Kanye West and the Tragedy of Growing through Grief

I miss the old Kanye. I hate the new Kanye. Love or hate him, you know the name.  

With a reputation that needs no introduction, Kanye Omari West has graced headline after headline with deeply sought-after drama. Coming fresh off the tumultuous release of his tenth studio album Donda, a tribute to his late mother Donda West, he has re-entered the public eye. 

He’s noticeably different now. All his recent songs have been smudged of their cursing and heed to a centralized religious theme. Without getting into the intricate debate of quality, this is the quote-on-quote new Kanye. 

And people hate him. Personally, I don’t know why. I think his quality of music hasn’t decreased in any significant way and he continues to be one of the world’s most influential people. But that isn’t my point. 

Kanye exclusively occupies this lane. There aren’t many artists who are faced with constant criticisms for their “new” persona. Some are met with resistance or confusion, but never with disdain and disappointment. 

This conversation has been held for nearly a decade now. That begs a very important question, what changed? 

On November 10 in 2007, Donda West died as a result of complications from liposuction and breast reduction. Her death was unexpected, painful and traumatizing. Kanye was crushed and some argue he never fully recovered. 

The following 11 years of Kanye’s career were tumultuous, riddled with controversy and produced some of his best artistry yet. He revolutionized the hip-hop genre with 808’s and Heartbreaks, created My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, one of the most critically acclaimed albums of all time, released the angry and loud industrial hip-hop record Yeezus, conquered the charts with The Life of Pablo, became vulnerable with ye and remained consistently controversial in his down time. 

Despite his best efforts, nay-sayers remained loud. “We miss the old Kanye,” they’d say. It’s one thing to not be a fan of an artist’s newer work. It’s another thing to devalue the artist as a human. 

The world collectively held Kanye to an imaginary standard: you are not allowed to change. 

No one else is held to this standard. I know that I am not the same man I was years ago, and no one ever goes out of their way to say they miss the old me–despite the trauma, triumphs, and tribulations I’ve experienced. 

Kanye’s trauma, his near-death car accident, his mother dying, his expulsions from society, his political tirades and his near-divorce marriage fundamentally changed his perception on life. As it would anyone else.  

The underlying factor is that we grow from trauma. We don’t change for the worst; we change for the best. We aren’t the same person at the beginning of the tunnel and that’s okay. To say Kanye is worse off at the end of tunnel exhibits an extreme lack of empathy.  

It is scientifically proven that trauma deeply affects mental health. Notable ailments among the lengthy list include depression, anxiety, dissociation, flashbacks, low self-esteem and a feeling of non-belonging, according to Mind.org.  

I don’t think I need to step onto my soap box explaining the importance of normalizing mental health issues. The first step to a cohesively healthy community is recognizing that we all struggle with mental health to some capacity at some point in time. Whether it be me or Kanye, our struggles are valid. They don’t worsen Kanye’s personal value and they sure as hell don’t worsen mine.  

And that’s my point. It may seem like I’m ranting vicariously through the lens of Kanye’s incredibly chaotic life and maybe I am. But he is, if not the most, one of the most recognizable names in modern pop-culture. Yet, despite the fame and accolades, he’s just as human as the rest of us. 

No one should be held to the standard of limited change. The narrative that change is bad is, quite frankly, stupid. If not anything, we grow. And growing through pain and strife is commendable, not an invitation for criticism. 

Perseverance does not inhibit a person’s worth. It only accentuates it. 

Carter Kolpitcke can be reached at [email protected].