Mike Long
Contributing Writer
In the film This is Spinal Tap, fictional rock stars David St. Hubbins and Nigel Tufnel state there’s a fine line between stupid and clever. That phrase had been swimming around in my head over the past few weeks when the acclaimed producer-turned-rapper-turned-superstar-turned-fashion designer-turned-2020 presidential candidate Kanye West released his new album The Life of Pablo.
The last year has been a giant three-ring circus on Kanye’s front with four album title changes, countless track list changes and more Twitter rants than any stable individual has any right to have. Every new piece of information about the new release continued to build on the complex tapestry of brilliance, tackiness, coolness and pure ego that makes up our image of Kanye West. With everything surrounding the new album, Kanye West has cemented his position as the defining musical artist of our time, for better and for worse.
On one hand I will freely admit I am not the best person to comment on Kanye’s legacy, which Kanye would undoubtedly agree with given his recent call for white publications to not review his album. I am a straight white man, so I cannot fully comment on what it means to the African-American experience or how exactly his open misogyny reflects and refracts the complex patriarchal forces which shape contemporary society.
On the other hand, it doesn’t take a WGSS degree to call him out for his inexplicable and infuriating defense of Bill Cosby or his ill-advised Twitter beef with Wiz Khalifa, which served merely as a proxy war against his ex, Amber Rose. As outrageous as he has been, he hasn’t said anything that would make a list of the top 25 most insensitive things said by musicians. His outrageousness and ego are defining features of his persona, but it hasn’t got him into trouble quite as much as his recent exploits. Maybe people are tired of Kanye’s antics.
Then again, Kanye’s defining brand has always been the fine line between cleverness and stupidity up to the point where the stupidity makes the clever parts seem better. In “Black Skinhead” off of his last album Yeezus, he instantly goes from bragging about his wardrobe to quoting Malcolm X. His multiplicity has always been the feature which makes him stand out.
The time leading up to a new Kanye album offers a ton of room to speculate. Will we get the soulful, humble Kanye like on The College Dropout? Will we get the thankful Kanye from Graduation? Will we get the grandiose auteur Kanye like on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy? Will we get the fearlessly abrasive Kanye like on Yeezus? This is not a review of The Life of Pablo, so I can’t comment on which Kanye appears, but from early reports, he’s all of those, yet doesn’t fully commit to any of them.
On Saturday Night Live, Kanye premiered two songs and did something strange. He was on stage the whole time, but seemed happier to let his collaborators steal the show. The new Kanye might be one who takes a step back and lets the madness unfold. I guess we couldn’t expect anything less.