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Kanye West...the World's Greatest Rock Star

Since when did an artist's bad character stop anybody from listening to their good music? If that were the case, I probably couldn't play a third of my collection...
 
He is ****; I was working Bonnaroo years back and he was there slated to play at 10 pm. He refused and would only play when no one else was playing, So they scheduled him at 3am and he started to play am 1.5 hours late at 4:30am. People all over the show the next day with signs saying **** kanye. And I agree **** kayne...
 
WillVT said:
I don't really have an opinion on Kanye either way, but I just came across this video earlier today, and thought it was pretty funny.
Kanye vs. Freddie Mercury.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwN6dPNXklg

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That's..... horrible. He couldn't carry a tune if you gave him a bucket.

I may or may not like a particular style of music, but I can at least admire and respect an artist who truly honors their craft-- Prince, Sarah McLachlan, Warren Zevon, Danny Elfman and Freddie Mercury are immediate examples that come to mind. ALL can (or could, in Warren and Freddie's case) write their own songs, play numerous musical instruments, and wouldn't be caught dead using auto-tune or lip-syncing-- every one of them has/had an amazing amount of *talent*-- put any of them on stage with nothing more than a mike or a guitar and.....well, wow.

With this in mind, I just don't *get* Kayne West. He's not particularly talented that I can see, he has little to no demonstrated musical ability, can't play an instrument, is rude to his fan base, has a truly terrifying ego, and generally seems to think that the entire world should be groveling at his feet simply because he exists.

Anybody.... ANYBODY can be made to sound good with enough Auto-Tune, mixing and marketing, but that doesn't make you talented-- it makes you lucky.

So, I'm rather puzzled by the whole thing. And I'm even more puzzled by the rabid fan base that excuses his wretched behavior. I just don't see any real talent there.

Just my 0.02.

PS: One more thing. He's a gazillionaire. Why.... WHY does he always look pissed off at the world? If I had his amount of money, I'd have a perma-grin etched onto my face and I'd buy France or something. But he always, always looks like someone took his favorite toys away.

You can't even blame being married to what's-her-name; he looked like that before he married her.

He must be a LOT of fun to be around.

Sheesh.

R.
 
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Let's not forget what he does. He steals other peoples music, and talks over it. Search YouTube for "Kanye West samples" and you'll see all the proof you need. He doesn't have an original bone in his body, unless Kim dons a strap-on and gives him one. Some say he's a great producer? Well, we've already had a post saying all he does as a producer is sits in a chair and watches an engineer do all the work. Have you heard the Kanye Wuss remix of "Billy Jean" on the Thriller re-release? All he did was add a drum machine over it, I could have done that with a drum machine I built back in the late 1980s.

Regarding my comment of "talking" over the music. Rap is a musical art form that some people might get, and some might not. Some people might debate that taking a photograph is much easier than painting a painting. Does that make photography any less of an art form? Of course not. Some rap is great, listen to Sugar Hill Gang's "Rappers Delight". Every word they say is on the beat of the music, and the music was actually re-recorded rather than just sampled. Some modern rappers, it is literally is just talking over the music, with no feel for the rhythm. Someone is going to tell me that's a certain style, or flow, I call it laziness. And sampling? Listen to the intricacies of something like "Paul's Boutique" by the Beastie Boys. There are so many samples going on here, it's hard to even list.

And here's my standard "too old and too white" defense :

Call me too old and too white, maybe I just don't understand modern hip-hop. If it was any other genre of music, it would be called pop. Back when I was young, I used to stay up until 3am, listening to a weak FM signal broadcast by a pirate radio station in London. Sometimes the DJs would show up late, sometimes they wouldn't show up at all, sometimes the station would be raided and their equipment seized. But when they did a show, it was good music, a combination of early hip-hop and what we used to call Electro Funk. Run-DMC, Newcleus, Sugar Hill Gang, West Street Mob, Hashim, Grandmaster Flash. Even Jazz stalwarts like Herbie Hancock ("Rockit") and Tom Browne ("Rockin' Radio") got in on the act. I'd have to save up my allowance, and go to record stores like Groove Records in the most seediest parts of London (Soho, a red light district) to buy some of these. Now, the Playstation generation can download the latest rap song to their iPhone, or paste a link onto their Facebook page...

Lee.
 
Still wondering why leaving it at "I don't like it" isn't enough for people.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I watched a bit of the coverage of him on Glastonbury.

For the ten minutes I managed to endure, he played other people's music and shouted over it, regularly using the words "m*therfu**er", "ni**er" and "ho".

Personally speaking, this is not my definition of 'talent'.
 
Quite a shitflea, this guy. I do not separate the person from the performer for anyone. If you have to act like a rabid asshole, lift others' creations, and process your voice to cover lack of talent, well then... you are this guy (and other people of a similar motif). I see ZERO musical value in his "craft". I am not a rap person by any stretch of the imagination's imagination, but I do appreciate it IF it is well done even if I can't listen to it for enjoyment.

If you are paying attention to him, you are complicit in the behavior and tacitly condone this ego-maniacal, megalomaniacal game player.


MEGALOMANIAC: A megalomaniac is a pathological egotist, that is, someone with a psychological disorder with symptoms like delusions of grandeur and an obsession with power. We also use the word megalomaniac more informally for people who behave as if they're convinced of their absolute power and greatness. Your garden-variety egomaniac might be self-centered and overconfident but he's a little softy compared with the megalomaniac who wants to control the world.
 
I like Kanye's music and don't care what others say. Yeah, his ego is big, I won't deny that.

If you don't like rap/hip hop, then of course you won't like his music.
 
I've read all posts here on this thread, which I just KNEW was going to be a morass.

My question is this - Why is it that this alleged "artist" is given any press whatsoever?

David Crosby freaking nailed it.

Seems to me that Kanye is the new equivalent of Sean "Puffydaddywhateverthehell" Combs.

Writers, other musicians, and avid music fans are giving credence to something that does not deserve it.

Yes, De Gustibus Non Est Disputandum and all that, but c'mon, there's better rap/hip hop than this bloviate.
 
SSaxdude said:
People enjoy his music... You may not, but people have different tastes.
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Not disputing that people enjoy it.

Different strokes for different folks, and all that, which I summed up in the latin phrase above, so often employed by Mhardy.

Critics, listeners, and society in general seem afraid to call things what they are, and handle ego maniacs with little talent such as him with kid gloves.

Shouldn't we expect better out of what we deem "artists" than this pouting turd of a man?(being enjoyed by millions does not legitimize his credibility, only shows the pablum being served up by the record industry)
 
I'm not a huge rap/hip hop fan but there are a few artists who i think have done a terrific job making poetry out of their lyrics and delivering powerful performances that make you think.

I don't have a problem with KW doing his hip hop and rap, I don't think he is particularly great at it but people like him. But please don't try singing when you can't sing and try to tell us you are the greatest rock and roll artist of all time. Greatest hip hopper? Maybe; I couldn't judge that at all but greatest RnR: puhlease!

Just as Willie Nelson shouldn't try to do hip hop neither should KW try to do stuff where the ability to sing in tune is required.

And if he had to pick a queen song to cover, he should have gone with "I'm in love with myself......" :D
 
onwardjames said:
I've read all posts here on this thread, which I just KNEW was going to be a morass.

My question is this - Why is it that this alleged "artist" is given any press whatsoever?

David Crosby freaking nailed it.

Seems to me that Kanye is the new equivalent of Sean "Puffydaddywhateverthehell" Combs.

Writers, other musicians, and avid music fans are giving credence to something that does not deserve it.

Yes, De Gustibus Non Est Disputandum and all that, but c'mon, there's better rap/hip hop than this bloviate.
Click to expand...

P. Diddy is another I can't stand. All ego, no talent. Same with Kanye.

I could overlook their music if I didn't have to hear about them (This is my main gripe with Kanye, he's always in the news about some BS)... Kanye is like a grown up Justin Bieber. All attention seeking, all the time.

Prefer hip hop artists like Snoop Dogg.
 
SSaxdude said:
I like Kanye's music and don't care what others say. Yeah, his ego is big, I won't deny that.



If you don't like rap/hip hop, then of course you won't like his music.
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No one is judging you. Nor should anyone judge you for liking whatever you like.

But my opinion is that this guy is nothing but a semi talented producer/promoter. He decided to promote himself instead of some no talent pretty face.

Snoop and LL Cool J are the ones I like, but I'm sure there are some new guys I'm not familiar with because I'm old now that are just as good. So it's not because he's rap that I'm not a fan. It's because he's a reprehensible person. Like Ted Nugent, another mega douche full of himself. Lots of folks LOVE him too. I think his public persona is that of a douche.

I mean, I liked plenty of crap in the 80s like Total Cuelo (anyone else remember "I Eat Cannibals?) which was "Total Garbage" but fun to listen to at the time. KW is simply using the pro wrestler formula but somehow he is doing it really well.

Notice how the things he does well have nothing to do with music?


Sent from my TARDIS at the restaurant at the end of the universe while eating Phil.
 
onwardjames said:
Critics, listeners, and society in general seem afraid to call things what they are, and handle ego maniacs with little talent such as him with kid gloves.
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Kanye already gets the treatment he deserves. South Park did an entire episode devoted to poking fun at his egotistical behavior. After the Taylor Swift/VMAs incident, he was given so much crap from everyone. Nobody defended his behavior. Same thing with the whole Beck thing this year. Everyone already knows he has a giant ego, even his fans.

Again, saying he has little talent is your opinion. It seems like most people who hold this opinion of Kanye simply don't like rap/hip hop, and/or have ever listened to an entire album of his.

As stated earlier in the thread, it's hypocritical to discredit his talent simply for his behavior while listening to other artists who have done terrible things too. And in comparison to other artists, his behavior is tame. He never killed a person due to drunk driving (Vince Neil of Motley Crue), he never had sex with a minor (Anthony Kiedis of RHCP), he never introduced a "virgin" (someone who has never done heroin before) to heroin (Bradley Nowell of Sublime).
 
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