Kanye West

I know I'm late on this, but I had to at least make this post for the State Wars since it is my own opportunity to incorporate rap music into this whole week, right? Well I just had to talk about Chicago native Kanye West. I really considered actually choosing someone else for this just because of the negative stigma that Kanye has among the "non-rap" crowd. I thought it would be crazy to censor myself like that for no reason, so here I am defending the man and explaining some of his actions.

Everyone still remembers the time from an awards show when Kanye ran up on stage to declare that "Beyonce had the best music video of all time" and people began to laugh at him. Well that is probably one of the first major times that Kanye has publicly "humiliated" himself, most likely due to mental illness of sorts honestly. Not trying to be an armchair psychologist at all, but the man shows signs that depression and paranoia are evident given by his lyrics. Possibly one of the most sad incidents, that wasn't as publicized, is during one of his concerts last year. In the middle of the concert he went on a rant about how Jay-Z, one of his best friends, hasn't called him. Then he proceeds to go on about begging Jay-Z not to send "killers to his head, since he knows Jay-Z has killers". The rant ended with Kanye running off the stage, and the rest of his tour dates being cancelled. When people make fun of him, know that even celebrities face their own demons and mental health issues, and just think about what you would say if it was a close friend going through the same thing.

Despite all the trauma, Kanye West has delivered several masterpiece albums, and has managed to bring about many mainstream rappers that we know today. Arguably, Travis Scott, Big Sean, CyHi The Prynce, and many others would not be where they are at today without Kanye's guidance and endorsement. Outside of his music, the man has gone on about a fashion brand that he continues to pursue as a passion. I can't say many of the clothes he makes appeal to me (not in my price range either lol), but I have a pair of his Yeezy shoes (through Adidas) and many other young adults my age wear them too. It has now been 2 years since his last album, Life of Pablo, was released, and many of his fans are just waiting to hear him get on the mic again as soon as possible. I'm proud to say that this artist hails from the city of Chicago, in the greatest state of Illinois :).

Photo Source:
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/kanye-west-shrinks-madison-square-garden