What's Going on With Kanye?
I've been a Kanye fan for as long as I can remember. I think of the times I sat listening to Stronger, convinced it was the best song in the entire world, or turning to All Falls Down as the rock to my angsty high school days. I thought I had seen all there was to see of Kanye: Yeezus, Saint Pablo, and the creation of his own fashion line. He was always a role model for me, a reminder that unapologetic confidence in your abilities never has to be justified.
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It broke my heart when I heard of his struggle with mental illnesses back in 2016. I wished for a quick recovery so he could soon bless the world with his brilliance again. My disappointment for him was muted, though, when he initially met with Trump in 2017. I was a little confused to see the man who preached against what seemed to be the embodiment of Trump's persona and policies, start public relations with my least favorite president... ever.
So, recent events have me at a place between disgust and utter disappointment. Kanye's tweets have been all over the place (and not in a good way), championing free thought in a creepy Orwellian way, supporting Candace Owens, and posting pictures of his signed MAGA hat. It doesn't help that T.I. mentioned that Kanye might not be as well versed on how awful Trump is or that Kanye is making controversial statements about slavery.
Kim unsurprisingly came to Kanye's defense as his inflammatory tweets. He's lost a lot of his celebrity following. People are worrying about his mental health. What is going on with Kanye?
After listening to his new release Lift Yourself, I can tell Kanye still has his musical edge, even though his bars of "poopty scoop" make me wonder why he chose to replace his lyricism with Dada-like commentary. No one's doubting his ability to produce some of the most intricate verses, which is perhaps why Kanye is subverting all of our expectations. If you haven't listened to it yet, here's a taste of the New Kanye.
If you visit kanyewest.com now, there is no longer the songs he recently released, but a video of an interview-like experience with Kanye as shown below. He clearly discusses his agenda and personal experience in developing his thoughts and potential reclaiming of symbols that we find distasteful. Kanye claims he doesn't support Trump to hurt others and in inspired by Trump's ability to do the impossible. You can watch the video below.
I'm not sure if this is one of Kanye's personas for the sake of artistry. He welcomes distaste and confusion at the cost of pure jackass-ery, in my opinion. Kanye wants to push the boundaries of the content around which he can produce music. He doesn't want to be selective about what he can or can't be talking about. I miss the Old Kanye.
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