There was a time back in 2010 when Kanye West was the biggest rock star in the world. It began with a masterpiece, 808s And Heartbreaks, took a detour with his pooorly judged shaming of Taylor Swift at the VMAs, but recovered with the GOOD Friday free songs givaway, a couple of month of West masterpieces and concluded with the breathtaking My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album.
But West didn't tour behind the album, instead he released Watch The Throne with Jigga, an arty, overrated disaster, with only "New Day" up to it, and he followed that with a good not great tour with Jigga. All hits all the time, but it didn't really work for me much. Again, my opinion is in the minority, but really, it was a preening egotistical whatever. A victory lap celebrating a bad album.
Things have been worse ever since then I have no clue, zero, why the greatest hip hop star in the world wants to be a celebrity. The entire Kim Kardashian stuff is ridiculous, what does Kanye needs this for? I would like to say it's Kim's fault, but West knew what he was up to. And it has effected his music. Every song Kanye gave away was masterful, indeed, I made my my own extended Dark Twisted Fantasy album with all the songs and the album in one piece and it was unspeakably great. Just about flawless. Here's an idea, compare Kanye's Curtis Mayfield sample on "The Joy" to his Otis Redding sample on "Otis". Now what do you think?
But things would get worse. It is possibly that he fell in love with Kim Kardashian and that is fine by me, but if he did so he made it a gossippy celebrity stupidly spectacle of himself . Kanye may have been a drunken mess after his mother's death, but he was a drunken mess at the top of his artistic abilities. What is he now exactly? Everything I've heard f G.O.O.D. Music has been irrelevant and indifferent. I mean, really, have we come this far to find Kanye in a competition for beats and samples with Rick Ross? Rick Ross???? Hell, Kanye is better than Jigga and Ross combined. Or at least he was. Now he is busy choosing Kim's wardrobe and…. making plans to judge on American Idol!
Let me give you an equivalence to Kanye on AI: Presley circa "Paradise Hawaiian Style", it is the place where there is no artistic excuse for your actions, and, to be honest, there isn't really any financial excuse, either. West's actions are eccentric. And the effect on him is negative. I haven't heard G.O.O.D. Music, except for a track here and there, and I haven't much cared for what I have heard. I haven't hated it, mind, just not much liked it. My assumption is it will be an average to good album , a few killa tracks and a eluvia lot of filler. Nothing compared to 808s or Fantasy. And that's what happened to Kanye after his Mom died. He fell a part and reached a creative zenith, then chose a version of the great American dream, and lost so much of his musical prowess.