“…One nation under Yeezus, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
When I think of the word “president,” a few things come to mind: bravery, honesty, charisma, patriotism, “Thanks Obama!,” etcetera. When you hear Kanye West you may think of: arrogant, genius, visionary and “Poor Taylor Swift.“ There are very similar qualities between the two, but still different in their own way. Enough of a difference that persuades me to think West might be not be the greatest president…
Look, I’ll be the first to admit how much of an avid Kanye West fan I am. More times than none you could ask me to recite any Kanye verse from any of his albums and I bet you I’d do it flawlessly without any effort due to my many years of studying his music. I could provide transcripts from interviews he’s done years ago where he explains his philosophy for what he’s trying to do in order to make the world a better place.
But he can’t.
You see, Kanye West in 2015 is not Kanye West per say. Kanye West in 2015 is the shell of the person that we all once knew. He is no longer looking for that spaceship to fly and take him past the sky. He is no longer self-conscious and he’s the first to admit it. He is no longer living the good life it seems, because there’s always some kind of burden on him, plaguing him from being able to succeed, though there isn’t.
He’s lost his soul trying to figure out the answers and how to solve his problems.
Listening to West’s tangent at the 2015 Video Music Awards was exciting… at first. However, after I had some time to sit on it and analyze it, I truly realized why I wouldn’t want this person, one of my idols, to ever be my president.
Mr. West is far too hypocritical for me nowadays.
On his most recent solo album, “Yeezus,” West openly resents corporations and everyone who has ever tried to put him in a box. This resentment doesn’t get more blatant than him saying on “New Slaves,” “F*ck you and your corporation, y’all (sic) can’t control me.”
Wait one minute… you mean to tell me that same Kanye West, who hates corporations and their outlandish dealings to society, is selling backpacks starting at $500 and homeless-aesthetic knit sweaters starting at $800?
Hm.
You mean to tell me that same Kanye West, who says he wants to raise a generation of children who actually have substance, is associated with the Kardashian clan who are arguably some of the most vapid public figures in our world today and have so much plastic surgery done to themselves they might end up being the first ever Barbie-Americans?
Hm.
If this was George-Bush-don’t-care-about-black-people era West, I just might be able to believe him when he says he wants to impact the world in a more positive manner with his visions, but it isn’t. I’m failing to see where he’s coming from with this ideology he’s been developing in the past two years or so. This West that we see today isn’t the one to touch the sky and scream from the heavens, “We major!” If that was the case, I would be able to get behind that West because when I first listened to “Late Registration” and watched old videos of him being in the recording studio rapping with pure passion, I knew everything there was genuine and honest. However, when I take the time out to analyze him now, all I notice is this man who is stuck in his own dark, twisted fantasy and a cycle of attempting to be politically correct and trying to be relatable instead of just being Kanye West and following his heart, which is what made myself and millions of others love him in the first place.
Then again, maybe his hypocrisy just makes him the perfect politician.