Reluctantly I'm going to start things off in the most predictable fashion I can. I'm going to talk about Kanye West, specifically the show he put on at the VMA's last night. Everybody is talking about this - mostly through twitter (speech is overrated) to the point where you'd think Kanye West did something like reveal he's actually a homosexual rather than swiftly steal the mike during an award speech (that was a terrible pun by the way) and proclaim said speaker unworthy of said award. Upon listening to a large number of folks weigh-in on the issue through Facebook, Twitter and lord help me, face-to-face communication - it would appear the verdict rests soundly on "douchebag". What Kanye West did was disrespectful, possibly ego-maniacal and certainly unbecoming of a star of his stature. Kanye West is a jerk. Or is he? (Twist!)While it would be hard to deny the above points I (and most others) seem to be making about Kanye's incident, I can't help but wonder if he has a more insidious plan. This is not the first time Kanye West has openly complained about the winners of various awards. He has to know that his say is not going to change the outcome of the, I'm sure very scientific, voting process and that many people will hate him for (as he puts it) "speaking from the heart". He also has to know that getting up on stage and making controversial remarks will get people talking (or as the above Twitter link shows you, 300,000 people twittering in a single hour). Lets face it, he hasn't brought an album out in a while - Jay-Z just dropped his new one, Sean Paul's out there, Lil Wayne is in every single song released - people are going to forget about 'Ye. This was a brilliant marketing move.
Or maybe he's just a jerk who inadvertently gets noticed. I don't believe Kanye is a dumb guy, many would argue that point, but lets look at the facts. Not only did Kanye have a pretty impressive track record as a producer, he has now released a number of arguably great albums as a solo artist. Even if you can't stand the man, you have to admit his albums have sold well and been reviewed favorably by a great many respectable music publications and journalists. Hell I remember the reason I initially bought Kanye's first album was because I read a four-star review for it in Rolling Stone. The man's got something going on upstairs.
One final question though, whether you choose to believe West is a marketing genius or a marketable jerk - does it really matter? Some of the greatest music stars of the past 50 years have really been no better than this. Pumping themselves full of drugs, waking up in prostitute-laden hotel rooms, choking on their own vomit - the rock stars of previous times weren't exactly brilliant, respectable gentlemen either. What we want from these people, and really the only thing we can ask for, is entertainment - and we're getting it in spades.
Cheers,
Peter
P.S. - Here's a link to a video of the fiasco.
