The New God Named Kanye West
Mid-2000, for the first time I heard a rapper named Kanye West. I know him not from music played on MTV, but from magazines that my sister and I often buy — certainly bought by my parents. In the magazine, most are not about the song or album he just released, but from his controversial behavior.
At that time he was dating Amber Rose, a model, artist, or whatever it was called — I was also not interested in knowing more about the bald woman. But I see Kanye as a jerk, making junk songs, and of course, controversial.
I had aspirations since high school to become a music journalist. Concert coverage, writing articles about the latest music news, and of course reviewing albums from various types of bands and genres, is sure to be a pleasant job. Fortunately, I have carried out this goal — even though it has only been for 7 months. Rolling Stone Indonesia (RIP) wants to accept this young man who is looking for an internship. In the end, I was taught how we must accept all types of music in the world. Fortunately, that advice I had done a few months earlier. Precisely when Kanye released Yeezus.
Yeezus is an album that attracted me to the man who was born on June 8 — his birthday is the same as mine. Why can I be attracted to Yeezus? The main reason is the title of the album itself is interesting. Kanye combines his nickname, “Ye” with “Jesus”. Then slightly modified to become Yeezus. Many say cheesy, but for me, it is truly iconic. Legendary move.
With the release of Yeezus, Kanye seemed to want to say that his position in the world of music and the universe was the same as God. Just imagine, when I first downloaded the album illegally — I’m sorry, Yeezus — on the third song “I Am a God”, he wrote God as featuring.
“What? Featuring with God? “
For people who are just starting to become interested in it, I find it very controversial. But that’s the advantage of Kanye West. He can change the controversial energy that tends to be negative into positive. The songs in Yeezus place themselves as complete musicians.
Yeezus’s vibes were far more harsh, hard, and stomping. Especially when compared to other albums that he had released, after Yeezus or before. Like a rollercoaster, Kanye never stops making people who listen to Yeezus feel amazed.
I know that there are many Kanye fans out there who think of Yeezus as one of the bad albums from him. But to hell with it all. When Kanye released Yeezus, he managed to position himself as the highest in the music world. Controversial is in his blood and genius is in his brain.
I just talked to Jesus
He said, “What up, Yeezus?”
I said, “Shit — I’m chillin ‘
Tryna stack these millions “
I know he is the most high
But I am a close high
Have you read the song lyrics above? That’s a part of “I Am a God”. When I first read the lyrics — I wasn’t very good at hearing the rapper voice the lyrics — it was so cool. As I mentioned earlier, Kanye tried to put his position as close as possible to God. And he hasn’t failed at all — at least in my eyes.
Kanye always wants to be different in every album. He did not want to be in the same world when he released his next album. When he was in the Garden of Eden, then he would go to hell. For me, Yeezus is a hell of all his discography.
Yeezus’s lyrics production is not as good as previous albums. Even considered the worst. Yes, sometimes I admit that assessment. But in reality, Yeezus does not only display lyrics but also much rougher and harder music. When it was all combined into a package consisting of 10 songs, then not once did I ever release this album from the list of the 10 best albums of all time in my version.
The ups and downs of the Kanye name in recent years have indeed disappointed some people — though not in large numbers. I was disappointed by him, especially because the songs he created were not as good as before. But who am I? Why be disappointed with someone who released an album as dramatic as Yeezus? After all, in the end, I will still listen to his songs every day, always waiting for his latest work, and see himself as God in music.
At least now Kanye has become a quieter, less controversial figure, and released a gospel-aired album that made him more admitting to his bad side. He admitted the ugliness and darkness in the lyrics of “On God”:
The Devil had my soul, I can’t lie
I bleached my hair for every time I could’ve di*d
In the end, he managed to survive. He did not leave the world as soon as possible. Now he is married and has four children. I have seen his evolution. From Yeezus to Jesus is King, Kanye Omari West has been reborn into the world as a believer. That’s on God!
