I'd argue that Kanye's conflict is fundamentally one between two ways of being aspirational: the one in which he was raised, which focuses on hard work, hard graft, education and knowledge, and also crucially the importance of pleasing other people in order to get where you want to go; and the one in which his hip-hop peers were mostly raised, which sidesteps all those traditional paths up in favour of the hustle, focusing on money first and foremost, which doesn't give a fuck about pleasing people. Obviously class is a huge factor here - from his style to his lyrics to his language, Kanye's always been solidly middle class. And the middle classes have always been the people most concerned with being perceived as socially respectable - transpose this to the music/entertainment world, and that's what Kanye wants. To be respected by everyone.
Kanye wants absolute respect, but also love. To be an undeniable fact of pop life, unassailable from critics, haters, or fans.
Which is why I love Kanye's ego tbh - cuz it's so obviously based in his insecurity, the shifting sands of where he stands in relation to his multiple audiences. Also, the most grating examples of it aren't on record, and I can switch myself off to them.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2008-05-24 11:00 am (UTC)I'd argue that Kanye's conflict is fundamentally one between two ways of being aspirational: the one in which he was raised, which focuses on hard work, hard graft, education and knowledge, and also crucially the importance of pleasing other people in order to get where you want to go; and the one in which his hip-hop peers were mostly raised, which sidesteps all those traditional paths up in favour of the hustle, focusing on money first and foremost, which doesn't give a fuck about pleasing people. Obviously class is a huge factor here - from his style to his lyrics to his language, Kanye's always been solidly middle class. And the middle classes have always been the people most concerned with being perceived as socially respectable - transpose this to the music/entertainment world, and that's what Kanye wants. To be respected by everyone.
Kanye wants absolute respect, but also love. To be an undeniable fact of pop life, unassailable from critics, haters, or fans.
This reminds me of that early Madonna quote, about how her sole aim was to be loved by everyone in the world. Kanye and Madonna's need to be loved makes them contort and twist themselves into all sorts of shapes purely for our pleasure - and their talent/nous ensures that they never seem pathetically needy. But people like Beyoncé expect to be loved. The idea that anyone could not love them is completely alien. When I interviewed Ciara last year, her confidence and poise were so overwhelming that I asked her if she'd ever known a moment's doubt, and she actually looked at me as if she had no idea what the concept of doubt even was. I suspect if I asked Kanye that, he'd start spluttering and ranting and denying it, ie obviously he is RIVEN with self-doubt.
Which is why I love Kanye's ego tbh - cuz it's so obviously based in his insecurity, the shifting sands of where he stands in relation to his multiple audiences. Also, the most grating examples of it aren't on record, and I can switch myself off to them.