Let go, my ego.
Although this phrase is a derivative of Eggo’s slogan, it could not be more of an excellent suggestion for Kanye West during his decade long of sporadic, power-tripping episodes.
Mr. West has been known for honing in on the underdog mentality to break down doors that his counterparts or competition swayed him from entering. From making the transition of producing behind the scenes for several artists to stepping into the spotlight as a Hip Hop act and making an impact in the fashion industry with his Yeezy brand, Kanye has had this chip on his shoulder to prove to his contemporaries that he is multi-faceted.
However, from a Black mother to her son, the African proverb that is embraced in African culture is, “The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.” The question is, how far will Kanye go to prove his point and his value.
With College Drop Out’s thesis centered on overcoming self-consciousness and establishing a successful life story without giving in to Western civilization’s status quo, the uncontemporary hit-single ‘Jesus Walks’ breaks boundaries.
Hip Hop has been a safe place for artists to express their religious ties in their music. However, getting the songs to crack the Billboard chart list has been a challenge. But, Kanye allowing his rambunctious swagger to manifest on record had led to bold cultural moves in secular music when he said:
So here go my single, dawg, radio needs this
They say you can rap about anything except for Jesus
That means guns, sex, lies, videotape
But if I talk about God, my record won’t get played, huh?
Mr. West got his spiritual foundation from his mother, Donda West, a former professor and chair of the English Department at Chicago State University. He acknowledges her cementing his belief system when he penned, “My mama used to say only Jesus can save us.” However, is the groundbreaking ‘Jesus Walks’ track an act of integrity to his faith, or is it an exploitative act to test his new claim to fame influence.
Author Arsh Bains from 36 Chapters explained what made Kanye West widely accepted amongst Millennials. Bains reports that Kanye represents the nuance of how the American mind thinks in contrast to what was popularized in Hip Hop culture, which was larger than life bravado in gangster rap.
Kanye spoke for his audience struggling with balancing self-confidence and their untapped relationship with God when expressed in one of his leading singles off of Graduation, Can’t Tell Me Nothing, “I had a dream I could buy my way to heaven. When I awoke, I spent that on a necklace. I told God I’d be back in a second. Man, it’s so hard not to act reckless.”
To each its own, Kanye is more than an artist. He is a human being going through the kinks that spiritual journeys take everyone even when we are losing profusely to vices that have yet been overcome when he makes known and says, “I feel the pressure, under more scrutiny. And, what I do? Act more stupidly.”
Well, Kanye’s self-centered outburst during Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at 2009 MTV’s Video Music Awards brought nothing more than negative attention. Mainly, when the leader of the free world, President Barrack Obama, judged him at the moment as a ‘jackass.’ But, this disruptive moment made Kanye self-reflect on his vices, his power struggle, and his public relationship with fame and Amber Rose on the critically acclaimed fifth studio album MBDTF in 2010.
The consensus believes the outbursts and dramatic change in behavior is a manifestation of Kanye not fully processing his mother’s death. Kanye’s mother died from ‘coronary artery disease and multiple post-operative factors’ in November 2007. Kanye coped with the loss of his mother by channeling his emotions of sorrow and loneliness into a groundbreaking album that influenced the careers of Drake, Kid Cudi, Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, and Ski Mask the Slump God on his critically acclaimed fourth studio album 808s & Heartbreaks in November 2008.
Kanye vulnerably indicated the void he felt after losing his mother when he sang on Welcome to Heartbreak, “My friends showed me pictures of his kids. And all I could show him was pictures of my cribs.” 808s & Heartbreaks is not just about coping with grief. Still, but how disconnected Mr. West is becoming from the community, he represents because of the passing of his mother, which was his foundation.
Molly Seay from Apple Seed Productions’ Life Imitates Art documentary film expressed from a psychological point of view that this is what happens when creating a foundation out of people who won’t always be there.
Just as artists within Hip Hop profit off their pain through music, Kanye wore his heart on his sleeve to expose his weaknesses, which is his ego in MBDTF.
"No one man should have all that power," said Kanye.
Nonetheless, Kanye contemplating to give up his influence is a struggle that he seems to be dealing with head-on when he rapped, "Now this would be a beautiful death. I’m jump’n out the window. I’m letting everything go.”
Releasing oneself from power, knowing the reasons why he indulges in the love affair with fame, is to over compensate for the void of his mother may lead to an ego overdrive. When ‘all fall down’ like the
exemplar in Kanye's self-conscious track when he narrated:
“Couldn't afford a car, so she named her daughter Alexis.
She had hair so long that it looked like weave.
Then, she cut it all off, now she looks like Eve.
And she be dealing with some issues that you can't believe.
Single Black female addicted to retail," said Kanye.
Well, retail definitely became the driving force for Kanye’s sixth album Yeezus, considering that Kanye felt a sense of a déjà vu moment from his yesteryears before the stardom. Yeezus is an album that resembles an active volcano ready to erupt, which is exemplified in the first track On Sight.
“Yeezy season approaching. Fuck whatever y’all been hearin’. Fuck what, fuck whatever y’all been wearing. A monster ‘bout to come alive again,” said Kanye.
Again, Kanye has something to prove. As the culture continues to advance, and Kanye has not been granted a seat at the table with fashion gatekeepers to learn, network, and gain support to produce his long-term brand Yeezy, Kanye has used his voice to express his frustration and overall worth in an agitated way.
Realizing Kanye’s worth yet feeling entitled becomes blurred when he rebrands himself as Yeezus. Casual listeners and Christians may think he is blasphemous to think of himself as a God. Still, Kanye boldly professed to Zane Lowe in a Beats1 Interview what he means when he said, ‘I am a God.’
“We have this thing that’s been working for a while
where you don’t have to be racist anymore. It’s called self-hate.
It works on itself; it’s like real estate of racism. Where just like that if
Someone comes up and says I am a god. Everyone says who does
he think he is, but to take being called a n—a, a gangster, or a pimp fit
better when you are a person of my stature,” said Kanye.
Now, a conglomerate of events has led up to Mr. West’s ninth studio album, Jesus Is King. From canceling the remaining North American tour dates for the Life of Pablo tour after given a stream-of-consciousness rant to Kanye placed on bed rest in the hospital, an examination revealed Kanye has a mental illness disorder, according to NBC News.
Although mental instabilities come with irrational behavior, many people have checked out in supporting him while he makes careless social irresponsible choices with his words when he gutsily proclaims, “Slavery is a choice” on TMZ in mid-2018. Can a mentally ill person with a track record of struggling with his ego be taken seriously when he chooses to devout his life to Jesus?
Well, Kanye is definitely an exemplar of how a caterpillar metamorphoses into a butterfly by way of starting as a producer who made beats on an MPC to being front-and-center on a mainstage headlining tours.
The question remains, although he traced his steps back to chopping up soul samples at Sunday Services around the country where a choir and a somewhat congregation worships God with R&B inspired gospel songs, will Kanye place his ego aside and let God be the headliner of his own show?