I know it’s kind of ridiculous to suggest Kanye West is underrated – considering all the coverage he gets (and he certainly doesn’t underrate himself). But maybe because of all that coverage I’ve been backing off, assuming he must be overrated.
I’ve been mulling these thoughts as I listen to this song over and over. I gotta admit I’m hooked right now.
(Btw, what’s with record companies and TV networks disabling the embedding function on YouTube? Are people really gonna go and say, “Oh super it’s from Universal Music Group. Great to know. Hey, I’m going to sit here and watch videos from these other talented Universal artists.” I suspect most people hardly notice the difference between Universal’s official page and, say, the KanYeLeaks page on YouTube anyways. Music videos were supposed to be just advertising for them anyways so why do they give a damn where the video shows up. I was going to link to other Kanye stuff but since the record label forced me on that one it’s the only link this childish blogger is going to give out to them. Naa-na-naa-na-naa-naa.)
I never really figured out the early Jay Z beats he did; never resonated with me. I enjoyed the College Dropout but it felt like he was still developing. He was certainly already a solid producer and a creative MC, and he had a way with melodies that most hip hop producers don’t have, and he was ambitiously innovative, but all those parts were working independently — a little gimmicky maybe, eclectic, rather than composed into cohesive songs. He was trying to find his way out of hip hop conventions and cliches but didn’t exactly have a sense of how, or with what.
So far he seems to have broken out part-way — if only to have landed within a bunch of electro conventions instead, or also. A lot of producers have moved there and I’m not sure how many that space can hold. It’s cool for now though. I’ve always liked the 808… Vocoder not so much, but now that everybody digitally harmonizes the vocals anyways (e.g. Cher, most famously), it’s kind of refreshing to hear a full-out, unashamed Vocoder Auto-Tune.
Meanwhile Kanye’s more conventional hip hop production (e.g. for Common — who I will link to) has remained solid and grown more creative and cohesive at the same time. Not totally consistent — but who is? He’s at least as consistent as any other hip hop producer.
Or I should say ‘consistently good.’ Kanye isn’t consistent — not always as recognizable — the way Timbaland and the Neptunes and or Dre are consistent. Timbaland always has that signature syncopation. The Neptunes have a signature sound that’s always noticeable (always in that ‘coherent’ way in which all the parts fit, more than any other producer/s). And Dre just seems to always use the same gear (and he most of his beats have that laid back, loping rhythm). Whereas Kanye keeps trying to become someone else altogether.
Full of himself? Maybe or maybe hasn’t changed. But a degree of arrogance (or self-assurance at least) helps build the initiative for taking creative risks, jumping between genres, and busting up conventions and cliches (not just of hip hop, but of pop music in general). And I’m glad to see someone doing it.
And maybe I’ll give him one more link. Check out this month’s cover story and interview with Kanye in The Fader:
I want my music to be played the same place you could play a Feist song, but I want it to still work in a strip club, still work in a car… I could easily give up and be like, Well, I’m black and I’m a rapper, or I could be like, Man, what could I do to get here? you only got one life and shit. Who’s to say what you can and can’t do?…
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