Has there ever been a more polarising person as Kanye West? He divides opinions in the media, in the mainstream, in hip hop culture, amongst peers even his own fans. He’s arguably the biggest star in the world, influential in both music and fashion, breaks records and does things his own way. Is he a flawed genius, misunderstood or simply egotistical?
I’d like to say misunderstood, I flew from the UK to New York & Chicago to see the Saint Pablo tour (in my top five tours I’ve seen) three times in a week, I’m a fan, but sometimes I get frustrated. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is one of the best albums ever, Watch The Throne is up there and his fashion lines have changed the way people dress but his greatness is spoilt by his and erratic behaviour.
How did we get here?
It all starts and ends with Donda, his mother who passed away in 2007 following complications with plastic surgery, paid for by her son so you can understand why the rapper has battled with mental health ever since. One of his most controversial moments came two years later, gatecrashing the stage at the MTV VMA’s as 20-year-old Taylor Swift collected the award for ‘Best Video by a Female Artist’ as he believed Beyonce should have won it, he was right, Single Ladies is iconic but this was Taylor’s breakthrough moment. Instead of her enjoying it, he embarrassed her and Beyonce. However, in ‘Famous’, he made her “famous”, not strictly true, she was doing arena tours with her chart topping country pop records but it caused headlines. The pair's relationship has been on/off ever since.
Was the behaviour trauma from the death of his mother or because of his mother. Kanye didn’t grow up in the hood like most rappers, he had a relatively middle-class upbringing, albeit in South Side Chicago, the same, rough neighbourhood as Barack Obama and Chance The Rapper. Kanye moved to Chicago aged three when Donda and his father Ray, a Black Panther activist split up and Donda became an English professor at Chicago State University.
Unlike Jay-Z who spent his childhood selling drugs in the streets (Kanye broke through in music after making beats for Jay Z), Kanye didn’t need to get money from the streets, he was encouraged to express himself as an artist, he later went on to art college before pursuing a career in music. Both Ray and Donda were outspoken in the black community, Donda gave Kanye the tools to speak up for his race and that’s what he did when he saw a white woman win an award over a black woman who deserved it more. He was tired of seeing his race being overlooked and he said something about it. It wasn’t the most tactile move, Barack called him a jackass for it and many called him crazy for it but it’s systemic racism, it wasn't the first, and certainly not the last time Kanye was outspoken.
Twelve months earlier Kanye released 808s & Heartbreaks an album where he masked grief with autotune and electronic beats, I personally can’t stand it (or the sub-genre of hip-hop that has it influenced) but it was groundbreaking and it showed how Kanye can evolve unlike anybody else.
On the 22nd November 2010, one year after the Taylor Swift incident Kanye redeemed himself in the only way possible, create a flawless piece of art, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. the rapper shifted his sound once again with a feature-heavy album that includes two iconic moments from Nicki Minaj (she opens the album then steals the show with her verse on Monster) as well as everybody from Jay Z, Pusha T and Rihanna to Elton John and Mr Hudson. This was Kanye at his best and it came with amazing visuals, if the world didn’t know Kanye was more than just a rapper, they did now. Everything about the album is perfect, from production to the structure, it's a masterpiece.
Whilst making MBDTF Kanye and Jay-Z were also working on Watch The Throne, a collab project, released the following August, another perfect record where both rappers challenged each other to do better. The pair toured the album together and as Jay-Z had super woman Beyonce by his side, Kanye started publicly dating reality star Kim Kardashian, having being friends since 2003, this elevated Kanye’s profile to new heights but it was during this time where Kanye and Jay-Z's relationship started to break.
Since Watch The Throne Kanye has released the punk album Yeezus (2013), headlined Glastonbury (2015), released the underrated Life of Pablo (2016), seven track EP Ye & collab EP Kids See Ghosts with Kid Cudi (2018) and gospel album Jesus Is King (2019). Alongside music he has also had fashion lines with Nike and he's currently working with Adidas and Gap whilst running his own Yeezy collection from Wyoming where he is building his own village (inc. factories, farms, homes, schools & universities) and run for president. He's also married Kim Kardashian (separated but rumours are that they are working things out) and had a few kids. A lot has happened in the past ten years.
Whilst creating music and clothes Kanye is never far from the headlines, whether that has been airing his private life in public, wilding out with unfiltered opinions or hooking up with Donald Trump, condemned by pretty much everyone. He’s also been open about his mental health. It’s safe to say Kanye is a complex fella.
Back to Donda. Donda is more than the mother he was close with, she inspired him and he wanted to continue her legacy, which he has done over the years, naming a media company after her and she has frequently appeared on merch and artwork.
Last year Kanye announced the release of Donda, we’ve come to expect Kanye doesn't work to deadlines, even dates he has announced himself. We waited and waited until we stopped caring, the album never materialised. Then, earlier this summer he was back with Donda, he sold tickets for a ‘listening party’ at a football stadium where he stood in the middle whilst the crowd listened to album many said didn’t sound finished.
Everyone expected the album to arrive on streaming platforms, it didn’t. The date got pushed back again and again, two further ‘listening parties’ took place in stadiums then yesterday Donda arrived, hours later Kanye posted on Instagram that his record label, Universal put the album out without his permission and ‘blocked’ Jail 2, the track featuring homophobic rapper Da Baby (his recent outbursts about gay people is a concern) and Marlyn Manson (currently going through court over sex abuse). The track was added later on, which is hugely problematic and overshadows the album, for the worse.
We didn’t need Jail 2, there was already 26 tracks, the album now lasts 1 hour 49 minutes which is way too long for an album that has so much to unpack, covering everything from his divorce, friendship with Jay Z, politics, mental health, suicide, religion and racism. There’s a lot going on. It shares the chaotic sounds of Yeezus with gospel vibes of Jesus Is King, it’s typically Kanye. As is the merch, long sleeve shirts costing $200 which have been ‘Engineered by Balenciaga’, whatever that means. All Kanye needed to do was let the music talk for itself and he let controversy overshadow it once again.
It’s hard to sum up Donda (the album) after just a few listens as there's just so much going on, like Kanye’s brain. There’s a few instant bangers but due to its length it lacks clarity and it will take time to digest. Excluding Da Baby and Manson, the features list is pretty impressive, The Weeknd, Lil Baby, Travis Scott and Mike Dean are just a few but Jay-Z’s appearance is the nicest moment, coming after the pair have been beefing in recent years.
Kanye is uncharacteristically quiet around this release, he’s usually out there making controversial statements when he has an album out but he’s barely been on social media (which is a good thing, we don't need anymore Twitter meltdowns) and yet to do any press so it’s hard to know his plans at the minute, however the merch suggests he’s still planning to run for president in 2024...
Hopefully this is Kanye back to his best on the music game.
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