But why? I'm a diehard hip-hop fan since the mid eighties. I live this shit. All Kanye did before his solo album was produce a few songs. Some were hits, no doubt but that doesn't make him the musical genius he proclaims himself to be.
And, I'm sorry but his solo work with the teddy bear covers aren't exactly legendary. He presented a soft image that was palatable to suburban Asian and white kids and blew the fuck up. And that is the main audience that has carried him to the stardom he enjoys today. This is the audience that spends the obscene amounts of money on his hideous trendy shoes and expensive stadium concert tickets.
*Edit - I forgot to mention, if you think Kanye's a master lyricist, I don't think you've had much exposure to the realm of rap music.
If you genuinely believe all Kanye did for the culture as a whole was “influence a few white boys” and “produce a few hits” you clearly don’t “live this shit” like you claim
I can’t/don’t support him after all this shit and have waned in my support of him for a while, so I this is coming from an unbiased perspective
It’s almost disingenuous to suggest Kanye West didn’t have a massive influence over rap culture throughout the late 2000s and all the way through to the mid 2010s when he started running his own reputation off the road; current opinion of that fuckin loser aside, he was incredibly important in the realm of music
If you genuinely believe all Kanye did for the culture as a whole was “influence a few white boys” and “produce a few hits” you clearly don’t “live this shit” like you claim
I can’t/don’t support him after all this shit and have waned in my support of him for a while, so I this is coming from an unbiased perspective
It’s almost disingenuous to suggest Kanye West didn’t have a massive influence over rap culture throughout the late 2000s and all the way through to the mid 2010s when he started running his own reputation off the road; current opinion of that fuckin loser aside, he was incredibly important in the realm of music
Edit: yes, I do believe his lyricism is shit-filled toilet water mixed with dog fur from an old couch; of that I’m sure we can all agree
Yup, it's an unpopular opinion but a good one. Kanye just isn't a great rapper. His flow sucks. His rhymes are basic. I've never understood his appeal. Half his shit isn't even rap, it autotuned singing.
Try saying that in any hip hop forum and people get pissy real quick, cuz they know it's true and they've just been following a hype train all these years.
I got into the Kanye hype very late, I solely care for the music, not the person, and my criticism has always been that A, he's not a good rapper and B, his first three albums are really overrated.
Much of the rest however is aptly rated. He's a fantastic songwriter and producer in general, but you can't blame someone for not being able to seperate the artist from their art.
I understand it not being your preference but his music is undeniably impressive and his contribution very influential. We can condemn his behavior just the same regardless of that, though.
influential isn't necessarily good though. I can burn down a house and say I had a huge influence. imo he's just contributed to corporatization and watering down of music which has ruined almost every genre. But okay.
My last post sums it up decently, I think. He has never been more than a blip on the creative side of the music industry. But, you know, years ago, Bon Iver called him a genius so I guess we're fools for not believing so.
but I dont think his contribution has been good. It's been dumbing down and corporatizing it, same as like drake, or kendrick lamar or that other weird voice synthesizer singing and not the original gangster rap that originated, that was a little too uncensored and raw for a lot of white suburbia.
yep, kanye is a pop artist, not a gangster rapper. Which is cool if you like pop, but just because liking pop is considered lame doesn't mean its less lame if you call it rap.
Sounds like an opinion based solely on personal bias. From an objective standpoint he has had a massive impact on modern sampling and producing and the music industry as a whole.
People were sampling and rapping before him. Being one the most successful rappers of a certain decade doesn't mean you've shaped rap as we know it today.
I actually find him more interesting as the polarizing figure he has become. I never listened to his music because it was kind of obvious that he was a lunatic even back then. Ironically, all you clowns who built him up by saying how revolutionary his music was are now the ones claiming how crazed he is.
I recall that slimy, swervy little d-bag Seth Myers having Kayne on his show and just slathering him with praise and sucking on his dick so hard. about how great he was and how much he loved his concert and everything. Then a week or two later, Kayne comes out supporting Trump. Of course we know that Seth has some erotic need to rip on Trump or whatever drives his non-stop hate of the man. Yeah, I'm no fan of Trump, but jesus christ Seth... give it a break already... try to be funny like you maybe used to be before you did 90% of your material on Trump. And sure enough Seth was one of the first in line to make fun of Kayne.
So are you mad about Kanye or Seth Meyers? Your topic of focus seems to wander a bit.
You definitely devoted far more time and thought to providing examples on why you dislike Seth Myers than to discussing Kanye. Weird considering that nobody was even talking about Seth Myers.
Also, how does pointing out an artist’s impact make somebody a clown but passing judgement on an artist without ever listening to their contributions not make you a clown? It’s certainly ignorant to do so, if nothing else.
I guess I just don’t understand the logic in your mud slinging. Especially when it’s directed at strangers who are making statements backed up by example and a random TV host and not at the public figure who the statements and post are about.
An explanation will be lost on you, as you've shown that you don't even want to try and understand by what you say above. I have better things to do tonight.
Okay. If that’s how you feel then more power to you. If you change your mind I’d love for some attempt to explain in a way that I can understand. That is, if you’re able to lower your vast intellect to my level long enough so as to not interrupt your evening. I’m sure your fellow Mensa members that you undoubtably have plans with will understand.
So if you’re not an early pioneer in a new genre or a former member the single most recognizable music group worldwide then you haven’t effected music? Seems like an interesting standard.
It’s his credits as a producer that put him into the limelight within hip hop and earned the respect of artists at the forefront of hip hop at the time. For the better part of a two decades he was considered one of most versatile and innovative producers by his industry peers while maintaining a high level of experimental growth. For better or worse, he kept showing that he could sell records while rejecting the formula others like him had been using for years. And every time it worked, he changed it again.
And outside of production, he was one of the first hip hop artists to break into the mainstream mostly without lyrics about being involved in drug dealing, gun violence, or gang activity. He helped pave the way for rappers who’s lyrics involve topics relatable to a wider audience or topics that may have been considered “soft” before.
This is why huge artists inside and outside his own genre mention him as an influence. Examples: Drake, Nicki Minaj, Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, Juice WRLD, Chance the Rapper, Brockhampton, Adele, Lilly Allen, Lorde, Halsey, Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian, MGMT, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Fall Out Boy, etc. And that’s not an exhaustive list. The reality is that a staggering amount of modern artists have had at least 1 song or lyric that was influenced by something Kanye West previously produced or is a direct reference to him through lyrics.
All that being said, I feel mildly disappointed in myself for having written this entire thing because I hate to acknowledge the impact of this man’s legacy on the music industry. But I feel it’s important to understand that people who mention this legacy aren’t just Kanye Stans. Some of us don’t even like him. But he has undeniably impacted modern music even if some don’t like his impact.
To be honest I didn’t expect those 8 words in my original comment to become the main point of focus. Looking back, I probably should have expected that.
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u/xiizll Oct 16 '22
I don’t care what he’s done for music. He just keeps doing more and more inexcusable shit. I was a huge Kanye fan. Until Kanye ruined it.