Been listening to his latest release.
Disclaimer: I am an old white guy who has very little affinity for hiphop/rap music. Not an expert. I have always thought whitebread suburban kids running around listening to songs about slinging dope, moving nines, slapping hos and mad stax were... well..... silly.
Also, Kanye is by definition a little ..... off. He may have a screw loose, but he is definitely odd, in his most sane moments.
All that said, it is hard to miss the joy and the goodness in this latest cd. Even if you don't like rap, you should listen. It is creative, different, and has what I consider to be the essence of good music, punchy lyrics (download them and listen). He is smart, incisive, witty, creative....., and just plain good.
I have been thru too many celebrity Xn spokesmen and seen too many flameouts to get all wide eyed about it. Nevertheless, I am happy for him.
What is critical here, and should interest you even ifyou have precisely ZERO interest in the king Kanye is advocating, is that this is a huge political thingey, as well. Just as the communists HATED Wycliffe Bible Translators more than any other group in Colombia... because when Indians came to the bible, they rejected the hatred, bitterness, and anger so necessary to left wing politics...... so Kanye's album is completely devoid of the call to resentment, victimhood, and appeals to ugliness that almost all "black spokespeople" advocate. Even Candace Owen (who I love) is more pissed off about the lies than she is an advocate for just living life.
I am just saying that anger burns you out inside, and hatred leaves you a shell. The real changes, if they come, are from love, goodness, and positive commitments to live life in a way that honors others, sacrifices self, honestly and consistently labors to build something good. Interestingly enough, those character qualities are what are at the core of the gospel demands, which one can see if you shut off the celebrity preachers and actually read the bible itself. The power to do so is claimed to reside in a personal awareness that you are not a hero, just another loser in need of a savior, and that that savior exists and (wonder of wonders!) wants to know you.
Kanye claims to have discovered this, and is inviting others to join that joy. Worth a listen just for that.
Disclaimer: I am an old white guy who has very little affinity for hiphop/rap music. Not an expert. I have always thought whitebread suburban kids running around listening to songs about slinging dope, moving nines, slapping hos and mad stax were... well..... silly.
Also, Kanye is by definition a little ..... off. He may have a screw loose, but he is definitely odd, in his most sane moments.
All that said, it is hard to miss the joy and the goodness in this latest cd. Even if you don't like rap, you should listen. It is creative, different, and has what I consider to be the essence of good music, punchy lyrics (download them and listen). He is smart, incisive, witty, creative....., and just plain good.
I have been thru too many celebrity Xn spokesmen and seen too many flameouts to get all wide eyed about it. Nevertheless, I am happy for him.
What is critical here, and should interest you even ifyou have precisely ZERO interest in the king Kanye is advocating, is that this is a huge political thingey, as well. Just as the communists HATED Wycliffe Bible Translators more than any other group in Colombia... because when Indians came to the bible, they rejected the hatred, bitterness, and anger so necessary to left wing politics...... so Kanye's album is completely devoid of the call to resentment, victimhood, and appeals to ugliness that almost all "black spokespeople" advocate. Even Candace Owen (who I love) is more pissed off about the lies than she is an advocate for just living life.
I am just saying that anger burns you out inside, and hatred leaves you a shell. The real changes, if they come, are from love, goodness, and positive commitments to live life in a way that honors others, sacrifices self, honestly and consistently labors to build something good. Interestingly enough, those character qualities are what are at the core of the gospel demands, which one can see if you shut off the celebrity preachers and actually read the bible itself. The power to do so is claimed to reside in a personal awareness that you are not a hero, just another loser in need of a savior, and that that savior exists and (wonder of wonders!) wants to know you.
Kanye claims to have discovered this, and is inviting others to join that joy. Worth a listen just for that.