Kanye’s got to be stopped.
Or, more specifically, his mouth does. I’m not talking
about his little “George Bush doesn’t care about black
people” bit, as hilarious as that was. I’m talking
about his awards show outbreaks that, in the last two years, have
become almost characteristic.
Rewind to late 2004 at the American Music Awards. Kanye West
loses the Breakthrough Favorite New Artist award to Gretchen
Wilson, walks into the press room, and announces, “I was the
best new artist this year, so get that other bullshit out of
here.”
A year later, as Grammy season neared, Kanye claimed that if he
didn’t win Album of the Year, he was going to have a problem.
He went on to criticize musicians that were not assertive enough,
stating that humbleness was an expectation that the media projects
onto artists and one that should be ignored.
Last week, Kanye added a third public outbreak to his repertoire
at the MTV Europe Music Awards. After losing Best Video to Justice
and Simian’s “We Are Your Friends,” he stormed
the stage, microphone in hand, protesting that his video should
have won. His reasons include that the video cost a million
dollars, that Pamela Anderson was in it, and that he was
“jumping across canyons and shit.”
It’s not that his conception of himself as an artist is
entirely inaccurate ““ Kanye’s last two albums have
garnered near-universal acclaim and astonishing reactions from the
smallest indie blogs to the pop culture giants at MTV. Since 2001,
he’s become an integral member of the hip-hop scene as a
producer and, more recently, an MC. He’s worked alongside
Jay-Z, started his own recording company, and established himself
as one of the more vocal political activists on the music
scene.
What’s really remarkable about these outbreaks are the fan
reactions. His bloated self-image doesn’t seem to be holding
him back in terms of sales and popularity; in fact, the attention
he gets probably does him more good than harm.
Which brings to light one glaring fact: The masses of fans
bumping to “Touch the Sky” don’t care that Kanye
is being a total hypocrite.
West’s career as a rapper took off after a car crash in
late 2002 when he became a born-again Christian, believing Jesus to
be responsible for his healing. But while he makes Christian themes
a prominent part of his lyrics, his insatiable pride and
offensiveness toward other artists would indicate otherwise.
It’s difficult to imagine that the slightly drunk rapper
who tried to convince millions of viewers worldwide that he
deserved the Best Video Award is the same person who characterized
himself as a modern-day bringer of Biblical truths.
And while it seems that most people are content to laugh it all
off with, “Oh Kanye, you’re such a character!”
while turning up “Gold Digger” in their headphones, I
am of the humble opinion that we need to demand a degree of
responsibility from our cultural icons.
After all, Kanye isn’t lacking entirely in self-awareness
like Flavor Flav or Madonna. He knows exactly what he’s
doing; he knows the power he commands when he’s behind the
microphone, and he knows that there are millions of fans who
idolize him. His outbreaks have crossed the boundary of public
entertainment and have become an ugly tribute to what stars can
become if left to say and do whatever they want.
Not to assert that he’s done legitimate harm to anyone,
because other than causing Justice and Simian and Gretchen Wilson
some embarrassment, he hasn’t. But someone needs to give
Kanye a good slap in the face before he does something really
stupid.
Duhamel doesn’t care about black people, except maybe
Lupe Fiasco. E-mail him at dduhamel@media.ucla.edu.