FYI, word out there is that Kayne and TSwift might be teaming up for a musical collaboration. Guess she is willing to bury the hatchet and recognizes some genuine legit musicality in Kanye. Would you think less of her if she teamed up with him??
PG. Maybe you like jazz or a certain performer who performs jazz. I don’t like jazz. But that doesn’t mean that I question why you like him when I don’t. Jazz is boring and uninteresting to me. But if it’s selling and people are going to see it and listing it among their favorites then I won’t deny the popularity of it.
It’s really OK to not understand what someone else likes and you don’t. But give the “likers” the credit for liking something without berating it.
first producer of the first hip-hop album by a female rapper to debut at the top of the U.S. Billboard 200 chart in its first week of release
-his first album The College Dropout received near-universal critical acclaim from contemporary music critics, was voted the top album of the year by two major music publications, and has consistently been ranked among the great hip-hop works and debut albums by artists. it went triple platinum in the US, got 10 Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year, and Best Rap Album (which it received).
his first six solo studio albums all went platinum
-He had five number one albums in a row
-He's won 21 Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artists of all-time
-In its 2012 list of "500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Rolling Stone included three of West's albums—The College Dropout at number 298,[238] Late Registration at number 118,[239] and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy at number 353.[240]
Billboard ranked Kanye West No. 3 on their list of Top 10 Producers of the Decade.
From Wikepedia:
And I find it really interesting he listens to classic rock and folk like Dylan country legend Johnny Cash and not to mention touring with U2 and singing with Paul McCartney.
Thanks, mathmom, for doing what I am too lazy to do. I was just going to generically say that he reshaped the hiphop genre and wants to do the same in fashion and other industry. I only know as much about him as I do because my ds2 thinks he is a misunderstood genius so I have spent some time, at ds’s request, learning about him. I certainly don’t expect others to put forth that much effort, but, yeah, I think a little effort to really understand his effect would be good before saying he has no effect. But, really, I’m not trying to change anyone’s mind. I’m not here trying to create Kanye fans, but I’ll stand up for him when I think people are wrong.
Mathmom and YDS, I do appreciate your input. I, too, have learned a lot about musical artists from my kiddos and try to keep an open mind. But when it comes to Kanye…I can’t get over him marrying KK. No amount of musical genius will ever counter that move.
And yet, they seem to be in a very loving and committed relationship. I’m no fan of hers, for sure, but it’s working for them, so I’m not going to judge.
Would I think less of Taylor Swift if she teamed up with Kanye? No. I don’t think “less” of Paul McCartney for teaming up with Kanye.
I never said that Kanye wasn’t a big seller / highly popular - of course he is. That may or may not correlate to quality, for me. I think of Beck as a quality musician, even though I don’t personally care for his music.
I don’t really have an opinion of him and Kim Kardashian - I assume they love one another til I hear otherwise.
“I was just going to generically say that he reshaped the hiphop genre .”
To what?? I don’t see much artistry to the hip-hop I hear on the radio. I do hear beats, very little melody, lots of studio musicians since no one can apparently both play an instrument and sing, and lots of prurient and vulgar sex discussion with no subtlety whatsoever.
No one blamed jazz or classical musicians for only singing. Folk music and straight rock have a tradition of having the musicians do everything. Not necessarily all of them that well. You can get fond of Dylan, but really is singing is marginal and there were plenty of influential rock musicians (think the Ramones) who could barely play their instruments at least when they started off.
I don’t listen to rap and hip hop by choice, but my son listens to a fair amount and we talk about what he hears. His best friend who graduated from Yale last year is trying to make a go of it, and most of his music currently involves a lot of rapping. I hear a lot of clever lyrics and rhymes in much of what comes out and I often like the way the rapping and the more tuneful parts dance around in counterpoint with each other.
I don’t know - I’m very cognizant that our parent’s generation thought the Beatles and the Rolling Stones sounded like a lot of noise and I’ve tried very hard to listen to this generation’s music with open ears. (And really were our lyrics so great? “I wanna hold your hand”? “Why don’t we do it in the road”, “I can’t get no Satisfaction?” )
Totally agree Kanye has a serious impulse control problem!
I do think Eminem is talented, fwiw. I guess I’m just classic middle-aged suburban white woman - I can appreciate many genres (even if they aren’t my personal favorites) but just cannot get my head around the majority of rap and hip-hop.
My parents loved the Beatles and the Rolling Stones (in fact, they had 7th row seats to a Stones show years back), and my grandparents liked them too. This isn’t just “I hate what the young’uns listen to.” I like a lot of today’s music - just not rap and hip-hop.
My criticism of Kanye isn’t his genre, it’s his ego and his lack of compassion.
Who shames a fan in a wheelchair because they can’t stand up?
Yes, once Kanyes security detail confirmed that they actually were disabled, he gave them a " pass", but who does that?
Who insists that the audience respond to their demands? Isn’t it the entertainers responsibility to perform?
Sometimes you have to separate the person from their art. You can like one of them or both. Or dislike one or both. The Grammy is for their art, not their person - correct? Records sold more for the art than the person?
Kanye is an @#$, but he is a phenomenal writer and producer. His first album was absolutely superb. I sort of feel sorry for him. He has not been the same since his mother died. I really dont think he dealt with her death, and he really needs therapy.
On another note, Twitter is on fire and pissed off at Beyonce for singing Mahalias song. If you dont know the backstory. Ledisi, portrayed Mahalia Jackson and sang on the track for Selma. She had been rehearsing to perform with Common and John Legend at the Grammys. Well apparently, Beyonce wanted to do the song, so Ledisi was booted. She sounds so much better than Beyonce for a gospel genre. It is very unfortunate that she was pushed to the side for Beyonce, and she has been very classy in her responses, painful as it may be.
party, I think the same thing about his mom’s death. He’s been quoted as saying his only regret in life is that his mom never got to meet his dd. He wrote about his mom before his death (my ds1 dedicated “Hey Mama” to me one night on his radio show so I have a soft spot for that song) and still writes for his mom after her death (“Only One”). He may be a lot of negative things, but I have a soft spot for a man who loves his mother.
OK, so if I can get ONE cc’er to watch this video I will feel successful. One of the things ds2 got me to watch to understand Kanye was this VH1 show called Driven. I think the first 10 minutes, for sure, would appeal to the cc crowd. It talks about his education (magnet school!) and his year in China when his professor mom did an exchange program. He went to a “college prep” HS, was selling beats when he was 15 – the kind of passion adcoms love!
