because I don’t want to give Kanye West anymore publicity, negative or positive. But, everything that has been going on with him or because of him should be talked about; not just for the music aspect. Everyday people mental health issues, celebrity mental health issues, issues in the African American culture/ community, etc… should continue to be discussed.
Kanye West’s Drama Summarized
This passage from an article on Complex (one of my favorite sources) describes everything perfectly…
In the past week, Kanye West fans have felt a whirlwind of emotions. He tweeted a photo of himself wearing a MAGA hat, a separate photo of one autographed by Trump himself, shared album release dates for like 20 different artists, and talked about seemingly whatever popped up into his head at any given moment. You might find yourself either trying to defend his behavior, rationalizing the things he’s saying, shutting him off completely, or just not giving a fuck. However, for most fans, the emotion most likely felt in the wake of Kanye’s return to the public eye is disappointment.
For the rest of the article, click here < https://www.complex.com/music/2018/05/kanye-west-tmz-van-lathan-interview >
The first stint with Kanye, where he sported a MAGA (Make America Great Hat), supporting our current president, of course made me feel some type of way, not as a music fan, or even because of a particular political party, but as an African American woman, and supporter of human rights. Kanye, of all people, should understand why any of us would be upset about this. For someone who has rapped, alone & with others, about how difficult it is to be an African American, he should get it.
And when it comes to his little “Slavery was a choice” outburst at TMZ headquarters where Van Lathan set him straight, that did it for me and a lot of people. He did try to explain himself on Twitter but the damage was already done. And something Van said, still stands out… He said that unlike Kanye and his celebrity, many of us don’t have the luxury to feel the way he does when it comes to what’s happening in the African American community, because of his “celebrity”.
I will end with this, the thing that I felt the most was when he used his mental illness (bi-polar diagnosis) as an excuse for his outburst. I do understand that having that does mess with your head but to use that as an excuse because you see that your fans and some of your peers are no longer supporting you. There are so many levels to this drama, but at the end of the day, Kanye needs to take responsibility for his actions, as a 40 year old man, and understand that the things that he says and does, effects a lot of people, especially those in his own community. It’s his life and career, so if this is how he feels then he needs to own it and not make anymore excuses for it.
Music Reviews… Solo Ye & Collab with Kid Cudi Kids See Ghosts
This part is going to be pretty short. When it comes to Ye’s solo project with the title ‘I hate being bi-polar, it’s awesome’, I am still trying to figure out exactly what he was trying to accomplish. He had already scrapped a whole other album to replace to this one, that deals more with his mental illness. The only song that I actually like and can listen to without cringing, pretty much, is “Ghost Town”; the Kid Cudi feature definitely saving the day.
Take a listen to “Ghost Town” below…
Now, when I initially heard that he was doing a collab album with Kid Cudi, of course I was excited. I wasn’t looking for a Kanye West redemption album but just hearing new music from Cudi. And after listening to the album a couple of times, that didn’t change. Hearing Cudi’s voice is always an awesome listening experience but that’s it. I can’t give you a favorite song, or moment; so it won’t be added to my library and I probably won’t be listening to it anytime soon.
Final Thoughts!
I feel like this has been happening a lot lately, many of my old favorite musicians start to show their true colors and I’m no longer a fan or supporter. With Kanye, it’s crazy because I have been a fan since “Through the Wire” and when he opened up for Usher on his Confessions Tour, where he performed his new record out at the time, College Dropout. He did kind of lose me with Yeezus but Life of Pablo brought me back in a bit. As a fan, I had gotten used to his craziness, seeing it as creative genius, but now it has more real world applications, and it’s not good at all.
If you want to follow Kanye, be my guest…
Official: www.kanyewest.com
Twitter & Instagram @kanywest
You can follow Kid Cudi, though 🙂
Official: www.kidcudi.com
Twitter & Instagram @kidcudi
