Who the f- is Kanye West?!
He's a dude who has made some of the worst records of all time .
have you even listened to the college dropout?
Kanye West On Creativity
61–70 of 96 posts
Re: Kanye West On Creativity
#62I'm sorry, but Mr. West is such an insufferable ass that I can't bring myself to read this.
Does that make his work an less amazing, how many great artists really are nice guys ;) I think it comes with the territory, can't be an agnst artist and a super nice guy.
Re: Kanye West On Creativity
#63Oh. Looks like Kanye's attempting a little heartfelt PR stunt to make people believe he actually has a responsibility to create. Fair attempt, but his actions say the exact opposite: that he's doing it all for himself, the fame and recognition. I, for one, don't believe this jackass.
I don't think they're mutually exclusive. Where does this urge and feeling of a responsibility to create come from? Preservation of the ego, legacy, a feeling of importance.. all things that fame and recognition fuel.
It's a bit like economic motivation in capitalism. If someone's greed for money leads to them doing great things to make money (hiring people and redistributing wealth in the process) then that "greed" is considered good, from a capitalist point of view.
In the same way, Kanye routinely admits he has a massive ego, and I think that if that ego and pride leads to him doing some great work (even if he says some stupid shit from to time) then it's worth it. It's not like he's running drugs, touching kids, screwing taxpayers out of money, or whatever.. being an ass and jumping on stages is a small inconvenience for what he brings to the world.
Re: Kanye West On Creativity
#64Re: Kanye West On Creativity
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
Absolutely - the dude's not the best rapper, but he's easily the best lyricist of this generation.
indeed How could you be so Dr. Evil You're bringing out a side of me that I don't know I decided we weren't gonna speak so why we up 3 a.m. on the phone Why does she be so mad at me for, homie I don't know she's hot and cold I won't stop, won't mess my groove up cause I already know how this thing goes, You run and tell your friends that you're leavin' me They say that they don't see what you see in me You wait a cou…
No. Bob Dylan is still the Bob Dylan of our times. Go listen to Modern Times or Love and Theft again. In the genre, I'll still put Common above Kanye in lyrics, and so would Jay-Z. How about The Roots?
Kayne, as a producer, does great work. His lyrics are usually good. (I'm not a fan of Misogynist hits like Kanye's Workout Plan or Golddigger, but hey.) But Bob Dylan?
Re: Kanye West On Creativity
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
indeed How could you be so Dr. Evil You're bringing out a side of me that I don't know I decided we weren't gonna speak so why we up 3 a.m. on the phone Why does she be so mad at me for, homie I don't know she's hot and cold I won't stop, won't mess my groove up cause I already know how this thing goes, You run and tell your friends that you're leavin' me They say that they don't see what you see in me You wait a cou…
No. Bob Dylan is still the Bob Dylan of our times. Go listen to Modern Times or Love and Theft again. In the genre, I'll still put Common above Kanye in lyrics, and so would Jay-Z. How about The Roots? Kayne, as a producer, does great work. His lyrics are usually good. (I'm not a fan of Misogynist hits like Kanye's Workout Plan or Golddigger, but hey.) But Bob Dylan?
Well, I was being sarcastic. I grew up with the rhymesayers and think Kanye's lyrics are a joke. I'd rather listen to Little Wayne, at least he's not pretending to be deep.
Re: Kanye West On Creativity
#67When I meet someone at a party or a random event, I find that I hit it off most with those who genuinely want to create things with love, passion, and stubbornness and share them with people. Even if they are amateurish. I ride the train every day and I see so many people just consuming content. Be it whatever they do on their Blackberry or iPhone or book or the local paper. I always smile when I see someone crocheti…
> We are a consumer society. I don't think it's quite that bleak. The trick is that we only create in a small handful of arenas. So most of what we have in common with one another, most of what we do, is consume other people's productions. But that guy passively consuming on the train might have a woodshop at home and could be reading about woodcraft and fueling his passion even as he consumes. That guy on the blackb…
Thanks for your comments.
I don't think it is a bad thing that we may be a consumer society.
And you are correct in that observing people passively on the train without asking them about themselves is a biased filter.
In my biased worldview, I do believe strongly that most people are happier consuming content vs the pain and joy of producing original content (for example, the creative army behind a hit series like 'Big Love'). Personally, I am happiest when I am making something (whether it be a homemade crappy non-Hallmark but sentimental birthday card or some Cocoa code for an upcoming iPhone app). And it is very, very easy for my addictive personality to sit on the couch and surf on the iPhone until the battery low warning.
On a tangent, is why I believe Facebook/Twitter/et al. are positive - they allow people to share bits of their interests/lives.
Note: A few of the best conversations I have ever had have been with random strangers (non-regulars) on the train/airplane about their lives
Re: Kanye West On Creativity
#68Nobody, even Kanye himself, would disagree the guy is a bit of a dick sometimes, but it's nice to see someone that wears his (he)art on his sleeve and strives for the best. He's the Steve Jobs of Hip Hop.
I disagree. Jay-Z, Tupac or Notorious BIG are the "Steve Jobs" (eg: consistently raising the bar) of Hip Hop
I don't feel Steve Jobs is notable solely because he 'consistently raises the bar', but his approach to creation. Jay-z admitted in his lyrics where he says "I wanna rhyme like Common Sense, but i did five Mil,
I ain't been rhymin' like Common since" that he prefers to be more profitable rather than to fulfill his desire to rap about what he wants to. Biggie doesn't have a catalog(2 studio albums) large enough to really say that he consistently raises the bar. Also both Biggie and Tupac came from an era that produced Naughty by Nature, A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, The Wu-Tang Clan and many others. It's a bit much they raised the bar when there were others around pushing hip hop at least as far. But I digress, the ways in which you can draw similarities to Kanye and Steve Jobs is that they prize aesthetics, are known for creating what they see as ideal, a disdain for compromise, going against the grain and being extremely successful at what they do. So I think Kanye is far more analogous to Steve Jobs than anyone else in hip hop.
Re: Kanye West On Creativity
#69When I meet someone at a party or a random event, I find that I hit it off most with those who genuinely want to create things with love, passion, and stubbornness and share them with people. Even if they are amateurish. I ride the train every day and I see so many people just consuming content. Be it whatever they do on their Blackberry or iPhone or book or the local paper. I always smile when I see someone crocheti…
Hey man, if there are a handful of creative people, there's got to be someone spending time appreciating it, or there's no audience.
Re: Kanye West On Creativity
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
I disagree. Jay-Z, Tupac or Notorious BIG are the "Steve Jobs" (eg: consistently raising the bar) of Hip Hop
I don't feel Steve Jobs is notable solely because he 'consistently raises the bar', but his approach to creation. Jay-z admitted in his lyrics where he says "I wanna rhyme like Common Sense, but i did five Mil, I ain't been rhymin' like Common since" that he prefers to be more profitable rather than to fulfill his desire to rap about what he wants to. Biggie doesn't have a catalog(2 studio albums) large enough to rea…
well explained. :)