Why Kanye is king. (An explanation to non rap fans who don't get it)

Sorry I've been away for so long. It's been a busy few weeks (almost a month, now) for me. Launching a new website at the Local has pretty much kept me from this awesome blog.

Of course, I haven't really had any good inspiration. Was toying with a piece about Deerhunter, but couldn't work up much enthusiasm for it. Thought about taking a look at reissues by NIN (Petty Hate Machine) and Weezer (Pinkerton) but didn't have anything worthwhile to say about either.

So, I thought, why not weigh in on Kanye West? 

If you read this blog, you're probably not a big fan of hip hop. Chances are you're a rock fan. Well, I'm not a huge fan of hip hop, either. I was 20 years ago, though. There was a time in high school when Public Enemy, Run DMC, Boogie Down Productions, De La Soul and Tribe Called Quest were everything to me. 

Since then, very little hip hop has impressed me. Recently, the only stuff I've heard that I like is by The Roots (a full band there), Cee Lo Green, Erikah Badu (both of which are really soul) and Outkast (mainly the genius of Andre 3000). Nearly everything else is drenched in mountains of cliche and non-music that make it nearly unlistenable.

The exception to that rule is Kanye West, whose recent record, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy has landed him at the top of a lot of year's best critic lists everywhere. Since his 2004 debut, Kanye has ruled hip hop with a personality so big it cannot be eclipsed, even when it lands him in a lot of trouble.

So why is Kanye great?

First, what makes Kanye great in rap terms is the fact that he was perhaps the most original stylist of a generation. While nearly everything else in the form was drenched in gangster pastiche and pseudo southern krunk nonsense, Kanye was slick, preppy, even... and his material was personal and authentic. 

I've written this before, but for me good hip hop, good rap, depends almost entirely on what is being said. For Kanye, a guy who doesn't play an instrument and who can't sing, the lyrics and the presentation are everything. Kanye has no problem being crude. He has no problem being political. He can rap about fame and airport security and make comments about government complicity in AIDS ("I treat the cash the way the government treats AIDS /I won’t be satisfied til all my n-ggas get it, get it?"). Say what you want, but Kanye has no problem saying things that are compelling.

But what else, really, makes Kanye so great? What other person in entertainment can boast a verbal flap with a former president, a scene-stealing verbal assault against America's favorite country princess and an on-air diatribe about Katrina that ranks among the decade's greatest televised events? His bravado is not on record only.

Kanye gets flack because he's an oversized egomaniac. But that's the point.  He's made himself a legendary-sized figure and on record and in his public persona, he lives up to the reputation. In other words, he walks the talk.

Kanye has no filter. He's relentlessly personal -- crying about his mother's passing on TV -- and he's also relentlessly political on a street level. He's not afraid of speaking his mind, no matter the circumstance. We can all be confident that if Wikileaks turned its attention to the private e-mails of celebrities, thing in Kanye's private cables would surprise us. 

Imagine the pop landscape without Kanye? From my vantage point, it's pretty depressing. In this day of overly self conscious celebrity, in which nearly every public appearance by a celebrity is carefully managed to promote product and little more, Kanye is a welcome respite -- even to someone who barely cares about his music.

That said, His new record is good. Like other Kanye records, it covers a wide range of subject matter, from personal breakup songs ("Blame Game") to political statements ("Who Will Survive in America"), Kanye is alternately serious and ridiculous. He's less expansive here than on prior records -- 13 songs seems like self restraint. I have no doubt that fans of the genre will love it, though I hear little on it in that sounds like something one might call groundbreaking.

So, Kanye, keep on keeping on. Don't let the man get you down. We're all pretty entertained down here in the seats. I appreciate it.