I asked this the other day in the coachella thread - what is so great about Kayne West? 1) Isn't he a hip-hop artist? 2) If the answer to 1 is yes, then why he is always seemed to be grouped with indie artists and performing at festivals like coachella, acl, and bonnaroo? #2 troubles me more than #1 - you don't see Jay-Z or Eminem or anybody else like that hanging out with the likes of Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Deerhunter, Beach House, or any other up and coming indie group. Is Kayne actually considered by some people to be an indie artist? Is this guy like DJ Shadow and uses samples in an innovative way? Seriously, someone that thinks this guy is the cat's meow is going to have to explain to me what is so great about him.
I don't really know what option to pick- he is a really good artist and I don't care about all the chaos he creates on the side. He makes good music and the rest is irrelevant.
He makes quality beats, I give him that. He is not as original as some think, but he's done a good job dooping the masses. I liked his first cd alot, bit at that time my musical taste was immature. I don't care about Kanye's music, I actually laugh at those who do, but I'm just a hip hop snob. What is so good about Kanye? What a valid question.
Jay Z is a huge Grizzly Bear fan and of indie-rock in general, and there are many videos out there of him and Beyonce rocking out to live Grizzly Bear shows. Jay-Z also headlined Coachella last year on Friday.
Kanye is awesome. And I'm picky about music. Just LISTEN to it. It's quality stuff! They're grouped with indie artists partly I assume because he used the Bon Iver song "lost in the woods" on his new album.
Listen for the sample throughout: <iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/e8ejqE3ktFU" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe> Listen for the sample at 2:06 and 3:52: <iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wMUmfuMpMcg" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>
Well sorry you feel that way because that was not the intent. I was geniunely asking the question because I honestly don't know. I probably have let his side stuff affect my opinion about him (he seems like a trainwreck personally with all the drama), but I will tell you what is pretentious - a poster on the BBS that has a space after just ONE letter in their user name.
Yea, I had read that about him. I guess what I should have said is that I wouldn't have fit his music along side someone like Grizzly Bear. Maybe I am an indie snob, maybe I am a hip-hop hater, and maybe I am *pretentious* like s land balla is saying - who knows? I just know that rap/hiphop music and indie music is a weird combination. It is like eating a banana and ham sandwich.
Kanye West is a musical genius, might not be the best MC, but he's a GREAT producer. Not that my taste in music matters but I listen to a variety of music (Beatles, GnR, Rolling Stones, Led Zep, Oasis, Marvin Gaye, Buddy Gy, Eric Clapton, The Clash, Notorious BIG, OutKast, Justice, Daft Punk) and the consistency of quality music this guy makes through his albums is on par with any in my humble opinion. It is unfortunate that his personal antics get in the way of people's opinion about this guy. Give his music a try with an open mind and you will hear his talent. It's not that hard, you either like what you hear or you don't.
I never thought hip hop and "indie" rock was a weird combination. Kanye is definitely mainstream, but I'd say most of the indie hip hop artists these days would list Kanye West as a musical influence. Then again, maybe I'm biased since I live in Chicago.
I would hesitate to call anyone coming out of hip hop a "musical genius"... barring the likes of Eric B. and Rakim and the other innovative forerunners, of course. I certainly do not have that kind of respect for Kanye or Jay-Z or anyone else out now, really.
It's almost fashionable for hip hop enthusiasts to call Eric B, Rakim, KRS-One, etc. "geniuses". They were good, but a big part of the "genius" label is nostalgic. Kanye has pushed the envelope of hip hop music more than any other artist.
when ppl say musical genius I think of mozart and beethoven etc. and there is noooo way that rakim or kanye or anyone is even close to their level of genius
IMO, Kanye is the best producer at taking a sample and completely making it his own song. I don't really care for him as an MC but his production is amazing and the main reason I even bother listening to Lil Wayne or Jay-Z
Because indie people like his music enough to have him around. Pitchfork gave his newest album a 10 and had Late Registration in the top 20 albums of the 2000s (BTW I'm not saying Pitchfork's reviews are accurate or represent indie music opinion, its just the best example I could come up with) Also I'm not sure if you noticed but Jay-Z headlined both Bonnaroo and Coachella last year...he's pretty respected in the indie community too and plays all those festivals too. Kanye isn't the only one. And I think his stuff IS good. He's an amazing producer (Before he made his first album, there were a ton of artists wanting him to produce their music. He produced Jay-Z's first top 10 single for example back in 2000) and I like his lyrics too. Late Registration and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy are amazing albums, Graduation is a pretty good album, and College Dropout is a fantastic album (808s not so much but still). Dude has good music. I got some of my friends who've always disliked hip-hop to listen to his new album, and now they are in love with it and can't stop listening. You may not see it but the general opinion is that hes a fantastic artist.
