I plugged into the MTV VMAs at first just to see Janet Jackson. So after her performance (which, might I say, was absolutely phenomenal! There was a point at the end when she was doing her little “I’m done, so there!” pose where she looked so angry, so full of emotion, that I just wanted to reach through the screen and give her a hug and a kiss…but I digress), I clicked back over to my football. It was, after all kick-off weekend. And this year I have not one, but two, Fantasy Football leagues that I participate in…what, too much?

Anyway, I was keeping track of the show through Twitter when all of a sudden I saw all of these tweets coming through about Kanye West showing his ass. Oh boy. So I turn my television back just in time to see Taylor Swift standing on the stage looking like someone stole her lunchbox. Hmm…what the hell did this boy just do to her?

Once I found out, I was appalled. I know that Kanye is perhaps Beyonce’s biggest fan…but damn! And as I did a little further research, I started to be less angry about it. Or, at the very least, I was ready to put it behind me and move on. Here’s why:

1. Beyonce’ pretty much saved face by being the gracious Queen Bey that she is. And when Ms. Taylor came back on stage to finally give her acceptance speech, I didn’t hear her mutter a word of thank you to Bey…she didn’t have to give Taylor that time, but she did because (I think) that is who she is. Don’t bring all that noise here about it was a PR ploy; I genuinely believe that Bey is good and until she proves otherwise, you can miss me with any talk otherwise.
2. We all know that Kanye is hyped up on his own shit. Now that does not mean that his behavior should be condoned or approved; that just means that we should not give any face time or mind space to his antics. That is exactly what he wants, I have finally figured out. I’m not wasting the time anymore.
3. I need health care and a job…I could give a fat rat’s ass about Kanye West and whether or not he hurt the little girl’s feelings.
4. Last, but most importantly…the double standard in this whole thing is causing my ass to itch. So it’s perfectly okay to disrespect the President of the United States and issue a half-assed apology and the issue be dead…but more attention is paid to Kanye being an ass on television to Taylor Swift? Get out of here!

It’s very easy to let emotions rule when you are reactive to the situation instead of thinking first. That’s what happened to me. Luckily, I’m far enough away to not have to provide a voice of reason.

I think Ye’ needs some therapy. And perhaps the closest Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. And someone to kick his ass and humble him a bit. But as for me, I have bigger fish to fry.

As Jay-Z says, I’m:

video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on September 2, 2009 by newrapnhiphop

peace…

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.

I am a big fan of Lebron James and Kanye West…so I was excited when I learned that they were the host and musical guest, respectively, for the season premier of Saturday Night Live tonight. I sat and watched a whole SNL for the first time since Justin Timberlake’s infamous “Dick In A Box” episode (yeah, it’s been that long) and the show was pretty good…

Lebron has a comedic side…he knows how to laugh at himself. Even though he’s this big-time athlete with a whole lotta money, he has a great sense of humor. I mean, come on, anytime you get dressed up in some gold hot pants and put on a Jheri-curl wig and act like a gay dancer and you are 6-8, 240 lbs, you deserve some credit (this, BTW, was my favorite skit…funny as hell!)

Kanye was a delight as well…able to laugh at himself and make fun of himself and his tantrums…there was even a skit about him throwing a tantrum backstage at SNL about him just being the musical guest and not the host. Lebron and Loren Michaels were outside his dressing room listening…it was pretty funny.

All in all, it was a pretty decent show…Not as funny as the JT classic (I think that will go down as my favorite), but a good one…

It’s all love, baby… 

© 2007. Marva Allen-Fowler. All Rights Reserved.