NO SAUCE. PART DEUX

Why does Kanye call himself "God"?

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:27:49 -0500

“Yeezus” is a sonic feat. There is no question whether this album was expertly produced.

The question really is, “Why does Kanye call himself ‘God’?”

There is no way to avoid that statement. Anyone’s position on this album is either in defense of or in critique of, the claim, or they pretend like he didn’t say it at all. You either think the man is too delusional or the man is too smart than he actually is.

You could say he’s actually making that insane, delusional claim that he is in fact an actual god,

or you could say he’s making a bad joke, which is a typical move for him.

Or you could say he is trying to be provocative. For no reason.

What is clear is that we can’t get that damn phrase out of our heads. What is clear is how polarizing this album is. And it’s clear that for the first time, Kanye doesn’t give a damn about how polarizing this album his.

He definitely cared the last time around. His last solo release, “My Beautiful, Dark, Twisted, Fantasy” was bred to be a classic. Kanye promoted as if it was stuff of legend- it seemed as if every last legendary producer had beats for the album made in ‘Ye’s secluded Hawaii compound. Kanye had an extensive visual art vision and concept- he made a film that could only be shown on the seven massive screens he had built. He toured with ballerinas. The album was undoubtedly a classic. To Kanye. Lucky for him, critics believed him.

And that sort of attitude always worked with ‘Ye. All of his previous releases were considered classics. By Kanye. He presented his work as such- all his projects were paired with massive artistic visions and concepts, his His confidence was the very reason why “College Dropout” was even made. He convinced (or fooled) enough people that the album was a classic even before it was released. It just so happened that he received instant critical success.

But there are different kinds of critical acclaim. There’s the praise of surprisingly new and different work. There’s the praise for well-executed work. Then there is the acclaim given in hindsight- the sort of cultural acclaim, the praise of one’s influence over music and culture.

However, when it comes to Kanye, critical acclaim is critical acclaim, and no matter what it is or when it comes, and it only confirms that he has once again successfully thought his own success into existence. Kanye always believed himself to be a Grammy-winning pop culture icon, even when he was a sales-assistant at the Gap. But why did he never call himself God on “Graduation”?

Around that time, Kanye could do no wrong. The critical and popular praise he always believed he deserved and hungered for was always in full supply. On top of that, Kanye surrounded himself with those who trusted his self-assuredness. He was clearly the icon he always saw himself as, and literally everyone around him agreed that he was a production genius, a cultural visionary, or musically gifted to some extent.

Then Beyonce lost to a breadstick at the VMAs and Kanye and popular reception of Kanye suddenly turned to the negative. Previous critiques of his vanity, arrogance, and self-indulgence intensified and dominated his image. Kanye believed this began to overshadow his critically acclaimed musical and artistic talent- kind of throwing a wrench in his thinking, because he didn’t see any of this coming. This didn’t fit into Kanye’s narrative or image of himself.

“Twisted Fantasy” was supposed to fix that.

“Dark Fantasy” was my long, backhanded apology. You know how people give a backhanded compliment? It was a backhanded apology. It was like, all these raps, all these sonic acrobatics. I was like: “Let me show you guys what I can do, and please accept me back. You want to have me on your shelves.”

“Twisted Fantasy” didn’t fix that. Kanye got the best ratings he has ever had, but the media, critics, white America, stuck with an idea of Kanye that he wasn’t happy with. “Everybody knows I’m a motherfucking monster” was taken literally, and “No one man can have that power” wasn’t.

So between the start of “Watch the Throne” and now, Kanye decides to stop trying to change the minds of those who don’t buy into his narrative, or reduce his art to a distorted assessment of his character.

No, I don’t think I feel like [he’s fighting his way in] anymore. I feel like I don’t want to be inside anymore. Like, I uninvited myself.

When before critical acclaim would confirm the fact that he can think his own success into existence, Kanye removes others from the question entirely.

“But the thing is, I don’t care about the Grammys; I just would like for the statistics to be more accurate.”

Using that formula, he’s entirely-self sufficient. He still thinks his success into existence, but he defines his own success is by his own standards. In his work, he is now a God.

Kanye saying that he’s a God is less about his ego and more about self-assurance and confidence, and he finds that extremely freeing personally and creatively. He still understands he has to sometimes compromise, but now refuses to be compromised.

“I would hear stories about Steve Jobs and feel like he was at 100 percent exactly what he wanted to do, but I’m sure even a Steve Jobs has compromised. Even a Rick Owens has compromised. You know, even a Kanye West has compromised. Sometimes you don’t even know when you’re being compromised till after the fact, and that’s what you regret.”

As someone who has hated himself more than he loved himself, as someone who has made very public his flaws and self-loathing through his work, and as someone who has repeatedly emphasized that his wealth and affluence has made him more miserable than happy, criticism that he’s entirely delusional and consumed by materiality seems misplaced. He is more rooted in reality than most believe. One can critique how internally focused his reality has been, but one can surely understand why he has been so preoccupied with his own internal dialogue and conflicts.

Kanye’s recent work cannot be reduced to sheer vanity. He recognizes his own vanity, and has checked it before. He used his vanity to propel him towards success. He’s sometimes used his vanity as a weapon. Kanye and vanity are inseparable- but so are longevity, self-belief, and self-realization.

“I think just more actual self-realization and self-belief. The longer your ‘gevity is, the more confidence you build. The idea of Kanye and vanity are like, synonymous. But I’ve put myself in a lot of places where a vain person wouldn’t put themselves in. Like what’s vanity about wearing a kilt?”

The dude is honest. When he means he gives no fucks, he means it. He’s starting to not need external critical acclaim to confirm what he believes about himself. He believes he’s transcended that. Risen above the need for confirmation. Cue all corny parallels to “God”.

traceitz: Why does this make me so happy? hell yea

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 14:36:34 -0500

traceitz:

Why does this make me so happy?

hell yea

i disappointed nas maybe i should write a rap about it instead of making better music

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 03:18:24 -0500

i disappointed nas maybe i should write a rap about it instead of making better music

tarynel: I wanna see some butts. any time is the best time for butts

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 02:05:00 -0500

tarynel:

I wanna see some butts.

any time is the best time for butts

one girl is worth 1000 bitches? i’m not going to pretend like he didn’t say some shit on...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 02:02:13 -0500

one girl is worth 1000 bitches? i’m not going to pretend like he didn’t say some shit on this album. dude is getting better about a lot of things but still falls off on other shit

i am the nucleus

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 01:57:35 -0500

don’t deny the man for simplicity you don’t hear the divine poetry in this

charlesisbatmannow: What I’m trying to say is that you can’t truly hate Kanye unless you like...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 01:46:32 -0500

charlesisbatmannow:

What I’m trying to say is that you can’t truly hate Kanye unless you like Kanye.

this is truth tho

those who say they hate kanye do not know kanye

and those who truly know Him love Him

i really have no problem with white people liking yeezus the white folk that know what’s up...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 01:42:24 -0500

i really have no problem with white people liking yeezus

the white folk that know what’s up enjoy it for what it is and listen and that’s good

this album doesn’t change how much i hated the whites i always hated its just gonna make it easier to avoid them this summer and i thank yeezus for this

watching hunger games trailer and thinking

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 01:37:39 -0500

what did this pasty white girl do that made all these black people cry

like, what did she do

look at all of ye’s “racy” lyrics getting memorized by all these white girls wow i...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 01:32:04 -0500

look at all of ye’s “racy” lyrics getting memorized by all these white girls wow i cant wait to hear them

thekufismacker: iont want white people listening to yeezus, there’s not a thing on there for you....

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 01:28:10 -0500

thekufismacker:

iont want white people listening to yeezus, there’s not a thing on there for you. and i sure as hell don’t want you’re goddamn reviews bitch. Iont want your rapgenius translated reviews bitch.

fuck out the kanye tag ya bitch.

omygod i love kanyizzle he’s just so edgy and deep and i love the bass in his music and wow he’s kinda racist sometimes but it’s okay because wow the music is so good but sometimes its really loud but its okay i mean he’s such an asshole but his music is really good i don’t know why and he’s so angry and aggressive its so scary and weird i think im gonna learn all the lyrics and sing them to my black friend they’ll be so proud of me

SEE IT’S FUNNY BECAUSE TRACY LOOKS LIKE THAT KIND OF BLACK...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 01:23:44 -0500

SEE IT’S FUNNY BECAUSE TRACY LOOKS LIKE THAT KIND OF BLACK GUY THAT SLAPS WOMEN ALL THE TIME BUT HE REALLY ISN’T SO ITS TOTALLY COOL TO MAKE TRACY THAT STEREOTYPE AS LONG AS THE PUNCHLINE IS THE TOTAL OPPOSITE LIKE AT FIRST YOU’RE LIKE WOAH THATS SOO RACIST BUT THEN YOUR LIKE HAHA OKAY HE’S ACTUALLY NOT A WOMAN BEATING NIGGER LOL THAT’S FUNNY AND NOT RACIST ANYMORE BECAUSE IS SO EDGY AND CREATIVE AND EDGY AND SMART

couldn’t help myself. I love Yeezus. Don’t like him rhyming about fucking a bitch on top...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 01:16:03 -0500

couldn’t help myself. I love Yeezus. Don’t like him rhyming about fucking a bitch on top of Nina singing Strange Fruit tho. sure it sounds excellent. but he passed up a good opportunity there, and i don’t think nina would fuck with that specifically

and Man of Steel reeks of American values but I expected that it’s a very pretty film
it’s such perfect recruiting material The United States Military is the best look even the god on earth loves us so much even he wants to enlist
Even aliens love jesus guyz

a friend of mine is studying abroad in Chile for a few months this summer. in many of her posts on...

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:31:58 -0500

a friend of mine is studying abroad in Chile for a few months this summer.

in many of her posts on her blog about her travels, she refers to herself as a “gringa” quite casually. Ironically, of course.

i love how that the term isn’t necessarily derogatory

i mean it’s impossible for a word made to insult Americans or whites to be entirely derogatory. like, completely.

because they can practically own that word. she can just take it and make it a cute thing

i don’t know I’m breaking my tumblr hiatus to vent about how strange it is to have a friend that embodies everything you hate about whiteness but you still love to death. like she rattles off ever single trigger. it takes some super zen shit to not want to rip her head off but I would never want to do that to a friend

i love this kid do death and she’s one of the tightest friends i’ve ever had in my life
but i know that the fact that she’s white white makes it so much easier to let her go when the time comes to go our separate ways

this tumblr hiatus is going great btw

If you are shocked by this...

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 21:53:00 -0500

There’s a good deal of press treating this NSA tapping scandal like it comes as a surprise to most Americans.

I’m just saying many of us aren’t surprised by this. There’s a generation of us that assume that everything we do on something that charges can be monitored by the government.

This generation has never viewed the internet through the same rose-colored lenses that saw the “world-wide-web” as the first golden investment opportunity of the new millennium. Sure, some of us are Zuckerbergs, but to us, Facebook is nothing close to a “revolution”- it was always just another site that we would eventually get bored of.

We grew up with monitored internet activity as much as we grew up with YouTube. Once we learned about YouTube, we couldn’t even use it at school.

We might as well have grown up with this PRISM software in our fourth-grade classrooms, because there were days when we could see every one of our own desktops on our teacher’s computer screen.

We’ve had friends sent to the principal’s office because of a computer’s browser history. Blocked sites became a part of life the day we made our first AskJeeves search in second grade (and proxies quickly became a part of life by the time we got to middle school).

I’m not suggesting that an entire generation was educated in a totalitarian, oppressive system (that’s another column). I’m just saying that to us, the internet was just another space that we were watched.

As we got older, it wasn’t too strange to think that the government was watching us the same way. Just like in school, it was safe to assume so. We grew up with the Patriot Act as much as we grew up with YouTube. Our history books amended our constitutional rights with asterisks.

The Patriot Act came hand in hand with another dark reality as well. Though horrifying immensely tragic, that otherwise shocking tragedy is now an expected reality of the times for my generation. The tallest of skyscrapers can now crumble to dust in a matter of hours by the hands of a few angry men on any given Tuesday. That’s the reality many of us have been born into.

The same way men on the moon became a reality, or the same way a president being shot on live television became a reality for another generation, our reality is something different. This new “digital world” isn’t some magical place.

This scandal, as well as CISPA, are heinous travesties of our constitutional rights. But to my generation, this is nothing but expected.

That’s a problem.

****I break my tumblr hiatus when shit like this hits the fan.****

I'm just saying, many of us aren't surprised by this NSA tapping thing. There's a generation of us that assume that everything we do on something that charges can be monitored by the government.

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 20:02:14 -0500

now back to my monthlong hiatus.

ciao

Hiatus.

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 00:47:33 -0500

I think it’s time to take a break from tumblr. I’m not learning anything new, I’m not doing anything new. It was great a year or two ago, but now it’s too much of a distraction- a petty distraction from my everyday responsibilities, but a real distraction in my life. Spending so much time on tumblr has slowly me this false sense that I am in fact learning, that I am in fact connecting with people, and that I am involved and active in what I’m interested in. In reality, I’m more passive than I ever have been, and this lack of passion in my life is depressing me heavily.

So I’m leaving for a month. This is summertime- I should be perusing what I love doing these few months. I probably have one summer left. This is valuable time I have not been using wisely, and I haven’t been using this site wisely. So it’s best I break from it now. I don’t need it. I want to be ready to go when it’s time to fly to New York. I don’t want to be like this.

I’ll try checking my inbox each week.

Let’s hope I read a few books, get back into listening to public radio, find some new music, and get back to practicing my drumming.

fuck this shit

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 14:46:45 -0500

fuck this shit

s0mmerspr0ssen: For his recently published picture book...

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 14:39:02 -0500

s0mmerspr0ssen:

For his recently published picture book Freckles (Splice Pictures Publishing), the Swiss photographer Reto Caduff has taken pictures of freckled women all over Europe. His pictures prove: freckles are beautiful. Don’t hide yourself in the shade! I think what I love about this the most is the vast diversity of people who are blessed with freckles. (x)

Who the hell is intrigued by “The Purge”? The kind of cats that find that shit cool...

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 22:08:44 -0500

Who the hell is intrigued by “The Purge”? The kind of cats that find that shit cool freak me the fuck out