Kanye’s newest album is at turns haunting, petty, and discordant. And you can’t ignore the shadow of his antisemitism over the whole thing. So why did I like it?
Well. You use words like "artist" and "music", when I wonder if it's just me seeing a naked-ass emperor. The question of whether artistic "greatness" should confer some kind of moral amnesty, as a piece like "Tar" seeks to explore, is, to me, moot, in this instance. Sampling is a dabbler's hobby, and I see no "there" there. Unfortunately, in our present strange cultural bleakscape, the Ultimate Arbiters of Taste (de gustibus!) have graced this troubled man with a chrystalline mantel, and The Real Hiphophousewives of Nod share blankies with the Jupiter Symphony.
You briefly mention Kanye referencing his bipolar disorder, but I feel like any piece about his behavior is incomplete without noting that one, he does in fact have bipolar disorder; and two, he’s said in the past that he doesn’t take medication because he feels it stunts his creativity. We can’t talk about him like he’s a regular, healthy person. Bipolar disorder frequently involves paranoia and sometimes psychosis.
I’m sure someone’s going to say, “I/my brother/my grandma/my neighbor has bipolar disorder, and s/he didn’t become a raging antisemite.” Okay, good for them. But latching onto a conspiracy theory while on a manic phase is not uncommon with bipolar disorder, and there but for the grace of God go we.
West is garbage. His whole genre is garbage. I've heard Lake compare him to [deep breath] Miles Davis, and there could be no more disqualifying a contention.
I know pop music history/critiquing is a passion of Lake's -- but I'll stick to his politics and political history and investigative journalism, where he and his podcast shine.
Kanye West is the musical equivalent of a dimestore novel. Meanwhile, talented artists who have spent decades mastering instruments and songwriting are languishing in the shadows.
This is the end result of "elevating people." Our culture is literal trash.
As a music curator, Grammy Voter, and pro working musician, I think FP would do well to invoke more specific musical language on reviews like this. It helps to explain what makes/made Kanye special, and describe what the expectations of genre are so as to evaluate Kanye by those standards. Rap music has a norms that are not easily discerned, evaluated, or accepted by people who didn’t grow up with it (and frankly, I know people who, having grown up with both the music and lifestyles it often depicts, are so mortified that they have no taste for it at all). Still, having spent time in studios studying this music and making creative decisions about it, I’d like to offer some musical considerations about what makes Kanye unique
Sampling: Sampling effectively is difficult. One is not concerned with coordinating rhythm, melody and harmony but also timbre and your “orchestra” is all previously recorded music. These are loose constraints that make the creative process nontrivial to the uninitiated, and that’s before we get to the laborious process of “chopping up” and arranging records. Kanye has had a coherent sonic vision with extreme attention to detail on each project for most of his career that for at least 15 years influenced the sound of the genre as a whole.
Arrangement: Kanye’s experiments with form starting with the Yeezus album have made non linear forms more en vogue. Kanye (often not always) exhibits a sense of proportion and development that is at least emotionally compelling, if not great which sets him apart from lazier producers. This craftsmanship takes some of his beats from being simple loops to compositions. Of course they are still meant to be rapped over so it would not be appropriate to compare to large orchestral work but certainly to pop and RnB orchestrations of the 20th C.
Lyrics: Rap is often vulgar but at its artistic best lyrics are intricate, compelling, and clever. Kanye was never rhythmically intricate or in possession on the best rhymes but he was often interesting, humorous, and spoke to what his audience was feeling. He changed the “Overton window” of rap to admit more of the human condition on a couple of his projects. Although now he just seems to push it toward being shocking. A caveat: With rap lyrics, I find people can deal with them or they can’t. The vulgarity, the pace, the use of metaphor, the humor can be too much to process. There’s a “there” there but if it’s not for you that’s fine.
Given an article I’d go into more detail but this is already too long! Would love to see Douglass Murray level analysis of relevant music on FP though!
Kanye isn’t vulgar, rap is vulgar. If you like the genre you know this. Listen to Boyz in the hood by NWA from the 80’s where Easy E is rapping about grabbing his girlfriend by the hair and smacking her. Then punching out her dad when he tries to help. Being vulgar is so old news with rap its not worth mentioning.
I also think a lot of educated people fail to understand what untreated Bipolar I can look like.
Please pay attention to the third bullet point under Manic Episode. About three or four times a year this guys brain goes completely haywire. He is likely having psychotic breaks and becoming completely untethered to reality. It is common for people to have delusions about religious groups or the government.
Also consider that he is also having hypomanic episodes as well as major depressive episodes. I don’t completely give the man a free pass since he knows he has a problem and doesn’t seek treatment. But lets cool the outrage about his delusional comments about Jews.
That is exactly what they are. They are literal delusions from a crazy person.
What we call art and culture today is a reflection of what Western society has become. Vulgar, misogynistic, confused, a Jew twisting himself in knots to embrace an anti-semitic, hate filled artist, etc. etc. etc.. This is so sad.
I, too, was in awe of Kanye during his early days. “The College Dropout” and “Late Registration” are incredible albums.
But now? The guy has absolutely smoked himself onto the schizoaffective spectrum, and I find it painful to watch someone so clearly struggling with mental health issues continually degrade himself.
Thus, I try never to view headlines associated with the musical titan formerly known as Kanye West. I made an exception for this article because it’s the FP, but I definitely won’t be streaming the new album.
For my part I choose not to support assholes by being a consumer of their works. We can grant certain indulgences for people being products of their times, particularly when it would have taken near superhuman insight and thoughtfulness for them to have transcended conventions and habits of mind that completely saturated the cultures that reared them. Antisemitism was ubiquitous in Shakespeare’s time. Abraham Lincoln was the Great Emancipator, yet never thought blacks the equals of whites. Virtually no other white person of his age did either. Yet it’s never been okay to rape girls or stab your wife, and people like Kanye living in more enlightened times who should know better don’t get a pass. He’s obnoxious and toxic. I have no interest in contributing to his success.
I am really shocked at some of the comments here - people making excuses for Kanye's virulent Jew-hatred because of supposed "mental illness". Have any of you seen his medical records? I haven't. And even if he is bi-polar, that is not an excuse. Do you guys also excuse serial killers because of mental illness?! Enough of giving this asshat a pass. Besides that, his music sucks.
Eli, I always appreciate your voice and here appreciate your magnanimity towards an artist with loathsome views. And as a Kanye fan since 2004 as well, I am glad to read it. As you note, there are many artists whose views of humanity or politics are antithetical to my own and I do feel a little guilt whenever confronted with them. But listen (or view), I do. My views of people/world/good & evil cannot be influenced by celebrities with whom I have no personal relationship nor respect for opinions outside of their field of expertise, so I accept that sometimes it is the crazy wrong mo-fos who break through the noise.
Artist? Music? Spare me the noise.
Well. You use words like "artist" and "music", when I wonder if it's just me seeing a naked-ass emperor. The question of whether artistic "greatness" should confer some kind of moral amnesty, as a piece like "Tar" seeks to explore, is, to me, moot, in this instance. Sampling is a dabbler's hobby, and I see no "there" there. Unfortunately, in our present strange cultural bleakscape, the Ultimate Arbiters of Taste (de gustibus!) have graced this troubled man with a chrystalline mantel, and The Real Hiphophousewives of Nod share blankies with the Jupiter Symphony.
You briefly mention Kanye referencing his bipolar disorder, but I feel like any piece about his behavior is incomplete without noting that one, he does in fact have bipolar disorder; and two, he’s said in the past that he doesn’t take medication because he feels it stunts his creativity. We can’t talk about him like he’s a regular, healthy person. Bipolar disorder frequently involves paranoia and sometimes psychosis.
I’m sure someone’s going to say, “I/my brother/my grandma/my neighbor has bipolar disorder, and s/he didn’t become a raging antisemite.” Okay, good for them. But latching onto a conspiracy theory while on a manic phase is not uncommon with bipolar disorder, and there but for the grace of God go we.
Edit:typo
West is garbage. His whole genre is garbage. I've heard Lake compare him to [deep breath] Miles Davis, and there could be no more disqualifying a contention.
I know pop music history/critiquing is a passion of Lake's -- but I'll stick to his politics and political history and investigative journalism, where he and his podcast shine.
Kanye West is the musical equivalent of a dimestore novel. Meanwhile, talented artists who have spent decades mastering instruments and songwriting are languishing in the shadows.
This is the end result of "elevating people." Our culture is literal trash.
As a music curator, Grammy Voter, and pro working musician, I think FP would do well to invoke more specific musical language on reviews like this. It helps to explain what makes/made Kanye special, and describe what the expectations of genre are so as to evaluate Kanye by those standards. Rap music has a norms that are not easily discerned, evaluated, or accepted by people who didn’t grow up with it (and frankly, I know people who, having grown up with both the music and lifestyles it often depicts, are so mortified that they have no taste for it at all). Still, having spent time in studios studying this music and making creative decisions about it, I’d like to offer some musical considerations about what makes Kanye unique
Sampling: Sampling effectively is difficult. One is not concerned with coordinating rhythm, melody and harmony but also timbre and your “orchestra” is all previously recorded music. These are loose constraints that make the creative process nontrivial to the uninitiated, and that’s before we get to the laborious process of “chopping up” and arranging records. Kanye has had a coherent sonic vision with extreme attention to detail on each project for most of his career that for at least 15 years influenced the sound of the genre as a whole.
Arrangement: Kanye’s experiments with form starting with the Yeezus album have made non linear forms more en vogue. Kanye (often not always) exhibits a sense of proportion and development that is at least emotionally compelling, if not great which sets him apart from lazier producers. This craftsmanship takes some of his beats from being simple loops to compositions. Of course they are still meant to be rapped over so it would not be appropriate to compare to large orchestral work but certainly to pop and RnB orchestrations of the 20th C.
Lyrics: Rap is often vulgar but at its artistic best lyrics are intricate, compelling, and clever. Kanye was never rhythmically intricate or in possession on the best rhymes but he was often interesting, humorous, and spoke to what his audience was feeling. He changed the “Overton window” of rap to admit more of the human condition on a couple of his projects. Although now he just seems to push it toward being shocking. A caveat: With rap lyrics, I find people can deal with them or they can’t. The vulgarity, the pace, the use of metaphor, the humor can be too much to process. There’s a “there” there but if it’s not for you that’s fine.
Given an article I’d go into more detail but this is already too long! Would love to see Douglass Murray level analysis of relevant music on FP though!
Musical genius? His music sucks, his lyrics suck. You are much better at investigative reporting than music critic.
Kanye isn’t vulgar, rap is vulgar. If you like the genre you know this. Listen to Boyz in the hood by NWA from the 80’s where Easy E is rapping about grabbing his girlfriend by the hair and smacking her. Then punching out her dad when he tries to help. Being vulgar is so old news with rap its not worth mentioning.
I also think a lot of educated people fail to understand what untreated Bipolar I can look like.
https://floridabhcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Bipolar-Disorders_Adult-Guidelines-2019-2020.pdf
Please pay attention to the third bullet point under Manic Episode. About three or four times a year this guys brain goes completely haywire. He is likely having psychotic breaks and becoming completely untethered to reality. It is common for people to have delusions about religious groups or the government.
Also consider that he is also having hypomanic episodes as well as major depressive episodes. I don’t completely give the man a free pass since he knows he has a problem and doesn’t seek treatment. But lets cool the outrage about his delusional comments about Jews.
That is exactly what they are. They are literal delusions from a crazy person.
What we call art and culture today is a reflection of what Western society has become. Vulgar, misogynistic, confused, a Jew twisting himself in knots to embrace an anti-semitic, hate filled artist, etc. etc. etc.. This is so sad.
And this article ladies and gentlemen completely explains why Jew hating liberal woke politicians keep getting reelected.
There aren't enough stories about how badly the United States is going down the toilet...
So let's focus on this narcissistic asshole for a while...
I, too, was in awe of Kanye during his early days. “The College Dropout” and “Late Registration” are incredible albums.
But now? The guy has absolutely smoked himself onto the schizoaffective spectrum, and I find it painful to watch someone so clearly struggling with mental health issues continually degrade himself.
Thus, I try never to view headlines associated with the musical titan formerly known as Kanye West. I made an exception for this article because it’s the FP, but I definitely won’t be streaming the new album.
Is there nothing better to write about. Lake requires a bit of education in music. This is “exaltation of the bogus”
For my part I choose not to support assholes by being a consumer of their works. We can grant certain indulgences for people being products of their times, particularly when it would have taken near superhuman insight and thoughtfulness for them to have transcended conventions and habits of mind that completely saturated the cultures that reared them. Antisemitism was ubiquitous in Shakespeare’s time. Abraham Lincoln was the Great Emancipator, yet never thought blacks the equals of whites. Virtually no other white person of his age did either. Yet it’s never been okay to rape girls or stab your wife, and people like Kanye living in more enlightened times who should know better don’t get a pass. He’s obnoxious and toxic. I have no interest in contributing to his success.
I am really shocked at some of the comments here - people making excuses for Kanye's virulent Jew-hatred because of supposed "mental illness". Have any of you seen his medical records? I haven't. And even if he is bi-polar, that is not an excuse. Do you guys also excuse serial killers because of mental illness?! Enough of giving this asshat a pass. Besides that, his music sucks.
Eli, I always appreciate your voice and here appreciate your magnanimity towards an artist with loathsome views. And as a Kanye fan since 2004 as well, I am glad to read it. As you note, there are many artists whose views of humanity or politics are antithetical to my own and I do feel a little guilt whenever confronted with them. But listen (or view), I do. My views of people/world/good & evil cannot be influenced by celebrities with whom I have no personal relationship nor respect for opinions outside of their field of expertise, so I accept that sometimes it is the crazy wrong mo-fos who break through the noise.