Opinion Piece: Kanye West Needs to Be Canceled

To start off, this opinionated piece is coming from a place of non-bias. There’s no premeditated actions or influence that triggered these thoughts and this is not me trying to deter people from supporting artists. We all have a moral responsibility as not just fans of music, but as empathetic human beings. That being said, this article is to shed attention on the controversial statements said by Kanye West.

Let me paint this picture for you, the year is 2004. My dad is working as an IT for EMI Capitol Records in Manhattan, NY. He feels that it’s time his son should start sharing a passion in collecting music like he did. My father was also a DJ in Queens where he met guys like Curtis Blow, Rev Run, Russell Simmons, Kid N’ Play and LL Cool J. He didn’t follow modern day rap very thoroughly and was a bigger fan of soulful rhythm and blues. So the big question at hand was “whose music should I start my son listening to?”.

One day my dad comes home with a new CD for me and my sister to listen to and it’s called “College Dropout”. Me and my sister listen to it referencing old samples like Chaka Khan, Luther Vandross and others. But the one song that stuck with me was one of Kanye’s biggest and most socially conscious songs “Jesus Walks.” From then on, I became an undeniable “Stan”.

There’s a lot of nostalgic memories for me as a kid listening to Ye’. Him, Jay Z, 50 Cent, OutKast, TI, Jeezy are all artist that left me with an infatuation with music. But Ye, was different. The thing that Kanye showed me was the conscious side of rap by adding elements of confidence that spoke directly to young black men. He found ways to push the boundary by experimenting with sounds, melodies and flows. He has introduced artists like Lupe Fiasco, Estelle, Kid Cudi, Big Sean, Chief Keef, Teyana Taylor, Cyhi The Prince to the mainstream stage. He’s produced for award winning artists like Cam’Ron, Rick Ross, Talib Kweli, Rihanna, Common, Rhymfest, The Game, Pusha T, John Legend, Monica, Keisha Cole, Alicia Keys, Lil Wayne, and of course one of his greatest achievements the Blueprint for Jay Z.

All this being said, the wider Kanye West’s hand of influence became in the world of music. The broader his audience became. His roots were unapologetically black power Kanye West; where he embraced his role as a liberated preacher of the spoken word. But as his power and ego began to spiral out of control, he lost his grip on reality and the very things he stood up against.

Some say that Kanye’s publicity stunts and antics make for better music from him and interesting topics of conversation but I firmly disagree. Kanye’s creativity was always a direct reflection of his uncanny work ethic as he always described his summers as locking himself in the studio with samples to make beats. His ability to remove himself from reality on command (kind of like a great actor that gets so wrapped around in their pursuing role, that their character becomes a part of their own persona). When Kanye’s mother Donda (whom he was extremely close to) was killed due to Anesthesia complications with plastic surgery, Kanye followed the tragedy was one of the most influential and game-changing albums on the 21st century; 808’s and Heartbreak. Singles were ‘Love Lockdown’, ‘Heartless’, ‘Paranoid and ‘Amazing where Kanye pioneered a sound (with Kid Cudi) where he sang a deep and painful autotuned depressing tone.

I personally enjoyed this album but many Kanye critics and fans rate ‘808s and Heartbreak’ as one of his least acclaimed works (still made it to #1 in The US Musical charts). The reason for me bringing up this album is that is changed Kanye’s direction in general. He began pushing the boundaries of hip hop with what was accepted despite the critics and award snippets. Instead manipulating and directing his audience to the music he made without conformity.

Now the year 2018, Kanye West is still ego driven and unapologetic but now he has embraced the villain role that the world was so quick to give him from his antics. But now his antics seem to be taking from his artistry and here’s why:

As I said earlier in the article Kanye West started off showing the conscious side of hip hop and bringing attention to struggles the everyday middle class man deals with from greed and capitalistic America. Now, Kanye makes more of an effort to stay trendy in relevant by getting as many different writers, singers, rappers, engineers that dilute his creative process more now than there ever was.

As he is now the rapper to probably utilize ghost writers more than anyone there ever was. But not just music, Kanye is now the face of the most powerful sneaker industry in the world, ‘Yeezy’. Married to the biggest female social media star, Kim Kardashian. Lost his close relationship with his self proclaimed brother and sister Jay-Z and Beyonce. Publicly embarrassed himself by meeting and co- signing with white supremacists. Implying slavery being a choice by African American ancestors. His inconsistencies outside of music directly effect why fans like me can’t support his sell out antics moving forward.

Kanye is now irresponsibly feeding an audience of people that will follow him regardless of his intentions. He’s making a market for dangerous ideas that facilitate  a platform for hatred and oppression. The culture he has built with love and understanding by exposing these evils, he’s now trying to embrace by accepting the ideas he initially fought. There is absolutely nothing wrong with liberation by bringing different viewpoints together for conversation. But conformity by advocating false pretenses behind rhetoric like “Make America Great Again”, as I said earlier, reinforces the ideas of oppression and white supremacy. Kanye West is a sell out. An amazing and gifted artist but lost touch with a lot of his true morals for the sake of power and control.

As upstanding citizens, it’s our responsibility to society to hold people accountable to the same standards. I’m guilty of putting famous figures and my past idols on unrealistic pedestals. It’s dangerous and there are lives of everyday hard working people out at risk. Donda West was a civil rights activist and wouldn’t approve of Kanye’s recent antics.

The problem with implying that slavery was a choice is that it puts a level of inferiority on the name of our ancestors who were taken from their native land, separated from their tribes, stripped of their identities, restricted from education and tortured by being forced to work for free. Slave women were raped and forced to bare and raise children. Slave men were castrated, branded, and dehumanized. Our generation of African Americans are so privileged in comparison to our ancestors who actually did try to revolt from oppression. Revolt and attempted escape usually led to fatal consequences. The statement was insensitive and said without proper thought. Kanye West left a lasting impression on his new found ignorance to truth and knowledge, but adopted excuses to blurt absurd nonsense as an excuse to be a “free thinker”. A movement I will not support.

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