Kanye West is more than a rapper, a stylish dresser and a recent guest on season finale of the HBO series “Entourage.” Instead, West (who hails from Chicago) has been destroying rap stereotypes with his exuberant personality, provocative lyrics and debonair appearance from the moment his first single “Through the Wire” hit airways in 2004.
The song was inspired by a devastating car wreck two years prior in which West was seriously injured, as he states in the song’s lyrics, “Thank God I ain’t too cool for the safe belt.” The song was an instant sensation, and, coupled with the follow-up Grammy-winning single “Jesus Walks,” his first album “The College Dropout” quickly achieved critical and commercial success.
Listeners connected with his confidence and rhetoric, two characteristics that defined the style for which he would later become known. In addition to his Grammy for best rap song,” West was nominated for nine other awards at the Grammys 2005, winning two other distinctions.
Later that year, West released his sophomore album, “Late Registration,” which was met with similar success. Rolling Stone gave the album five stars, saying, “If anything, Kanye West is too modest. … ‘Late Registration’ is an undeniable triumph, packed front to back, so expansive it makes the debut sound like a rough draft.” “Late Registration” boasts a collage of different styles, from songs that tackle political issues (“Crack Music” and “Diamonds from Sierra Leone”) to more gentle songs such as “Roses” and “Celebration.” He even showcases his humor in the song “Gold Digger,” in which Jamie Foxx samples the famous Ray Charles hit “I Got a Woman.”
While his hit albums initially sent West to celebrity status, his egotistical and controversial nature has kept him there. During a concert for Hurricane Katrina relief in September 2005, West, digressing from the script, spoke his most controversial words to date and began a rant about the portrayal of black Katrina victims in the media.
The media, according to West, showed clips of black refugees as looters, while simultaneously portraying white victims as survivors.
“It’s been five days (waiting for federal help),” West proclaimed, “because most of the people are black.” His co-presenter, Mike Myers, awkwardly attempted to carry on with the speech, but West continued, dropping the political bomb, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.”
In 2006, after appearing on the cover of Rolling Stone wearing a crown of thorns, insinuating a comparison to Jesus, West told Playboy he was so influential that he would be written in history books, and when he didn’t win the award for best video at the MTV Europe Music Awards that November, West famously approached the stage, arguing that the award should have gone to him. To West’s credit, he made a public apology for his explosive remarks.
Last Tuesday marked an important day in rap history. Not only did acclaimed rapper 50 Cent release his album “Curtis,” but Kanye West also decided to release his third album “Graduation” on the same day.
The two heavy hitters are featured on the cover of this month’s Rolling Stone, and for weeks everyone has been wondering who will outsell the other. 50 Cent even boasted that if Kanye sold more records he would retire from releasing solo albums. (That statement was later retracted.) On Sept. 11, 2007, West outsold 50 Cent 437,000 to 50 Cent’s 310,000. Now, perhaps, Kanye West will make the history books.
What’s even better is that this fall, Vanderbilt students have a chance to see West perform firsthand, when he teams up with Guster and Brett Dennen for Commodore Quake on Oct. 14. Tickets go on sale Sept. 14 at 10 a.m. With his history of incredible performances and his flair for the dramatic, this performance is not to be missed!
