Art vs. Artist: Kanye West
Miguel Saucedo, Amelia Castillo, Lily Skrapka, Frida Paredes
Introduction:
Throughout pop culture and media, artists have gotten themselves into numerous scandals and controversies. Whether it may be committing crime, cheating on a spouse, or overall making choices that raise questions and concerns. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and because of that, it leads to the concept of Art vs The Artist.
This concept is subjective to anyone and how they feel about certain artists that have been put in the spotlight of backlash and accusations.
It all comes down to whether or not you support the art of the artist, or if you choose to not support the art because of your opinion on the artist. This concept has raised many conversations in the media. Although, one artist in particular that comes to mind when elaborating this concept is Kanye West.
Kanye West: Background
Kanye West was born in Atlanta, Georgia. At the age of 3 years old, his parents divorced. His father, who he frequently visited, was a Christian counselor. On the other hand, him and his mother, a Professor of English and Kanye’s manager until she passed, moved to Chicago where he was raised. He later got into the south side’s hip hop scene which marked the beginning of his career.
He won a scholarship to an art college but later dropped out, hence the name of his first album, The College Dropout. He then began producing music for local artists, but soon after began to want more. At the time, he lacked the “gangsta” credentials: a middle-class, pink polo and Gucci slides wearing kid. It was very hard for people to take him seriously.
With much reluctance, he was signed by Roc-A-Fella Records mostly to be retained as a producer. With the release of his first album, he revolutionized #hiphop and rap by speaking on controversial topics including: consumerism, racism, higher education, and his religious beliefs and was awarded Best Rap Album of the Year. Shortly after, he founded his own record label titled GOOD music, an acronym that stands for Getting Out Our Dreams.
“I think he was one of the most influential artists of his time in terms of production value and the effort he put into his music, since he made beats before he rapped he brought an entirely new approach to music that was so good, that and the people he chose to feature and incorporate into his songs were unmatched at the time. He made hits for everyone between stuff like Jesus Walks and N***** in Paris. Anyone could listen to him and like it.” -David Dowdle
Allegations:
Throughout the years, fans have been dealing with the artist’s actions and allegations. There are fans that have been there since the release of The College Dropout, and new ones from Graduation.
They’ve heard him deal with him taking on the music industry with record selling albums and controversial titles on headline magazines. When fans hear of new allegations they seem to defend him in some cases.
When he spoke at the 2009 VMA’s as Taylor Swift gives her thanks after winning, he couldn’t help but say that Beyonce deserved the win. Fans from both West and Swift took their sides. Those on West saying it was his freedom of speech to give his opinion, and those of Swift saying she won fairly and deserved to have that award.
Although there are fans who don’t agree that he should’ve said that, they seem to forget that Kanye is very ignorant when speaking out loud. Not caring much about what others think of him.
Recently a new controversial topic was brought up, and it was about his wife, Kim. he hypes her up and gives her self confidence. Where she looks good in anything she wears, but he had mentioned that she looked too good that she’s “asking for attention.” He helps build up her confidence only to try and break it down because he doesn’t like that everyone is gawking at her and her body.
Obviously, everyone is entitled to their own opinions based on Kanye West and his past/recent actions. It is safe to say that many people strongly disagree with most of what he has been doing.
More recently, he has declared himself has a huge supporter of #PresidentTrump and his actions towards the country. A lot of people, mostly his fans, were confused about what he was talking about. During an interview, he ended up saying “slavery was a choice”, which angered many of his fans and the African American community. Many people believed he was doing all of this for publicity, but eventually realized these were his actual opinions.
David Patel, Sophomore at Saint Louis University had a lot to say about it. David stated “I like how he is trying to become this religious artist, but it’s hard to take him seriously when a couple years ago he was singing about inappropriate things. I mean it’s nice that he is bringing many people together by doing Sunday services, but it’s a sudden change.”
Conclusion:
It’s safe to say that Kanye West has had his rough moments in the public eye, whether you still choose to support his art and himself is up to you. Art vs The Artist is a concept full of interpretation and point of view. That is what makes the conversation so exciting. So, in the end, it all leads up to this question…Can you separate art from the artist?
