Only in a dumbed down time such as ours can a guy like Kayne West—who doesn’t play an instrument, write music in a traditional sense, know theory, ora nything—be seen as a ‘musical genius’.
The computer, and digital technology in general, has revolutionized pretty much every art form.
Why stick to traditional forms that have been done over and over a billion times when you can create new avenues for yourself and other artists to build off of?
It’s the same old, “get off my lawn, kids!” ideology that makes art stagnate.
Art moves forward whether you like it or not. And while I would fall well short of calling Yeezy a musical genius there are plenty of them in and out of hip-hop that don’t make music in any “traditional” sense.
But hey, I’m just a musician with almost ten years training on two instruments, and in theory. So, I’m obviously just one of those trend followers like almost every other important band, group, rapper, singer, or singular musician to make an album in the twenty-first century…
I feel that people tend to judge Kanye harshly due to some of his lackluster singles from his 808 period. Listen to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy; it’s innovative, emotional, and perhaps the most musical hip-hop record ever made.
and there’s nothing wrong with one artist paying homage to another. It’s very likely that this video is going to garner more attention for “Enter The Void” than any trailer or film critic could.
so, because an album is mainstream, it sucks? my top two albums of the year were Joanna Newsom’s Have One on Me and Kanye’s album. I wouldn’t say she is in the ‘mainstream realm’, but then again you’re just a judgmental prick who uses false assumptions to make your points.
^I only listen to whatever Pitchfork says is cool, too.
…what?
and there’s nothing wrong with one artist paying homage to another. It’s very likely that this video is going to garner more attention for “Enter The Void” than any trailer or film critic could.
Have One on Me is my top album of 2010, and Kanye’s Fantasy doesn’t even come close.
Into Peripheral Vision: kanye west isn’t even a musical genius in the non-orthodox way that’s you’re suggesting. he’s not pioneering anything. there are alot of people pushing hip hop and rap music forward. kanye isn’t one of them. try: antipop consortium, infinite livez, mike ladd, el-p, saul williams
Correcting my previous post in which I managed to post the quote but not what I had to say in response:
and there’s nothing wrong with one artist paying homage to another. It’s very likely that this video is going to garner more attention for “Enter The Void” than any trailer or film critic could.
1) There’s a difference between ‘paying homage to’ and straight up reusing
2) Sometimes attention that is gotten that way isn’t/shouldn’t be wanted.
i think we’re all missing the key point here
which is that seriously, “All of the Lights” was like the lamest track on that entire record
that insane distorto-mix of “Freak” worked way better for murdering epileptic people
so, because an album is mainstream, it sucks? – Strangelove
No. An artist who sucks, sucks. Get it? Once again, anyone who’s capable of voicing a valid theoretical defense of West’s music … feel free to advance such an argument. There’s no use debating a point with people who are apparently driven by feeling and not by intelligence or critical thought. West’s album is the best of the year? Great, now support that claim.
INTO PERIPHERAL: oh yes, the tired old ‘music moves on/get with teh times’ argument. what are these retards doing with this technology that is so amazing? i’ll tell you :writing shitty simplistic pop music. that is not genius. Most rap producers are just samplers. That is a technical skill, not a musical one. Some have elevated it to to the level of art—i.e El-P—but those guys apply compositional like principles to their material, they are not just cutting and pasting sounds on an elementary school level.
There is room for technology to produce new music, but it’s happening on a far more underground level.
DR STRANGELOVE: most mainstream music is for children ok? If yo uare a child, that’s fair enough, but the mainstream today is not what mainstream of the 70’s. most music now in the mainstream is for retards.
^^Excuse the spelling mistakes. Not able to edit on this computer.
And Deckard, you won’t find any real defense for Kayne or artists like that. It’s a herd mentality that drives the hype for his music. I’m not saying there isn’t any validity to it, but like Jay-Z, it’s a case of being told that something is brilliant over and over until one starts believing it.
Hype over substance.
Kanye is doing much more than just sampling.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Beautiful_Dark_Twisted_Fantasy#Musicians
^^I know, but how much of it does he actually write? How much of it is arranged behind the scenes, by others? Keep in mind he has other writers.
I remember years ago Kayne said that a lot of the orchestral stuff in his music is just interplorations.
lol, you said most. aka kanye is not part of that most. kanye west isn’t lil wayne; he’s not the product of a hipster hype machine, he got his start in production and that is still his most appealing aspect. i mean it sounds to me like most of the people commenting here don’t even like hip hop (correct me if i’m wrong) but trust me i know mainstream rap music is trash. i wrote the other day in a blog about how cannibal ox’s ‘the cold vein’ still remains the best rap album released in the last decade, something that tv and radio wouldn’t dare play. el-p’s progressive production is better than kanye’s, yes, but that doesn’t mean that west’s production isn’t interesting to say the least. how many mainstream rappers are making 7 minute songs with extended interludes and aphex twin samples? mixing a lot of his own personal follies and a lot of black comedy into ‘my beautiful twisted dark fantasy’ the album works not only because of its attempt to progress mainstream hip hop into something more futurist, but because west’s lyricism has also improved. i don’t need to justify my liking for his music, but i don’t think i should be lambasted for liking it either. people seemed to be throwing the word ‘hipster’ around when they’re the ones crying ‘mainstream bad! mainstream bad!’ i couldn’t really care less if you don’t like west’s music, but it’s certainly more exciting than most hip hop artists’ music that has came out in the last decade.
^^‘The Cold Vein’ is great yeah.
Kayne isn’t terrible, but i do object to this reference of him being ‘genius’.
I don’t think Kayne is a product of the ‘hipster hype machine’ either, mostly because he set many of the trends in style today, but i think there is too much uncritical acceptance of his work, that’s all. e.g the autotune record.
I concur Cold Vein about being best rap album of last decade.
I’ll admit that kanye is accomplished as a producer, a “beatsmith” – I’m sure he knows his way around the studio. The problem is that the beats he makes are lackluster at best (sure, they’re unique. but they’re also stale), and his rhymes are UNDENIABLY cringeworthy. Kanye never could -school-level writing skills and delivery are so severely underwhelming, that it becomes almost part of his charm. At leaste, that’s what I think part of his appeal must be, but I personally don’t get it – mediocrity does not impress me.oh yes, the tired old ‘music moves on/get with teh times’ argument. what are these retards doing with this technology that is so amazing? i’ll tell you :writing shitty simplistic pop music. that is not genius. Most rap producers are just samplers. That is a technical skill, not a musical one. Some have elevated it to to the level of art—i.e El-P—but those guys apply compositional like principles to their material, they are not just cutting and pasting sounds on an elementary school level.
There is room for technology to produce new music, but it’s happening on a far more underground level.
Yeah, that’s what I said.
But I would like to point out that 1) Kanye has never just been a “sampler,” he’s always created his own textures and sounds (shit, even his use of voice modulation on samples (which is a musical skill) changed hip-hop), and 2) he’s been on the top of hip-hop for over a decade… The Beatles only lasted eight years as a comparison. I’d say having a commercial and critical career that long a little bit more than just “hype.”
Especially considering the current recording climate (low sales, and record companies wary of anything that “experiments” (and let’s not forget Yeezy’s adventurous nature, even when it totally fails)). And! Especially! Considering that most rappers last about a second and fall from the face of the earth (Blueprint, for example, came out around the time of Petey Pablo’s first single, and album)… What he’s doing in mainstream music is rather impressive, even if it would only be mediocre in comparison to El-P (who’s main claim is as a producer, also (I’d take his work with Mr. Lif over his own rhymes anyday)), or Madlib. It’s a lot easier in today’s world to be underground for a decade than it is to be mainstream for one.
very true ^^
Haha Kanye is mediocrity I love it.
El-P can’t really be compared to Kanye they are worlds apart. The Def Jux sound and those artists represent a whole different idea for hip-hop. Sure it’s more street and pushing boundries for hip-hop but in different ways…keep in mind it’s not pop music. Kanye is still pop music. If anything, give Kanye credit for trying to bridge the gap a bit for the masses by being more artistic and borrowing something like ‘Enter the Void’ title sequences. Maybe that will inspire a larger audience to look into some more interesting, less commercial films? Nothing wrong with that.
Kanye is a far more prolific artist than almost every pop artist working today. You may not like hip-hop or understand it, but the latest album transcends from just hip-hop into a more pop accessible environment while still staying legitimate to hip-hop and a more unique blend of musicality. It’s one of the first of its kind to pull that off and that’s why it is receiving all the praise…but of course there is a massive group of people that hate him regardless.
In terms of the Enter the Void titles…I see it exactly as the hip-hop concept of sampling. All Rap artists sample. Why wouldn’t Hype Williams and Kanye sample an idea like that if they thought it was solid?
Pierre
So maybe Noe can do a film about a director who beats to death the wrong MC who stole his credit sequence and show it in reverse order…….