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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI don't get Kanye West's popularity
Maybe I'm just too old? I guess he's a showman, but so is Trump.
Wounded Bear
(58,675 posts)Submariner
(12,504 posts)of the real singers (Temptations, Supremes etc). The hip hop sounds (to me anyway) like just reciting (talking voice) of lyrics with no melody. No bass, soprano, falsetto, just talking loud to the beat.
Lebam in LA
(1,345 posts)FromTheAshes
(128 posts)Arkansas Granny
(31,522 posts)2naSalit
(86,681 posts)I'm a musician and I don't see any talent there.
Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)the Guy has no real Talent. Mostly connections to the so called Entertainment World of Vegas and Hollywood via his arm Candy.
Power 2 the People
(2,437 posts)redstatebluegirl
(12,265 posts)They bring his name up saying they aren't racist because they like Kayne.
MariaCSR
(642 posts)I really wish he would go away.
empedocles
(15,751 posts)MariaCSR
(642 posts)He's been living out his mental illness on the world stage and yet no one around him will pull him.back. its quite sad.
violetpastille
(1,483 posts)Including himself, I guess.
I can't look. I can't watch. It's too exploitive. He should be getting better care.
MariaCSR
(642 posts)JaneQPublic
(7,113 posts)...not.
pwb
(11,280 posts)I thought Kayne was a women's name. I don't know the guy. Never heard him perform. Sounds like from here that he is full of himself like trump.
Tipperary
(6,930 posts)Totally Tunsie
(10,885 posts)*Ye is apparently now his preferred new name, probably because his new-found audience of tRumpsters had too much difficulty with Kanye. Either that or he's trying out new names for his KardASSian Protection Plan where he ditches wifie and kidwests and disappears.
mythology
(9,527 posts)Here is an example of him "performing". Please note, I'm not responsible for any lost lunches or therapy bills that result from watching the below.
https://vimeo.com/132078549
And to soothe your ears, here's a proper version of the song:
pwb
(11,280 posts)Last edited Sun Sep 30, 2018, 06:28 PM - Edit history (1)
thanks though.
yonder
(9,668 posts)Maybe his monitors were dodgy but he wasn't matching the notes of the original mix, even after trying to slide up to them. Blame the sound guys? Then, he would stop and expect the crowd to hit the high parts. What, he doesn't have a falsetto? Also, his voice didn't have projection power of the original vocals. Overall, he just didn't put forth a lot of effort, IMO.
vi5
(13,305 posts)Yes, he's got a lot of non-white fans in the hip hop community, many of whom are just apolitical. But he has a lot of white hipster 20 and 30 something fans who don't like the politics but who more than anything like to up their bonafides by praising him as a genius and it's that added demographic loyalty that puts him over the top in popularity.
Sunsky
(1,737 posts)His songs have declined in quality along with his mental state.
My daughter came to me singing- Poopity scoop, scoopdiddy whoop... I asked, poop what? What is that? She said it's the latest Kanye song and her friends in elementary school are always singing it. I listened on YouTube and I couldn't believe that a big man (he's years older than me) would sing such trash.
tenderfoot
(8,437 posts)I don't listen to the radio much these days and if I do, it's either EDM or classical.
YOHABLO
(7,358 posts)Cousin Dupree
(1,866 posts)rusty fender
(3,428 posts)He really is just a personality much like his wife.
Brainstormy
(2,381 posts)as they say.
ADX
(1,622 posts)...then his Mom died and he went off the deep end. Now he's nothing but an attention whore who married into the quintessential attention-whoring family and thinks the world hangs on his every word and opinion. What gets me is that the very same Trumpsters who now love him called him a "despicable ghetto n*gg*r" when he had the audacity to interrupt poor little Taylor Swift's Grammy speech years ago.
no_hypocrisy
(46,138 posts)Last edited Sun Sep 30, 2018, 10:06 PM - Edit history (1)
Once there was Sean Colmes (a/k/a Puffy, Diddy. Puff Daddy). Then there was Kanye. Waiting for his replacement.
The Polack MSgt
(13,191 posts)Making music. Some of it's truly great - some is complete trash.
Don't let disdain for his politics color your opinion about his talent.
This guy ain't Kid Rock FFS Kanye's actually talented.
Brainstormy
(2,381 posts)got to give it to that one, though. I can understand most of the words, a rarity in today's music.
Lebam in LA
(1,345 posts)We used to say about that kind of singing: He couldn't carry a tune in a gunny sack (yes I am showing my age)
The Polack MSgt
(13,191 posts)It is not about the ability to sing it's the words and the construction of the song
Neil Young, Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan couldn't sing for shit and all of them were mile markers in the road to where music is today.
it was never about the voice alone - after all, Bobby Vincent and Gino Vinelli had marvelous voices and impeccable technical skill and made schlock and nonsense.
I get that most old white people simply don't get hip hop at all, but dismissing an entire genre out of hand - and denigrating the skills of all those involved in making it is a mistake.
So even though Kanye has gone nuts and his last 2 records are weak, I have to push back against this thread
JHan
(10,173 posts)and one of the best debut albums ever.
Lebam in LA
(1,345 posts)I am dissing kayne
FromTheAshes
(128 posts)The Polack MSgt
(13,191 posts)Fatter than me is fat, older than me is old, dumber than me is dumb etc. We all use that scale - I just admit it
All kidding aside I am talking about people my age or older.
I'm in my late 50s
FromTheAshes
(128 posts)because I find myself complaining about the hip hop out there nowadays and I think it's fallen off since back in the day...so yeah I guess it's official...I'm old !
Codeine
(25,586 posts)Neil Young can sing. You take that blasphemy back!!
ADX
(1,622 posts)...but just about everything since has been garbage, especially the later you get in his catalog. Like I said earlier, when Donda died, he lost his last, best guiding influence and it's all been downhill from there.
The Polack MSgt
(13,191 posts)With the occasional (lately Very Occasional) good track mixed in for probably 12 or 15 years
But your comment is not what I'm pushing back on.
Your comment is fair and has an informed starting point.
nolabear
(41,987 posts)Maybe his mother helped keep him together. Maybe the craziness of Kardashian World makes an obvious problem worse and those who ride the train let it run out of control.
I cant decide what his problem actually is, but hes got some. Im just sorry its out there.
Freddie
(9,269 posts)When they were in HS 10+ years ago. To my age group a lot of hip-hop is song stealing and he was very creative about it. Son still listens to that stuff, daughter likes country now.
I think hes got serious mental problems and marrying into That Family didnt help.
rockfordfile
(8,704 posts)tulipsandroses
(5,124 posts)If you don't like hip hop - fine - That's one thing. But I think its a bit unfair to disregard his past contributions to Hip Hop. His music today, does not compare to the work he's done in the past. Not to mention- his work with other artists.
So I agree, separate his politics from his contributions as a musician.
I don't think its fair either to look at it through the lens of I don't like hip hop.
I don't like some other genres of music. It would be unfair of me to criticize an artist in a genre I don't even like.
For instance, I am not a fan of opera, folk music and most country- I am clearly not the best person to be critical of artists in that genre.
I find that his music has declined. Not what it used to be. As I said in another post, he is certainly not the greatest lyricist but he was a talent to be reckoned with when he was on top of his game .
The Kanye that gave us All Falls Down, Stronger, Jesus Walks, Can't tell me nothing - is not the same Kanye today.
Many people are still trying to reconcile that person with the person we see today. That person that was open about his own insecurities - even with his big ol ego- was refreshing back then.
Today its quite sad to see his decline.
There is a lot to criticize about Kanye. However, to question his talents and contributions IMO, is an unfair criticism if you are not looking at the totality of his contributions to the Genre. And especially if you are approaching it with a dislike of the genre.
What is Kanye's appeal to many? His history - His past contributions to the art of hip hop. Those that are hip hop fans, can still respect that. The people that know him from his days as a producer for other great artists before he became a recording artist himself.
Others may be drawn to his over the top statements for their own nefarious reasons, but many of his long time fans are still waiting for the old Kanye to return.
Having said all of that. Kanye is canceled as far as I am concerned. I am just not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
I hate that he is still an influence on young minds. That is my problem with Kanye. Not his talent.
crazycatlady
(4,492 posts)Sometimes I can separate the person from the talent. In KAyne's case, I can't.
The Polack MSgt
(13,191 posts)Not even arguing that
Just bugged by the whole "This guy is an asshole and that means the whole genre he's performed in is shitty - just like I've been saying since 1988!!!!" vibe this thread has
Gothmog
(145,413 posts)I really do not like this idiot
milestogo
(16,829 posts)I met a young man who told me he was preparing for 2 careers: to be a rapper and a paralegal.
He saw being a rapper as a backup to being a paralegal - like he thought his success as a rapper was a sure thing, a paralegal not so much.
JCMach1
(27,562 posts)Docreed2003
(16,868 posts)He was extremely talented and made good music...that seems like forever ago.
After his mother died, he changed significantly, perhaps it's his despair of losing her or his inability to deal with that loss, but he changed. Now he seems to buy into his own absurd image and is acting absurd for absurdity's sake. It's a sad loss of talent, because there was a time where he did make quality music.
Locrian
(4,522 posts)Not so talented - I've seen performers that "haven't made it" with 10x the talent.
But he gets attention - he's a perfect fit for the jacked in social medial hype machine.
Blueplanet
(253 posts)His mother died following complications from surgery. He was already on shaky ground.
Maybe this has something to do with his behavior.
underpants
(182,848 posts)He went off the rails when his mother died.
demtenjeep
(31,997 posts)Although we have a kid with three name so maybe another generation did
JonLP24
(29,322 posts)Kanye West is Kanye West. No matter how ridiculous his real time Twitter philosophy book is, we always know that when he drops (June 1 for his solo project, according to his Twitter), were going to get some game-changing art. He never disappoints. I hate Yeezus and can still acknowledge it for being brilliant. I may never listen again and I think its his worst album, but I also think Kanyes worst is better than most peoples best. Kanye gon Kanye.
https://verysmartbrothas.theroot.com/im-really-excited-for-this-kanye-west-and-kid-cudi-albu-1825397997
I haven't listened to rap since the early 2000s last Kanye song I remember is Golddigger.
Zing Zing Zingbah
(6,496 posts)I think he is famous. People know him because his music used to be popular and he married Kim Kardashian. What has he done lately that is any good though? Nothing I can think of.
JonLP24
(29,322 posts)Kanye West Earns Eighth No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Ye'
He's earned all eight consecutively, tying Eminem and The Beatles for the longest streak of No. 1s.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.billboard.com/amp/articles/columns/chart-beat/8460189/kanye-west-eighth-no-1-album-billboard-200-ye
FromTheAshes
(128 posts)JonLP24
(29,322 posts)Same types that are fans of Candace Owens.
Zing Zing Zingbah
(6,496 posts)I had to look her up. Yeah, young, black, female conservative commentator... she's just a sell out for the money.
shanti
(21,675 posts)Watching the man have a public mental decompensation is not my type of amusement. It seems like his mother, who is gone now, kept him in check. The man seems to be bipolar, and he likes his mania, so doesn't want his meds.
I know he's known as a rapper, but he fancies himself as a sometime singer? Check out the cringeworthy video where he attempts to upstage Freddie Mercury's performance on Bohemian Rhapsody.
DFW
(54,415 posts)No one in these parts has the slightest idea who he is.
Cuthbert Allgood
(4,928 posts)He also makes a lot that isn't so great and is really self-indulgent.
But dude knows his music.
Lucinda
(31,170 posts)And I agree with others, he seems to have had a lot of trouble since his mother passed
wellst0nev0ter
(7,509 posts)when he said in 2005 "George Bush doesn't care about black people."
Then his mother died two years later, and it's been all downhill from there.