Who is Kanye West? He’s not a Kardashian who got famous for a sex tape. He’s not Danny Bonnaducci who got famous as a child-star, and later doing massive amounts of drugs. He’s also not Levi Johnston, who got famous for impregnating Bristol Palin out of wedlock. Now, Kanye West may be just as controversial as all of these people combined, but Kanye West is, first and foremost, a rapper.
Although Kanye West’s reputation has suffered because of his antics where he often speaks off the cuff on platform’s like Twitter and the MTV VMA’s, his record as a rapper/producer is next to immaculate. He’s produced countless hits for artists like Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, John Legend, The Game, himself, and more.
Flash-forward to 2010, and to a music world eagerly awaiting West’s next album — but why all the hype? Picture it this way. Have you ever seen a stark-raving, starving lion, released into a room full of people dressed as t-bone steaks, who have been poking at him in his cage, and insulting him for years? I haven’t either, but you can probably imagine what happens next.
Kanye West has not only been controversial; he has made himself the butt of every comedian’s jokes. His biggest flaw is also what makes him one of the best rappers today — by the end of his career he will undoubtedly be considered one of the best rappers of all-time — he says whatever’s on his mind. Whether it’s “George Bush doesn’t care about black people,” “Maybe my skin’s not right,” after being passed up for Britney Spears to open the 2007 MTV VMA’s, and of course, the infamous “Im’ma let you finish…” monologue in which he stole the spotlight from Taylor Swift, who had just won the VMA for Best Female Video. West has no filter.
After his break-up with fiancee, designer Alexis Phifer, West poured his emotions into “808’s & Heartbreak”, an auto-tune-filled manifesto that placed West on one side of the ring and love in the other. The album featured the tracks, “Heartless,” “Welcome to Heartbreak,” and “See You in my Nightmares.” Now that the lion has devoured love and spit it back out, his hungry eyes are set on all the haters.
“Power” — the first single from his soon-to-be-released fifth album (no confirmed title as of yet), shows that the lion is going for the jugular. His first victim: Saturday Night Live. There are too many expletives in this verse for me to re-create what West has to say about the SNL cast, but, let’s just say, I’d be very surprised if he got invited back anytime soon. Like music created to inspire a charging-army, “Power” kicks off with tribal-chants and hand-claps before West comes in, as if he’s got his war-paint on, and is ready for battle. It’s a taste of the fury West is ready to unleash. No holds barred. No mercy.
But, it’s not just anger that is creating all the hype for this album — the list of rumored collaborators is an all-star team of the best music has to offer — Eminem, Drake, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Justin Vernon, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Mos Def, RZA, Justin Bieber and more. Kanye West is also considered by the best, to be one of the best, and most original producers in hip-hop. Don’t think he hasn’t noticed the success of Eminem’s “Recovery,” Drake’s “Thank Me Later,” and Jay-Z’s “The Blueprint 3,” as a challenge to his hip-hop throne.
Lastly, West has been at work on this album secretly, like a secluded madman, in a studio in Hawaii, where he flies collaborators into his lab for whatever potent concoction he’s mixing. All of these ingredients combined could result in a potion that could usher in the greatest rap album of all-time. Certainly, if anyone has the power to do this, it’s Kanye West.
Love him or hate him, you cannot deny this man’s talent. To say that he has made a lasting mark on the history of music is an understatement. There are still a few months until the November release of the album, and the lion waits, quietly. The rage in his eyes makes his mouth foam, and when the cage is opened, run for your lives or run to purchase the album.
