State your case: the great Kanye debate

Team Yeezus

Yeezyseason is here and it’s yet to blow over. There’s a reason this storm hasn’t lifted — “new” Kanye West is a genius.

Not to say “old” Kanye doesn’t deserve respect as an artist — dare I say, as a human being? — but the fact some critics can’t swallow is that it is OK, important even, for artists improve and find their voice — even if that means getting nastier and even darker with each album.

Music elitists both praised and hated the June 2013 drop “Yeezus” with its dark and somewhat uncomfortable themes. Some Huffington Post writers asked Kanye to get over himself, go back to the old stuff and step away from the fashion industry. Rolling Stone gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars, lauding West’s work as “extravagantly abrasive.” I don’t think “abrasive” quite covers it — and that’s why you hate it.

Kanye’s work returns to themes of racism and class-ism again and again. But this time, even more so than in the past, he’s out to make you sweat. Perhaps that’s why some listeners claim Kanye is a “racist” when he addresses the cyclical pipelining of African American men into the prison-industrial complex in the track “New Slaves,” not taking too kindly to the white system putting them there — assuming, of course, that reverse racism indeed exists, which is an argument for another day. Kanye doesn’t care if his use of Nina Simone’s “Strange Fruit,” a ballad about the lynching that occurred during the Civil Rights Movement, disturbs you in his track “Blood on the Leaves.”

“But Kanye’s always addressed tough issues. Same shit, new album, right?” Wrong.

Although he addressed similar themes four albums ago, Kanye continues to demonstrate his artistry beyond what appears lyrically: his pre-mastership of musicality as a form of social critique is deserving of more than the face-value excuse of “Well, it’s just not the same.”

Kanye is well on his way to becoming a master of making consumers feel things beyond what is said. This is an evolution in the glory that is Kanye West, the culmination of years of creative lyricism with the power of non-spoken word is meant to make you think.

So you still prefer “old” Kanye. I won’t deny that “The College Dropout” and “Late Registration” are two of his best albums. But consider the value of a developing artist. Even with “Yeezus” as his sixth studio album, Kanye is still testing the waters to see what else he can do to take his message to another level. Whether you like or hate this progression, all I’m asking is for current and former fans alike to respect musicians’ need to develop their voice. Discounting artists for stepping outside the critically-drawn lines won’t get you very far.

Praise be to Yeezus.

— Manda Perkins is a senior majoring in journalism and a low-key worshipper of Kanye West. Please send criticism or responding arguments to manda.perkins@hotmail.com. She’s open minded like that.

Team Classic Kanye

Unlike a fine wine, Kanye West did not mature with age. In fact, he digressed. In my opinion — which is the right opinion — as soon as the bear left the album cover, so did the magic.

Kanye’s first three albums are original. They don’t sound the same as everything else you could hear on the radio now. Granted, they are a number of years older, but his most recent albums align with the rest of the industry.

However, I don’t want to focus on negatives. Look at the positives. Kanye does nothing better than brag. In his first three albums, he brags about his climb up the music industry. In his following four, he brags about nonsensical and cocky things.

‘College Dropout’ and ‘Late Registration’ have 21 and 22 songs, respectively, on them. His last four albums have 13 songs at the most. ‘Yeezus’ has 10. I think this is a testament to the decline of Kanye’s work creative work ethic. Not to say his most recent music isn’t creative, it just doesn’t make as much of an effort to be different from the rest of the industry.

I would also like to point out the song “Through the Wire” on “College Dropout” was sung literally through a wire. Kanye had his mouth wired shut because of a broken jaw. So that is at least one point for young Kanye.

I will say that old Kanye gets another point for naming his kid North West. That’s creative.

Kanye gets away from the roots on his later albums. He even gets complacent. It’s noticeable in his work. I used to listen to his albums for hours on end with my self-start lawn mowing business — which was very successful, I might add.

The most important thing Kanye lost was a message. He lost a purpose. Now his music is dispassionate, and so am I.

— Jeffrey Dahdah is a junior majoring in journalism. To be honest, he stopped listening to Kanye after the first three albums but still listens to them on occasion. Send feedback to dahdahjm@gmail.com or on Twitter @dahdahUSU.