OPINION

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By Joseph Ferry

Warning: Some songs mentioned below may contain profanity. 

Living in 2020, it is seemingly impossible to find a person that has not heard of Kanye West. While his portrayal in the media sometimes paints him as crazy, there is no doubt in my mind that he is the one of the greatest musical artists alive.  

Kanye may have described himself best when he said, “I’m on a pursuit of awesomeness, excellence is the bare minimum.” He has been on the forefront of music since the success of his 2004 freshman album, The College Dropout. In this album, Kanye proved his confidence in the single “Jesus Walks,” where Kanye says, “They said you can rap about anything except for Jesus.” This song delves into his need for Jesus while simultaneously grabbing people’s attention, as the rap industry had never heard music like this before. In another standout song from the album, “Through the Wire,” Kanye proves his devotion to creativity as he raps about after being involved in a near-fatal accident, which resulted in his jaw being wired shut.

Album cover for College Dropout. Image credit: Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records.

This first album was met with high praise as Kanye displayed his style by rapping about topics that resonated with him, instead of talking about violence and drugs, which were the dominating topics of the industry at the time. The College Dropout sold 440,000 copies in its first week, impressive for an artist’s first album. 

Following the release of a rapper’s first album, there is often speculation as to whether an artist’s next album will carry the same success. With Kanye’s second album, he proved his talent again, as Late Registration sold 880,000 units in the first week in 2005. The album contained classic singles such as “Gold Digger,” “Diamonds from Sierra Leone,” and “Drive Slow.” However,  “Hey Mama” is the standout song of the album, in my opinion. In this piece, Kanye makes an apology to his mother for dropping out of school while also displaying the great love and affection he feels for her. Kanye makes his devotion to his music evident when he puts his emotions on display in songs such as “Hey Mama.”

Album Cover for Kanyes third album, Graduation. Image credit: Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records.

Kanye continued to experience success in his following album, 2007’s Graduation, where he won his famous clash with 50 Cent, as the two released albums on the same day, and Kanye’s album drastically outsold 50’s with 957,000 units in the first week. The victory over 50 Cent proved Kanye was truly at the height of rap, and his creative style of music was taking over from the gangster rap genre that had dominated much of the previous decade.

Kanye and his mother Donda West. Photo credit: Brian Ach/WIREIMAGE. 

It was in between Graduation and his next album, however, that Kanye experienced struggles in his personal life. Kanye’s mother, Donda West, tragically passed away on November 10, 2007, and Kanye and his fiancée Amber Rose called off their engagement around the same time. Reeling over the loss of his mother and his fiancée, Kanye released 808s and Heartbreak, an album that involved a significant amount of Auto-Tune and has since been seen as an inspiration for a new wave of the style that is prevalent in rap today.

While Kanye’s creativity is unmatched, he displayed the fact that he sometimes is flawed in his character at the 2009 VMAs. Taylor Swift was recognized for the best music video, but Kanye believed Beyoncé should have won. He stormed the stage and told Taylor, “Yo Taylor, I’m really happy for you, I’ll let you finish, but Beyoncé has one of the best videos of all time. One of the best videos of all time!” This stunt was met with heavy criticism from the media and led Kanye to put himself into exile, leaving America and the negative publicity he was involved with. After spending time out of the States, Kanye came back and stayed in Hawaii for months, dedicated to perfecting his next album, 2010’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. 

Given Kanye’s position in society, his next project could have revived his career or left him as cancelled. In these circumstances, Kanye delivered what is heralded by many as the greatest album of this era, and recently was named the best album of the decade in Rolling Stone. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, often referred to as MBDTF, is a masterfully crafted piece of work in which Kanye comes to terms with many problems he has either faced or created for himself. 

Simon Vozick-Levinson at Rolling Stone considers this album “a concept album about [Kanye’s] own inability to stop breaking America’s heart. Nearly a decade later, it still hurts.”

Album cover for Kanye’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Image credit:  Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records.

He portrays his feelings of who he has become on the nine-minute single “Runaway,” where he asks the audience to “have a toast for the douchebags,” referring to himself. In the single “Gorgeous,” Kanye acknowledges problems in himself and society in seemingly perfect lyricism. In other standout songs of the album, such as “POWER” and “All of the Lights,” Kanye’s mastery of production is made evident as the songs incorporate a variety of samples and the vocals of many different guest artists.

Since the release of MBDTF, Kanye has released a plethora of successful albums. Of these, my favorites include a collaboration with Jay-Z in Watch the Throne (2011), Yeezus (2013), and The Life of Pablo (2016).

A reason why Kanye is so successful and produces such high quality music is because his personality is unique from any other artists in the industry. Kanye’s confidence, his understanding of himself, and his devotion to his values and music draw his listeners in. Fan Matthew Rowe (’21) says the reason he enjoys listening to Kanye is because Kanye “is not afraid to be himself,” and when this confidence is portrayed in his lyrics, it is impossible not to listen. Recent Patrick Henry High School graduate and Kanye fan Carter Burcham (‘20) believes that “Kanye’s music matches his personality. It can be very laid back at times, and at other times, it can be completely random, like in ‘Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1.’” This diversity in his discography makes him intriguing as an artist. Godwin High School junior Jason Childress (‘22) enjoys listening to Kanye’s music because, “he is a very inspiring artist that creates new and inventive ways of rap music.” 

Aside from his music, Kanye lives a very public life. His marriage to Kim Kardashian West is often talked about in the media, he commonly goes on twitter rants, and he recently ran for president in the 2020 election. Think what you may of Kanye’s personality in the face of the media and paparazzi, his actions do not take away from the immense talent he has for creating music. 

Featured image credit: Kanye 2020.