“Kanye Gets it Wrong” by Dr. John Spruill III

12 Feb 2016

Posted by ProfessU

Feb. 11th marks the premiere of Kanye West’s latest studio album, “The Life of Pablo”, and also the day that I disassociated myself from his fan base. I was once a fan of this young brother from Chicago that was the only child to an educator and a revolutionary/salesman, and was extremely giving to the hip-hop culture. Now that he has transcended the genre/culture, it appears that his motives are driven more by the world of popular culture, and the billions of dollars that are associated with it.

I cannot lie, I was anticipating the release of this album just like millions of others- with hopes that it would reflect maturity….sonically and personally. However, this opportunity to have a POWERFUL moment was missed- only to add fuel to a society already in turmoil. This current music does nothing to uplift us spiritually- only the false hopes of being relieved financially. After hearing lyrics which referred to Taylor Swift as a “b____”, I felt as if I turned red. Why?? Is that truly supposed to represent art? It is extremely disheartening to hear this, and then to see his innocent infant daughter in the arena taking in all of the sights and sounds of this irresponsible fiasco made me even more upset.

At a time when we need the youth to be inspired by positivity, we have to not only battle society, but also those elements which continue to exacerbate the problems that lie in front of us. I thank Dr. Hamilton for being one of the several individuals willing to listen to my rant about us wanting to get it RIGHT. It truly hurts to see opportunities not being taken advantage of- especially in the context of today’s society.

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