Kanye’s public persona has been well-documented by various music and gossip sites. He’s never been a quiet one, often inciting controversy with his remarks (see when he said “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” on national television). However, he, like most public figures, was not born in the public sphere. His first ventures in the music industry were low-key, acting as a producer, and only through persistence and passion did he move to rapping. He’s progressed through the industry and understands nuances that I could not even begin to translate to text, nuances that shape his musical attitude and vision. Once he became more and more prolific, he began creating and adjusting his public persona, commenting on social matters, challenging …show more content…
His projection onto television sets stopped being an extension of his ideas, it became his psyche. Marshall McLuhan said “The medium is the message”. Kanye’s medium has manifested his identity. His self has been destabilized by his fame, by the media’s reverence of him. And so when he sees his portrayal on TV, he “sees nothing” of substance. His self can’t connect with his public persona anymore, which affirms that his identity has been twisted by his environment. He’s an object in the public domain, one to be documented with cameras and autographs, as he says in his songs, and meant to maintain his public character, forbidding him from “cryin” at his mother’s death or fiancee’s departure. Kanye’s self is no longer his own, and he’s finally realizing that with the removal of the only piece of “real life”, his mother, all that’s left is a couple pieces of designer clothing and “flashing lights”, i.e fame. His identity as a loud rap artist on the TV became more a part of him than he realized, and he’s left trying to find his true …show more content…
Kanye wishes he could “turn back time” to bring back a “piece of real life”. He yearns for control over time just to right his wrongs. While he may lack command over time, the media is a different story. Portrayals of Kanye on the TV, the web, even photographs, will outlive him as a person. This idea that his public self will be immortalized relative to his temporal self begs the question of which self is more “real”. He is torn between being the subject in the media and his own spirit. Because, as he puts it, there’s no way to get his “mind out this jail”. Through this reading, the jail is his media portrayal, whereas the cultural perspective viewed this jail as his attachment to the hip hop
In Adam Bradley’s “Rap poetry 101” he shows us how rap is more than just songs being sung, it is poetry; it is something that has an empowering ability to make the familiar unfamiliar.In this chapter Bradley creates a new viewpoint too rap. Bradley shows us how rap and poetry has become a very similar piece of art that should be further appreciated. In the chapter poetry 101 Bradley describes how rap is a form of public art, and how rappers have become our greatest public poets. The importance of rap as poetry is shown throughout Bradley's book as well as the evidence behind the reasons rap is poetry.
He describes the sensation of “measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity” (2). West tackles double- consciousness in a lot of his songs, but more so I “Gorgeous” and “Power”. He does have slight elements in “Monster”, however. In “Gorgeous”, West is straight-forward in his approach, voicing his frustrations about appearing to fit in with the majority of popular artists (namely the white ones), yet when he does something stereotypically black he gets massive media attention and is berated for his actions. It is even in his clothes: if he is wearing the right clothing he is accepted, but is automatically perceived as ghetto when he is wearing sneakers and a white t-shirt. “As long as I’m in Polo’s smiling they think they got me/But they would try to crack me if they ever see a black me” (Lyrics On Demand). In “Power”, he discusses issues with fame and general concept of power, as well as being a minority with limited options. He talks about how education is limited and that minority children are eventually doomed to prison. “The system broken, the schools closed, the prison’s open” (Lyrics On Demand). His lyrics speak of how the world around him in controlled by the majority, and how minorities are forced to conform to the standards of the rest of the world. In “Monster”, the biggest hint at double- consciousness is the inclusion of Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, a white indie folk musician. Vernon’s appearance on such a quintessential rap track is impressive and jaw-dropping considering these types of songs (posse cuts”) are notorious for featuring all- black artists. His presence plays to the double-consciousness West expresses, by mixing black and white artists together for
He says in the song “Man I’m so self-conscious, that’s why you always see me with one of my watches,” showing that he took the route of obtaining material possessions as soon as he acquired money to try and show others his success (West). He furthers this point by stating “then I spent 400 bucks on this, just to be like, you ain’t up on this,” showing it wasn’t just one instance, but a constant reoccurrence of showing off his material possessions to constantly try and present himself to others as “successful(West).” Even though both songs describe the shortcuts of people trying to show others their success through material goods, they overlap by not promoting those actions.
Raised as an only child, Dwayne Micheal Carter Jr or more commonly referred to as Lil Wayne, was born September 27th, 1982, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Carter’s mother was only 19 years old when he was first born. He was being raised by both his mother and father until his father abandoned them while Dwayne Jr. was only two years old. After being abandoned by his biological father, his mother was forced to take care of him on her own and survive in the crime infested community of Holly grove, New Orleans. Even though he divorced his mother and remarried, his father forced the two live with his own mother and came by to abuse Lil Wayne’s mother on a consistent basis.This situation went on for three years until Lil Wayne’s mother eventually remarried and relocated to a different part of town. Growing up he did very well in school. He was actually enrolled in his school’s gifted program at a point and received top grades. He got into music at a very young age and wrote his first rap song at the age of eight. Lil Wayne had the drive to be the best and successful at his craft since he first began. At the age of nine he was challenging others twice his age and older at rapping. He would consistently go to neighborhood parties or events to rap and most of the time he was better then whatever adult he was going against. As a testament to this, at the age of nine he start receiving attention from one of the two co-founders of his future label, Slim Williams. From Slim, he then received other co-founder, Bryan Williams, phone number and what he did with it after that was truly caught the Bryan’s attention. He continuously called the number over and over leaving rap songs on the voicemail of Williams until he agreed to meet him in person...
Vanilla Ice is a prime example of a young man who became part of the hip hop community. The clothing he wore and the songs he wrote may have reflected an insult to the black hip hop community. However, the white community became happy and excited to see a thriving white rapper. Many members of the black society were offended and disgusted by the clothes worn by Vanilla Ice. They were not used to seeing another race expressing his emotion through rap lyrics. The change in the state of mind for black and white members of the hip hop community were beginning to alter. It was remarkable to learn about the different perspectives black and white members, however to learn about the acceptance of one another was outstanding.
He may just seem like another rapper to you but if you actually listen to his lyrics you can see he’s not like any rapper out there. His name is Kanye West and he was born in Chicago Illinois. He grew up in the “ghetto” and learned to appreciate life. He didn’t learn to really, truly appreciate life until October of 2002. Driving back to his hotel late one night after a recording session, the new-coming rap/hip-hop artist was involved in a devastating, near fatal car accident. The crash left him with a broken jaw in three places and an appreciation for life. Just weeks after being released from the hospital he recorded his first major hit, “Through the Wire,” with his mouth still wired shut. He records every song like its going to be his last song and that makes every song better than the last. He’s not only a rap artist but also a producer. He has been responsible for being behind songs like Jay-Z’s Izzo, Girls, Girls, Girls, The Takeover, and 03 Bonnie and Clyde.
Rap is about giving voice to a black community otherwise underrepresented, if not silent, in the mass media. It has always been and remains … directly connected to the streets from which it came. (144)
I was so interested in the truth that I suspended my assumptions about West as I pursued more information through research, giving me an objective lens. It truly rattled me to have been so wrong in my assumptions, it felt weird to know that because of something I didn’t know, I had believed something. It genuinely shook my self-confidence. I really prided myself on my knowledge of Hip-Hop, I thought I knew all the classic albums, how could I have overlooked this one for so long? So, jolted by this sting of self embarrassment, I searched further, I wanted to know what else I had been oblivious to. It became increasingly clearer to me that there were two completely opposite views about Kanye, the more popular view: he’s a worthless egotistical pop star, who’s created nothing of value, and, as I was shocked to learn over time, the informed view, and the truth, that he was and is one the most influential artists of the 21’st
When West first showed up (late 90s and early 2000s), the world was a different place. Fans of the genre were most likely listening to gangster-rap, artists like: Jay Z, Notorious B.I.G, 50 Cent, Tupac, Ice Cube, Eazy E, N.W.A, Wu-Tang, Nate Dogg, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg (Best Gangsta Rappers), the kind of music that dominated mainstream rap at the time. Rappers and fans of rap were mostly in a gangster-influenced mind state. West was foreign to the idea of being a “thug” or a “gangster”. West grew up in an average house while his mom made good money working as a professor in the English department at Chicago State University. He was well educated and attracted to more preppy fashions- sport coats, polo shirts, and sunglasses, quite the contrary to what other rappers were wearing in those times. Like many rappers, West wrote about his daily experiences, experiences majorly ...
Kanye Omari West, rapper, producer, professional celebrity, and with an ego to match, has forced himself into the limelight of the music industry. Kanye West has made a lasting impression on all of those around him, whether it be a good one or bad. With seven full length albums, a multimillion record label company, and a successful fashion business all under his belt, it’s fair to say that Kanye has done his fair share of creating. Over the last twelve years Kanye went from a young Chicago kid just trying to get his flows off, to one of the most decorated musicians of all time. With over 20 Grammy’s and 3 of his albums ending up on the Rolling stones “500 greatest albums of all time”. He has continuously created, entertained, and spoken his mind for years. Whether it be “George Bush does not care about black people” or “Taylor imma let you finish, but Beyoncé had
In conclusion, these theorists who explore hip hop all have generalized ideas of what hip hop represents. Johnson is more oriented towards the female side of hip hop, whereas Jeffries is focused on the unity side of what it offers and Smitherman thinks that it is a black CNN. Although each scholar focuses on different aspects of hip hop, it is evident to point out that all these aspects correlate with one another. Hip hop is a cultural tool formed out of a need to take a stance on the issues that relate to the black community. And that it’s a voice to relate and unite people who share the same struggles on which to advocate change.
Kanye West’s Yeezy Season 3 Fashion show is a unique form of creative communication. The fashion show was performed, and it truly was a performance, in the Madison square garden, New York City, February 2016. It was not your normal catwalk, with most picturing slender models gracefully cascading down the runway. Kanye West did something a little more reflective. His show was a challenging and trivial experimentation of political boundaries in high fashion.
Rappers who have been considered soft have always been the victim of humiliation from others, in the documentary “Hip-Hop” Beyond Beats & Rhymes” Byron Hurt captures a scene at a rap concert rapper 50 Cent questioning the manhood of another rapper Ja Rule. He’s projected onto a screen and says to the crowd, “Ladies and Gentleman it has come to my attention that you guys don’t know what bitch ass niggas look like. Take a look at this” Appearing on the screen is a video of Ja Rule crying with watery eyes and a single tear streaming down his face. 50 continues to talk to the crowd when he says, “I know that’s not hip hop. You know that’s not hip-hop” (Hurt, Hip-Hop Beyond Beats & Rhymes) During this time 50 and Ja Rule were in a beef with each other. By questioning Ja Rule’s manhood especially in front of thousands of fans, Ja Rule was never the same. Ja Rule didn’t follow the masculine characteristics which is meant to be followed by all rappers and to 50, Ja Rule doesn’t represent hip hop. Although in reality both Ja Rule and 50 both came from hard upbringings but the reason Ja Rule got made fun of is because he tried to show his soft side and guys like 50 who showed no emotion were quickly to point out Ja Rule and discredit him as a rapper. To me the same thing that happened to Ja Rule is now happening to Drake meaning that Drake shows his emotions but the
Dixon, Travis L., TaKeshia Brooks. “Rap Music and Rap Audiences: Controversial Themes, Psychological Effects and Political Resistance.” Perspectives. 7 April 2009. .
“I’m Not Black, I’m Kanye: Kanye West wants freedom - white freedom” by Ta-Nehisi Coates depicts racial issues that are more however, affected by the idea of “whiteness”. Coates writes that modern day gods such as Michael Jackson and Kanye West are drawn to whiteness. The article also talks about the idea of self-hatred, among with loss of the person you were before fame. For example, he states that Michael Jackson was losing his roots. Changing his appearance; running from something that was once apart of him, and cutting all ties.