To say that Kanye West is one of the most polarizing figures in the music industry would be a massive understatement. While he is one of the best selling artists in the 21st century that doesn’t mean he’s universally loved. I believe at times this is intentional for marketing his brand and also just a man who says whatever he wants even if it not part of popular opinion.
He stole the mic from Taylor Swift at the MTV award show, said George Bush doesn’t care about black people, I could really write a whole blog about the baffling things he has said, but I’m not here to talk about that side of Kanye I’d rather talk about the artist whose been relevant in music since he dropped his iconic album the College drop out in 2004.
The man has tied with The Beatles and Eminem for 8 straight number 1 albums. The man is an icon, most of his releases are seen as critical darlings, and as the ones that are not are usually brought up later as being terrific such as 808’s & Heartbreak; an album that he primarily sings on using heavy auto-tune and 808’s drums. The album was inspired heavily by the sudden death of his mother and break-up of his long-time girlfriend Alexis Phifer. Prior to this album he had just been unofficially crowned the king of Hip Hop after outselling rival Hip Hop artist 50 Cent.
While we may only look at the crazy things he says. He also makes ground breaking decisions that alter pop culture. Nothing had come out like it before and it featured popular artists at the time like Lil Wayne and Jeezy showing that big artists at the time were willing to do something different. This album also featured a little known artist named Kid Cudi who would become a huge player in the music scene the next year after releasing his debut album under Kanye’s label. Kid Cudi would become popular for covering topics such as depression, drug use and women troubles and most importantly incorporating singing as well as rapping. This would as well pave the way for possibly the biggest artist of my generation, Drake. Someone who incorporates rap, singing and multi-genre blending into his music and was able to become very popular due to albums like 808’s and Heartbreak.
Whenever I talk to someone about Kanye West they usually are quick to point out the negative sides of his character though they are not usually familiar with his music or know one or two songs. I believe celebrities are stigmatized based on what they say and do that does not always regard their career which I believe takes away your experience to enjoy art.