One of the things I love in life almost as much as basketball is hip hop. I’ve been a Nas fan for as long as I can remember (actually since the “I am” album, my stuttering friend Reggie bought the album when it came out and we listened to that shit in my friend Marcus’ room for hours while playing Madden ’99 on Nintendo 64). I remember loving the album cover because I was a fucking nerd (I’m saying was like I’m not anymore, don’t let the past tense fool you, I’m still a fucking nerd), and I thought the Ancient Egyptians were some of the illest people in history and Nas’ King Tut looking album cover made me a fan, yeah, it was that simple back then, but I was only 12.
I also remember around the same time Beanie Sigel dropped “The Truth,” something I normally wouldn’t have paid attention to back then. However, being the nerd that I was, I loved (I can’t emphasize the word LOVED enough) great production because I was in band and just loved the way some instruments can be put together. I remember watching 106 & Park (I was 12 haha) back when AJ and Free were still there and Sigel’s song The Truth from The Truth album debuted at something like 10 or something and I remember that beat being ridiculous. It’s not very often I hear a beat and just instantly start feeling that shit, but that Graham Nash sample with those simple, but effective drums had me bobbin my head with a face looking something like I just tasted some mashed peas. A few weeks later my friend Reggie had the Beanie Sigel album and brought it over Marcus’ house and we played Madden while listening to it.
The first two songs on that album were “The Truth” and “Who Want What.” These two songs were the cause for our second longest debate about hip hop (the first being about who we thought was better between Red Man and Method Man, I’m still not sure who I like more, but I digress). We argued for hours about which beat was better produced. At this time both, no one really knew who the two producers were. One was Just Blaze and the other was Kanye West. Don’t get me wrong, I loved “Who Want What,” but I just thought “The Truth” was one of the coldest beats I’ve ever heard. Later that year Jay-Z released “The Dynasty” and I thought Just Blaze was the best thing to happen to hip hop because of that damn intro (still a top 10 beat to me) and “Streets is Talking.” Kanye was on the album too, but he just produced “This Can’t be Life” and I really can’t listen to that shit.
The next year J-Hova released the Blueprint (I still think the album is overrated, but whatever) and I had to switch back over to Kanye as the best thing to happen to hip hop (as far as producers go, of course) because of “Heart of the City.” “Izzo” and “The Takeover” get a lot of love, but “Heart of the City” is still my favorite beat of all time (I even wrote this article about how I knew the Lakers were going to win Game 3 of the finals because their pre-game montage was shown with the Heart of the City instrumental playing in the background). Since I’ve heard Heart of the City, I’ve been a Kanye West fan – die hard Kanye West fan at that. As far as fandom goes, it’s the Raiders, the Lakers, USC football and basketball, the Giants, Nas, Kanye West, UNC basketball and Lupe Fiasco. Everything else falls somewhere after those.
I remember how I felt when I heard Kanye West was releasing The College Dropout the same way I remember going to see Eddie Jones play at the Great Western Forum for the first time. I remember where I was the first time I heard Through the wire the same way I remember where I was when Jordan drained the game winner over Bryon Russell. I remember getting goose bumps when I heard the “Good Morning” beat the much like the way I got them when Baron Davis bumped on AK47 and sent the game to a commercial break. I remember not knowing what to do with myself when I heard “Diamonds,” (maybe my second favorite beat of all time and the second verse may be the best 32 bars of his career) just like the way I sat there not knowing what to do with myself when Kobe dropped 81 on the Raptors. Kanye is the only artist who has points in his career that I look back and reminisce on the way I do with sports, which is why I was so pissed when I learned that he was releasing an album that was going to be strictly recorded in auto-tune.
You see, much like several god awful sports moments, there are god awful moments in music, and I thought 808s and Heartbreak would be one of those god awful moments in music. I must say that I definitely overreacted when I heard that the album was in auto-tune. I mean, did I overreact when I learned that the Raiders traded Marcus Allen (who was a god to me in elementary school) to the fucking Chiefs? Probably. But did I stop loving the Raiders? Absolutely not. What about when the Lakers got rid of Eddie Jones or when the Giants traded Matt Williams for Jeff fucking Kent (I’ve never hated a baseball player more than I hate Jeff fucking Kent). I still haven’t stopped loving the Lakers and I still haven’t stopped loving the Giants.
So why should I stop loving Kanye’s music? I shouldn’t. There is nothing I hate more than Chingy, and people who lack loyalty is one of those things. I’ve been loyal to Kanye’s music for too long for me to just drop him off because of what I thought was a potentially bad career move. The funniest part about it is his album leaked about a week ago and I still haven’t stopped playing that shit. Hip hop heads will probably hate it, but artistically, it’s an amazing album. It’s definitely completely different from anything anyone has out right now. Even though he’s using that heinous auto-tune affect, it’s not nearly as obnoxious as the way T-Pain uses it. The production is still amazing, he has some good messages, it’s definitely his most personal album and its creativity is on another level (which for him is amazing considering the fact that he’s been one of the most creative men in hip hop over the last decade).
I’m obligated to buy Kanye’s new album the same way I’m obligated to watch the Raiders game tomorrow. I may hate the way the Raiders are playing, but I’ve invested too much of my life into the team that I have to be there through the good and the bad – except this album isn’t bad as much as it is different. I just thought it would be bad. I’ll write an actual review of his album and Ludacris’ new one after my finals next week. Time to study. Yikes.
9 comments:
SMH (A phrase I knew nothing about till I met Dame)
Why you gotta write about Kanye? Good or Bad, this guy should be left alone.....too much baggage. Now I'm gonna have to come back and deposit a quality entry as to why the f*#k Kanye is on my shit list. Damn it Hideous....lol.
I decided long ago that I really don't give a fuck about what an artist does outside of the music they put out. I don't care that he wines about awards, he hits photographers, wears tight clothes in the same way I don't care how many bitches a dude's hit, how many records he's sold or how much cash he has. I just care about the quality of the music just like I only care about the number in the win column, the statistics of individual players and who is holding that trophy at the end of the season in sports. Anything outside of what they do for a living means absolutely nothing to me.
Ok. I had some time to clear my head. Let the record show that I COMPLETELY agree with remaining loyal, especially when times are bad. I guess its just easier for me to shit on Kanye cause I never really liked him. But that does not mean that I dont respect him, his music, his beats or his lyrics. I consider Kayne to be Top 5 Producers of all time, hands down. You make a good point and I totally understand where you're coming from when you say you don't let anything other than the music effect your decision to listen. And generally, thats a great rule to live by but sometimes there are circumstances too strong to ignore that can affect one's decision. Like if a blockbuster movie came out from a director that I loved, and then it turns out that he's a child rapist. I'm not going to go see that movie and support him. The movie could be the greatest masterpiece ever recorded but you wouldn't catch me at the theater. Same with Kanye. He's arrogance and immaturity are wayyyyy to much to overlook. He's a GREAT producer and an okay hip hop artist (as far as delivery and presentation). His lyrics are also good, his beats are top tier but the FINAL PRODUCT just isn't all that to me, its almost as if he has a curse. He's been a producer forever but only an artist/emcee for a few years and he expects to be acknowledged for time he just hasn't really put in. I totally agree with the clothes thing, who the fuck really cares about how dood dresses? I would poke fun and move on, clothes wouldn't make me stop listening to someone's music. That statement he made about Bush on live tv was wack. "Bush don't like black people"....yeah, no shit bright guy. Shit like that screams publicity stunt to me and again, that's wack. I can't stand people who crave attention. Kanye is a male diva, the equivalent of Mariah Carey. Music is modern day poetry and is no less of an art than any poem by Edgar A. Poe for example. And the purest art is the BEST art in my opinion. So I tend to take a look at the man behind the mic, behind the soundboard and holding the pen. I want to know how "real" and authentic this person is. And when I look at Kanye I saw an undeserving arrogance, a sourceless sense of entitlement and a huge chip on the shoulder. So basically, I don't like the guy not because of his threads but because he's an asshole. So therefore I CAN'T like his music.
Kanye is the dude and why i fucks with you. You gotta love Kanye because he's authentic, there's nothing fake about him. If for anything else, he defends his music because he really feels his shit is the greatest. And I would agree.
GET AT ME
-Ed.
www.edthesportsfan.com
I can't believe I'm actually agreeing with Beast, but I am. Everything he says about your boy is true besides top 5 producer of all time. I can spot a Kanye West beat on an already dirty shirt. All his shit sounds the same. Past the clothes, the niggas a bitch. He cries and wines about everything. Only women complain about not winning this and not winning that. Does he really think he is in the top 5, top 20 of all time? Selling records means nothing to have skills. Nothing. I mentioned awhile ago on how Nelly and Chingy sold records and they are in my top 7 worst artist ever. Kanye sells and gets noticed only because he cries and does little bitch shit like fight camera men. Lyrically, he is okay. He hasn't said one line where I was like "Damn." As far as the auto tone, until Roger and Zapp get the credit for something they credited, fuck these crying, dick riding, fad stealing bitches.
I've been meaning to comment back for a few days now...
Beast:
"but sometimes there are circumstances too strong to ignore that can affect one's decision. Like if a blockbuster movie came out from a director that I loved, and then it turns out that he's a child rapist. I'm not going to go see that movie and support him. The movie could be the greatest masterpiece ever recorded but you wouldn't catch me at the theater."
I happened to think this example was hilarious because it was so extreme. I can understand stopping your support if something durastic happened (like someone being a child rapist -- or let's say your were a Seattle Supersonic fan, I think you have a right to remove your loyalty after they moved to OKC), but for me, his arrogance isn't a problem. In fact, every rapper ever is arrogant as shit, they all just go about showing it in different ways. Jay-Z pretty much calls himself God, Nas pretty much called himself Jesus and Kanye West says he deserves all of the awards. They're all the same thing to me -- and I don't think it's a gimic. I know actual people who would swear up and down that they're the shit and they really believe it, and I think Kanye is so annoying with his simply because instead of bragging about how great he is around a few people, he's doing it on national television. It's whatever to me. He's arrogant, he want's all the awards, sometimes he complains about bitch shit, but none of that bothers me.
"His lyrics are also good, his beats are top tier but the FINAL PRODUCT just isn't all that to me, its almost as if he has a curse. He's been a producer forever but only an artist/emcee for a few years and he expects to be acknowledged for time he just hasn't really put in."
For me, I actually enjoy his final products. I know most hip hop heads won't agree with me, but I think The College Dropout is a classic album and is still one of the most straight-up hip hop albums since the turn of the century. Every beat hit hard, he wasn't great lyrically, but he got his point across and he collabed with dudes like Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common and Jay for the credibility. I wouldn't have changed anything on that album. I thought Late Regisration was the best produced album since the turn of the century (again, I was a band nerd and love certain instrument combinations and LR had some amazing shit on it) and I thought he took a page out of Jay's book for Graduation by appealing to the masses while still staying hip hop (however, I didn't like Graduation nearly as much as the first two albums because of who he collabed with, but whatever). I think he's put together three (well, now four) great albums and he's reinvented himself in each one, and I think that's what he's asking credit for. He's never said anything like he's the greatest rapper or some dumb shit like that, but he puts more work into one of his albums (writiing, producing sometimes engineering) than anyone else in the game right now, and I think it shows when compared to other mainstreme artists.
"Music is modern day poetry and is no less of an art than any poem by Edgar A. Poe for example. And the purest art is the BEST art in my opinion. So I tend to take a look at the man behind the mic, behind the soundboard and holding the pen. I want to know how "real" and authentic this person is. And when I look at Kanye I saw an undeserving arrogance, a sourceless sense of entitlement and a huge chip on the shoulder."
I've actually heard this argument before with another writer (I think it was Twain, but that's not important). Since you mentioned Poe, I take it you respect his work. Now, what if were to learn that he was just as much an asshole, just as much as arrogant and just as annoying as Kanye is during his lifetime, would you still respect his work, or would you throw him on your shitlist despite his catalouge of classics? I'll leave it at that.
Turner:
"I can spot a Kanye West beat on an already dirty shirt. All his shit sounds the same."
Yikes! LOL I can't believe I just read that. Listen to "Through The Wire" then listen to "Get 'em High" then listen to "Diamonds" then listen to "Lucifer" and tell me all of those beats sound the same. If they do, then listen to "Good Morning" and "Can't Tell me Nothing" and "Bring me Down." If those sound the same try "I Changed my Mind" and "The Corner" and "Used to Love You" and "The Take Over."
I understand that some dudes aren't going to like him, but you have to give credit where credit is due. He's a monster on the beats and it's silly to say that they all sound the same.
"Kanye sells and gets noticed only because he cries and does little bitch shit like fight camera men."
C'mon, you know that he was getting noticed before he started crying about awards. He was getting mad love when "Through the Wire" dropped and even more when him and Twista released "Slow Jams," I agree that he isn't one of the best lyricists out, but you definitley can't group him with Nelly and Chingy's bitch ass. I mean, at least he has some substance in some of his shit.
ETSF:
Word. LOL
KANYE= TOP 5 PRODUCERS
KANYE= TOP 100 RAPPERS (FLOW, LYRICS, PUNCHES ETC)
I WAS ALWAYS MORE A LYRICAL TYPE DUDE
I AGREE WITH THAT ONE DUDE, HE IS A MARIAH CAREY TYPE NIGGA..LOL
-SEAN-B
See, motherfuckas are confused. Rap has been sold for so long that its supposed to be rugged and hard and shit, but 90% of the listeners don't represent that. Fact: Most you cats that know my boy are probably somewhat educated past high school, don't slang drugs for real (like crack, heron, pcp, ish like that), and are not out bleeding the block. Yet that's what we expect from are artists. So Kanye's cut from a different cloth, but he is a lot more representative of my struggle, and my past transgressions. Flow wise, yes Kanye WHEN HE CAME OUT might not have been where he needed to be to be an all-time great, but LYRICALLY there aren't too many touching him. He says nothing but real shit. Nothing phony. And is flow is greatly improved.
I'm just saying...
-Ed.
Aye yo Ed...Calm ya goofy ass down Little man...All exited N shit jumping up N down tryna act hard on comments...talking about not too many is touching kanye lyrically lmao..What Lyrics Eddie?..i peeped the cd, all i heard was auto tone t-pain singing and crying...your the confused one Edson..that aint rap, its r&b..You Big Gullah Gullah Island type nigga...
-S.B
Post a Comment