It”s hard to escape the influence that musical artists have in people”s daily lives.
Beyonce utilized a Super Bowl halftime performance as platform for the Black Lives Matter movement, while Kesha took a public stand against the producer accused of sexually assaulting her.
Whether it”s through Twitter posts or newsstands, celebrity performers are bound to dominate headlines on a consistent basis.
Josh Grissom
Argonaut
Kanye West has taken this exposure to an entirely new level. The rapper and self-proclaimed “god” was the center of a slew of bizarre incidents, including an unexpected outburst on the set of Saturday Night Live and his claims on Twitter that he was $53 million in debt.
But perhaps the most controversial incident occurred when West referenced singer Taylor Swift in a track on his latest album “The Life of Pablo.”
In the album”s fourth track “Famous,” the rapper claims that he might have sex with Swift because he “made that bitch famous.”
When I first heard the track, I was irritated for two reasons.
The first was the lyrics proved that West must be completely uneducated regarding the popularity of fellow musical artists, especially Swift.
The rapper”s unexpected outburst during Swift”s acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards occurred in 2009. That was the year when West”s “808s and Heartbreak” sold 1.7 million records, while Swift sold 8.6 million copies of her album “Fearless” worldwide. She was definitely an A-list celebrity well before Kanye”s now infamous tantrum.
The second reason was that West”s statement was inherently misogynistic.
Don”t get me wrong – I”m still one of the more passionate fans of hip-hop on the Moscow campus. In fact, I used to be a fan of West back when “The College Dropout” was released in 2004.
As I sat in my dorm room irate over the rapper”s lyrics, I began to realize that the issue is bigger than Kanye West. It is an aspect the entire rap genre routinely struggles with.
The reason why I cringe at the sexist and violent lyrics of Eminem and Dr. Dre is the same reason why I cannot stand jabs by the eccentric personality that is Kanye West.
The immense publicity that these artists hold can impact our lives in a negative way, especially in cases of sexism and misogyny.
Listeners should instead be focusing on hip-hop artists who are striving to make a difference in regards to women.
One such rapper is Kendrick Lamar.
The Compton artist strives to produce music that examines black consciousness and paints a picture of race dynamics in a divided country.
Another artist who has taken an anti-misogyny stand is J. Cole. In 2013″s “Wicked Smile,” Cole tells women not to allow disrespect from men who attempt to criticize them.
These artists provide a stark contrast to the unruly and sexist attitude of West, because they stand for a cause. Meanwhile, Kanye raps contain pointless lyrics describing wild sexual encounters with models.
As for my thoughts on Kanye West – I have little sympathy for the man and his alleged $53 million debt.
In fact, I might encourage others to illegally download his album.
Josh Grissom can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @GoshJrissom