Yahoo! posted a short little story this morning about an interview with Kanye West. Check it out and then come on back:
http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/15348921
I was laughing my face off when I read it. Kanye has said and done some silly things before (his infamous outburst on live t.v. during hurricane Katrina; getting booed at Bonnaroo for going on 2 hours late at 4:30 am; adamantly complaining about not winning a Grammy in '06 and '07), but this has to take the cake.
The "voice of this generation???????" Really??? Now to me the really funny thing about this has nothing to do with whether or not the statement is remotely accurate. I'm sure there are lots of people on either side of that discussion, and I don't find it necessary to state my opinion about him as a producer/musician/performer (although if you ask me I'd be happy to tell you straight up).
The point here is that he proclaimed himself as such the "voice of this generation." *Ahem* One order of humble pie for Mr. West, please! This goes against a very basic understanding of manners that applies in even the most basic of social situations. You simply don't talk about yourself like that, unless you want to be viewed as egocentric or self-absorbed. And what's more, in the world of music, every single artist or band who has ever been widely influencial and/or had a massive affect on the society or culture at large (i.e. Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, James Brown, Michael Jackson, etc.) was dubbed as such by other people, not themselves. Sure, some of these influencial people were prone to be very self-confident and carried a bit of an ego, but they never assumed such a state as to proclaim their incredible importance to an entire generation while still in the middle of their career. I mean c'mon, the guy has only been around since 2001. Isn't there a statute of limitations on when you can become the "voice of this generation?"
Yeah, I know, hip-hop and rap artists have the reputation of being very forward and even obligatory with their egos and their confidence in themselves, but this is going a little too far. A word to the wise, Kanye: a really good way to ostracize both your fans and everyone else is to become really full of yourself. Someone who might have been considered musical and artistic can lose their positive luster when pompous attitudes and self-righteous behavior taint their persona.
Who knows... maybe he wants everyone to think he's a dick.
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So you're saying I should remove "The Larry Bird of Funk" from my email signature?
Muhammad Ali was a cocky mofo, but then again, his job was punching people in the face. Rappers seem to take on that fighter attitude a lot, and for no other reason than what you mentioned. The biggest problem today is the INTERNET spreading his cockiness around making it sound so, well, dickish. You take the legend out of legendary that way. Only time will tell.
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