…On Music: Kanye West

I was dubious, at best. In the least, I would give it a listen, but just knew that I would hate that “T-Pain” sound. That shit is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. I hate the very existence of the Auto coder or Auto-Tune, or whatever the hell it is. Oh sure, it was fine when Roger did it with Zapp…because it was his shtick. But T-Pain? I can’t stand that dude because he has taken something that I loved and turned it into pure-d buffoonery. And I blame him (and Soulja Boy, and other bootsy ass rappers that don’t have a clue where we come from and are just in it to make a buck) for ruining what once was a genre of music that represented a generation of people who gave a damn about their lives and futures and the people around them…

What have we become now? Money, hoes, and clothes is what and I hate that.

But I digress. I listen to Kanye West’s 808’s and Heartbreak and I realize that all is not lost. There is another level that Hip-Hop can ascend to. You might hate his attitude, his arrogance, his steed…but when dude says that he is the voice of a generation, don’t be so quick to toss him aside. I’m not ready to label him a genius; instead, I’m ready to label him as an artist that is not afraid of taking risks. Can you imagine anyone else but Kanye doing something like this? I cannot. He, the one of unlimited imagination and creativity, has scored with me here.

Let’s talk about the music for a moment. There is pain and hurt here. There is…well, heartbreak. You can hear it in the beats, you can hear it in ’Ye’s singing, you can feel it in the lyrics. I am struck by the intensity of the emotions that I feel coming from this CD. Maybe because I’m an emotional chick…but I think it goes deeper than that. You simply cannot ignore the fact that even though ‘Ye, at times, seems to be the biggest asshole, he is still human and feels shit just like everybody else. I’ve now listened to this CD three times this evening and it just keeps getting better and better.

There will be some that will absolutely hate this CD. It’s not traditional; it does require that you be still a bit and listen. There are no real “bangers” here. It may not sell a million copies in a week; so? Easy for me to say “So?” because I’m not the artist. What I like most about Kanye is his passion for his music; if don’t nobody else love it, he does. And yes, he may throw a tantrum when he is not recognized for his contribution to the music world with this CD…but hell, I get mad when I’m not recognized at my job too.

I will end it by saying that I’m a Kanye West fan. I see his arrogance as confidence; I see his attitude as belief in himself. Yes, he gets on my nerves at times…but shit, I don’t have to deal with him all the time and I can turn the damn TV off or choose not to be bothered if I want. But as far as the music goes? I’m right there with you, ‘Ye…I’m right there.