A Blasphemous Testimony: Kanye IS Yeezus

Kanye West is undoubtedly one of the most polarizing figures in pop culture and he continues his hyperbolic ways with his recent album release of Yeezus. The contemporary sound has received positive reviews from critics, but there has been a sense of hesitation about how to digest the array of sounds that Kanye peppers (and at time deeply marinades) throughout the 10-track album. Friends have said that he has moved away from his roots and that he is depending more on shock value rather than musical genius. I, too, had a similar conclusion the first nine times (back-to-back) I heard the album, but something clicked once I hit the 10th, 11th, 12th repeat. I realized the Kanye has not changed at all and actually has connected more with his past, especially when you consider last year's Watch The Throne. Others have argued that his ego finally took the best of him and overshadowed his creativity with the expectations to sell without effort, which many would consider just laziness and a disregard of his own artistic abilities. I have two (2) objectives: (1) to show the parallel worlds of the old and new Kanye and how they are one in the same, and (2) to illustrate that Kanye is rapping/auto-tuning/producing music more about us than about himself.

Yeezus v Jesus

First of all, the title and the idea that Kanye has reached a new egotistical peak is false. Yeezus is a representation of what this man has always considered himself to be: a musical prophet. At the end of the song "Last Call" from College Dropout he recants his journey from an aspiring producer/rapper, near death experience, meeting Jay-Z and finally signing with Roc-A-Fella. During this track, he mentions how he would play "Jesus Walks" for record companies and would be turned down. He ends the first verse of "Jesus Walks" with the following line:

"My momma used to say only Jesus can save us
Well momma I know I act a fool
But I'll be gone 'til November I got packs to move, I Hope"

This is was followed with a music video where he clearly painted himself as a messiah and the claim was made ever more clear when he posted for Rolling Stones on a crucifix sporting a crown of thorns. Kanye wrote this song way before getting signed and when the track was released, he packaged it no different than Yeezus: I'm here to save ya'll. Much of the hesitation about Yeezus has to do with allowing a celebrity to get away with such blasphemous ideologies which creates that "who the fuck do you think you are" attitude that gets in the way of understanding his music. However, that's a misconception because Kanye has always had a prophetic persona. I understand if you never liked it, but to hold him accountable now and not before can be defined as hypocrisy. 



Others who have been critical of the album have categorized the lyrics as baseless, simple and uninspiring, but if you examine his previous work, then you would see that Kanye's social and cultural commentary has not changed much. In Yeezus, he continues his career-long battle against racial inequalities and provides us with an updated glimpse of his very wealthy and still Black point of view. He opens up "New Slave" with:

"My momma was raised in the era when
Clean water was only served to the fairer skin
Doing clothes you would have thought I had help
But they wasn't satisfied unless I picked the cotton myself
You see it's broke nigga racism
That's that "Don't touch anything in the store"
And this rich nigga racism
That's that "Come in, please buy more
What you want, a Bentley? Fur coat? A diamond chain?
All you blacks want all the same things"

This is an insight into a world that most of us will never experience. Many have faced racism, sexism and all types of -isms, but will never acknowledge the gravitational pull to the other side where your own behaviors are supporting the stereotypes that marginalize you and your peers. Kanye knows he likes that Bentley and diamond chain and the fact that he can afford it makes the transaction a representation of a bigger picture. He has shown us this picture before in the song "All Falls Down" where he writes, 

"Cause they make us hate ourself and love they wealth
That's why shortys hollering "where the ballas' at?"
Drug dealer buy Jordans, crackhead buy crack
And a white man get paid off of all of that"

As you can see, Kanye has been challenging us for a while now. You think you're ballin' with your Jordan 11s or Rolls Royce, but a deeper perspective leads us to the truth that corporations (mostly run by White males) are feeding us our materialistic needs. Kanye, like other conscious rappers, forces us to think about our priorities, our social responsibilities and shares the difficulties of balancing needs and luxuries. It's an important and consistent message throughout much of his albums, and Yeezus is no different.  
     
   

Kanye is the prime example of the American dream: a hard working citizen with originality who "grabbed himself from his bootstraps" and overcame an endless amount of "NOs" to become the success he is today. He is not the YouTube-made star we see today. Given his success, Kanye has made a point to incorporate traits of his Black and urban culture within his music and lyrics. He is highly aware of the lack of Black history in our schools and one can consider him a messenger of the lost culture. In a recent interview, he talked about his connection with rap duo, Dead Prez, who wear their Black pride on their sleeves and whose albums reflect anti-oppressive and pro-Black sentiments. In Yeezus, the hottest record is "Blood on the Leaves" where he takes an alternate route to show America's Blackness. While the lyrics illustrate a one-night stand story, the sample that weaves throughout the beat comes from Nina Simone's version of Billie Holiday's song "Strange Fruits." "Strange Fruits" is about lynching, the racially-motivated act of hanging Blacks for the most minimal of reasons. Thousands were killed in the early 20th century. Billie Holiday's version brings chills to your skin and there needs to be an appreciation for Kanye bringing up such an ugly, but honest view of American history. His first track of College Dropout gives an ironic look into inner-city life, which plaques millions of minorities. "We Don't Care" first verse:

"If this is your first time hearing this
You are about to experience something cold man
We never had nothing handed took nothing for granted
Took nothing from no man, man i'm my own man
But as a shorty i looked up to the dopeman
Only adult man i knew that wasnt a broke man"

Then he delivers the irony with the children choir singing,

We wasnt supposed to make it past 25 but the jokes on you we still alive
Throw your hands up in the sky and say we don't care what people say"

The inner-city and Black perspective that's so often lost is brought to the mainstream by Kanye here and on every single album he has dropped. Conscious rappers have attempted to make a career addressing these issues with their audience, but no rapper can make them bounce and bob their heads while lip-syncing about racial inequalities on the streets of Chicago like Kanye can. It just doesn't happen. No one other than Kanye is equipped with these skills. He also puts them on display in "Crack Music" from his 2nd album.

"How we stop the black panthers?
Ronald Reagan cooked up an answer
You hear that?
What Jill Scott was hearin
When our heroes and heroines got hooked on heroin.
Crack raised the murder rate in DC and Maryland
We invested in that, it's like we got Merril-Lynched
And we been hangin from the same tree ever since"       



You see, this man creates thought-provoking musicals. Shit that makes you think and dance and sometimes you can't do both simultaneously. And the beautiful thing is that he has not stopped since before Kanye was Kanye. Yeezus is sonically in your face, and at times, loud and obnoxious, but isn't that the way it has always been with Yeezy? Kanye is an egomaniac, but name one celebrity that is not. The amount of rejections can only be handled by egocentric personalities, so I look pass that. In music, I search for a representation of the unseen world around me. That's what Michael Jackson did. He shared a musical formula that we didn't know existed which made us see and feel differently about our surroundings. Kanye has succeeded at this on all his six albums, including Yeezus. He keeps a consistent message with a different sonido.