Why Kanye is the Goat. Birthday letter for Ye

Hey Ye

Kanye West has been a prominent name in the rap genre for over 10 years now. He has a huge following which at times reminds one of a religious status where Yeezus has become an obsession, either in the form of his shoes, or in the form of Yeezus himself. Not only has his personality affected almost the entire celebrity landscape, (remember the Taylor Swift episode) but his musical impact has been even greater. We’ve all heard the tales of the young guy from Chicago who just made beats, and eventually became the rap mogul who is KANYE WEST. I don’t need to go into detail about how it happened. Kanye explains it himself in the song, “Last Call”, where Jay Z starts the story with the characteristic laugh of his. You can say many things about Kanye, “narcissistic”, obsessed by being great, “asshole” and some call him a “genius”. What allthough is a fact is that he has inspired almost every musician today. If you compare Kanye West’s 808’s and Heartbreak with Drake’s sound, you will hear some identical traits. The self-obsessed love drama is almost identical. The auto tune singing is a striking feature on both of the albums too. You could argue that, “yeah yeah but Kanye is also credited as a featuring producer and writer on “Thank me later”” but then my answer would be, “Who birthed Drake then?” Surely it must be Kanye. With the birth of Drake Kanye has also shaped the mainstream radio towards Hip-Hop with all of his albums expect his debut album peaking at number 1 on Billboards charts. Without Kanye there would be no “Stronger” no “Gold Digger” no “Mercy” no “FourFiveSeconds” who all peaked at number one on the singles charts.

Noise rap and noise music has been around since the 80’s and only been perfected by the likes of El-P, Death Grips and Public Enemy. But few of them have perfected the art and bought it in the light of the mainstream media like Kanye West did on Yeezus. Right now rappers with distorted 808 basses and a striking aggressive lyrics and behaviour are popping up in the likes of XXXTencation and Ski Mask The Slump God. You can argue that “The life of Pablo” is his weakest album to date but with verses from the likes of “Ain’t no parties in L.A” and “Famous” proves that he still got it.

Finally the way he has built bridges not only between genres but also between centuries and generations. My father who listened to Steely Dan, Tears for Fears, Mannfred Mann’s Earth Band and Curtis Mayfield. Kanye West has now no introduced me to these artist because I knew them from my father, but my father and I now have a wider perspective of how music can be incorporated in a creative progress. I’m not saying Kanye invented sampling I’m just saying he is mastering the art like nobody else. Genius? Listen to “Dark Beautiful Twisted Fantasy” and tell me otherwise. I still love him.
Happy Birthday Ye