- Artists:
- Kanye West »
- Label:
- Mercury »
The race for the prize hasn’t been fought between two less likeable parties since 1996, when cripple-loathing God-botherer Glenn Hoddle went heads-up with Howard Wilkinson to see who’d become the new England team manager. But this tussle right here is for something a little more prestigious than the right to shout “Man on” at Ray Parlour: we’re talking about the battle for the hearts and minds of the hip-hop mainstream, the contest to become the #1 figure in rap.
In one corner, dancing like a man suffering from PTSD in the video to ‘Ayo Technology’ and prepping to drop the album Curtis, it’s 50 Cent. And in the other corner, three CDs deep and still persisting with that furry-friendly cover art motif, it’s Kanye West.
They’ve gone to the effort of clearly defining the roles of ‘goodie’ and ‘baddie’ to help push their (clearly manufactured and utterly non-existant) feud over these two albums. Fiddy loves the latter role: doesn’t matter if you’re a family rights lobbyist on the right, an anti-gun campaigner on the left, or a member of Dipset: he’s here to fuck up your day hardcore, then roll-up on magazine covers dead in the middle of the Don Imus fallout proudly boasting,_ “I’ll take all of the blame for hip-hop”_.
Kanye wants to wear the white cowboy hat though. He’s the good guy! He just wants to be your friend. You like old school hip-hop, right? So does he: he’s hanging out with KRS-One and Rakim. You like the emo? He has Fall Out Boy on speed dial. You like your rap conscious? He’s working with Common. You prefer that gun-slanging talk? Lil Weezy turns up on this album. You like the idea of a society where the fluke of birth doesn’t determine your access to life-saving materials? He’s on the telly calling out Dubbya over Hurricane Katrina. You, alternately, think that rich white people are superior beings to the proletariat, and that the latter should be taxed so the former can live lives of easy luxury; he’s at the Diana Memorial Concert to let you know he agrees. Kanye Just Wants To Be Liked.
Which is a massive irony, because he’s easily the least likeable rapper currently recording, and not just because of those fucking sunglasses. The man’s ‘issues’ with women don’t really help, a triumphant progress from ghostwriting lyrics defending date rape for Ludacris, to ‘Gold Digger’, to recent single ‘Stronger’’s adolescently heel-kicking “I’ll do anything for a blonde dyke / And she’ll do anything for the limelight”. On ‘Drunk and Hot Girls’, he even appears to be on some Joe Francis shit.
I blame the parents myself. Remember ‘Juicy’? Notorious BIG track, on hip-hop radio every now and then, “It was all a dream / I used to read Word Up magazine”. That one. Great song, right? It’s got great form as well: Biggie sets himself up as this rich, successful, boastful figure (even if what he’s boasting about is having a mobile phone, a barbecue, and a SNES), but lets you know that he came from the struggle, and his materialism is tied down into having nothing as a child. There’s a song on Graduation which is basically Kanye doing his own ‘Juicy’, his own “my childhood and where it gets me know” tune. It’s called ‘Champion’, and in it Kanye alludes to a rough childhood... and then goes on and mentions that every school year his parents brought him a brand new wardrobe of clothes at the start of the autumn term. In his mind, that’s how you create the vision of the underdog, by letting the people know that you didn’t have to rock your elder brother’s Dunlops to Year 6 English.
But, yes, bitching about the boy West’s personality is self-defeating. When he works (tracks like ‘Gold Digger’, ‘Through the Wire’, heck even ‘Stronger’ to a point) he works as a ‘useful asshole’, an all-purpose contemptible figure that still knows his way around a beat, still knows how to put a song together, still knows how to make those hits. At heart, he’s still a producer not a rapper (which explains how badly he hits the mic at times, more on that later). He’s got that hit-making part down pat... it’s just that he can’t make good hits anymore.
Take ‘Homecoming’, featuring Chris Martin on vocals, a surf-shack piano-based tune that is desperately missing Jack Johnson and a 23-year-old girl called Joanna telling you how amazing scuba-diving in Mauritius is. Or ‘Drunk and Hot Girls’, which drags Mos Def out of whatever retirement home he’s been staying in to burble incoherently for five minutes. ‘The Glory’ gives you the feeling of being trapped in a horror movie as Dilated Peoples’ zombies slowly make their way to the corner of the room you’re hiding in. Even ‘Barry Bonds’, his hook-up with hip-hop’s currently most dick-sucked Lil Wayne, comes across as rushed as mixtape album filler, amped up to let you know that, despite spending most of his interview time alternatively crying over what awards he hasn’t won and praising Brandon Flowers’s moustache, he’s still got his ear to the hip-hop world.
Annoyingly though, then there’s a track like ‘Can’t Tell Me Nothing’, produced by DJ Toomp (who previous beatmade TI’s ‘What You Know’). It’s an amazing instrumental, as dark and gloomy as Gothic architecture, with dub-hop vocals from Australian vocalist Connie Mitchell, and these elements put together basically make it sound like some kind of fantasyland version of Big Dada. And Kanye’s fine on it, pissing and moaning like he always does, and never let it be said that he can’t glide on a track when need be, but... “I know that Jesus died for us / But I couldn’t tell you who this side was / So I parallel double-parked that motherfucker sideways / Old folks talking ‘Back in my day’”.
So, wait a minute... excessive need to point out familiarity with all genres, even if you’re incapable of combining them all into your music: check. Non-sensical, “sounds OK until you analyse them” lyrics: check. Seemingly nice ‘n’ healthy liberal pop star who eventually reveals himself to have some pretty fucked-up political views: check. Slow realisation on the critics’ minds that we’ve been praising some utter shit for half a decade: check. Oh snap, Kanye’s the new Beck and this is his Midnite Vultures. Five years’ time, tool up like Ralph Wiggum and prepare to say_ “I can’t believe I used to go out with you” _every time he walks past.
- Perdu sur la plage: DiS does Les Eurockéennes
- All that glitters: Santogold tours with Kanye
- Obama and McCain's top 10 musical jollities revealed
- Kanye rants: rapper angry at criticism of Bonnaroo set
- KanYe West loves big tits
- Chart round-up: weather-beaten crotch
- Radiohead, KanYe collaboration on cards as Perry Farrell rages at Lollapalooza line-up leak
- Radiohead, NIN, Rage Against the Machine and KanYe for Lollapalooza 2008, probably
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Tweet This
Share on FacebookPut aside the fact he's a bit of arse
the album isn't THAT bad
brilliant review,
seriously. Nice work.
I'm glad
I don't come to DiS for hip-hop reviews.
Mr Passantino actually knows quite a lot about hip hop
you might have gathered that if you read the review. But you obviously love Kanye, so yr probably well thick and can't read n ting.
Great review though, sums up pretty much everything i hate about the slimy little rat fuck. Kanye is probably the lamest rapper/personality in commercial rap's recent past
oh, and congrats to DiS on the signing of the season. I'm totally gay 4 Dom
Ralph Wiggum
yes! :D
I have no interest in Kanye* or his albums but i enjoyed the review.
*apart from his fully sick yellow watch
And it is this
"I don't like him so shall call this album awful" feeling that permeates the entire review.
I don't love Kanye West, were I inclined to be a music reviewer I'd give it 7/10 at best, but his own production (the same production that helped make The Blueprint one of the greatest rap albums of the past 15 years) is still very good. Yes, he can't rap for toffee, but half of the time that simply doesn't matter because he "still knows how to put a song together".
He's clearly trying to make an album that isn't conventional rap. I'm not meaning this in an "oh, it's so innovative and pushes boundaries" way (it doesn't), but there's an attempt to mix genres into the album instead of going straight down the middle of soul sample-based hip-hop that it doesn't get monotonous. He should also be praised for following Nas' example and keeping an album under 15 tracks.
And, obviously, I wouldn't be a music reviewer because annoying shits like me have to take issue with what you've spent hours writing.
Probably
Stylus, although most of the time I listen to it and make my own judgement on it. White, middle-class suburbanites have such disparate opinions on what makes good hip-hop that reviews are mostly worthless.
Wait...
Passantino?
Like Dom Passantino?
I now understand the irony that I should go to Stylus for hip-hop reviews. That's quite a journalistic coup there. The quality of the writing WAS excellent, I just disagree with the general sentiment.
Stylus?
I was hoping you'd say that.
i like kanye west
that is all.
Aint that hot.
His first 2 albums were innovative and a breath of fresh air. This album seems stale and rushed to be put out. None of the tracks 'go anywhere' far too much sampled loops that are all the way through the track. It's like he didn't bother trying. Shame on Kanye. Still got tickets to see him in November.
i'm with Larsen on this one.
DiS very rarely produce decent Hip-Hop reviews.
But a review is a review, someone's opinion, and this is an indie/rock website so I can forgive all that, but...
Whoever said that Kanye was the lamest commercial rapper in hip hops recent past is INSANE@!*&£^@)($&@£$????
he might not be the most progressive producer/rapper when put next to the left field but he practically stands alone in mainstream rap as an icon for progressiveness. from his early production (already mentioned by Larsen,) through to all 3 of his albums he's managed to do something that not only has inspiring beats (made by himself,) but manages to lyrially tear himself away from the violence and gang culture that has SWAMPED mainstream hip hop for the past 2 decades.
the guy can occasionally act like an arsehole but he's a genius compared to nearly all mainstream hip hop artists around at the moment. he might not be as lyrically talented as jay-z/nas/the game and his beats might not have been as widely praised as timbaland/dr. dre but as far as hip hop artists who produce and rap for the vast majority of their own albums, he really does stand alone.
i trust this is
mostly accurate. could have done without the midnite vultures diss though, i loved Funky Beck. What's with the stupid pen name?
i was focussing on him as a "rapper/personality"
as a producer he's is often great (or at least has been in the past)
as a rapper/personality Kanye is totally fucking lame to the max
Great piece of writing, I thought
grande. grande.
i'm with gareth on this one
turns a mean phrase this fella
As stated above
most of the review is just 'I don't like Kanye personally therefore I don't like the album' (n.b I said MOST).
This might be funny or controversial on a straight hip hop site but here it just seems...predictable.
PS
Tom Breihan has a number of well written posts on both this and 50's new album.
it's a perfectly adequate line of criticism really
since Kanye's personality is inseparable from the music he makes
Well Eazy E was clearly a bit of a nob
But Eazy Duz It is still one of the funniest rap albums of the early nineties. So I think it is definitely possible. Ditto Mark E Smith.
Also rappers often create whole personas for albums (e.g. Bobby Digital) - can you write a review of that based on how much you hate the RZA?
Finally a lot of Kanye's lyrics have an air of vulnerability that 'whinging at the VMAs Kanye' for example doesn't.
it is so
gratifying to see Kanye get some bad press, he's been flavor of the month for way too long.
DiS very rarely produce decent hip-hop reviews...
http://www.drownedinsound.com/release/view/3341
http://www.drownedinsound.com/release/view/10246
http://www.drownedinsound.com/release/view/9478
http://www.drownedinsound.com/release/view/9284
http://www.drownedinsound.com/release/view/10416
Some decent ones there, IMHO.
We do try to cover hip-hop, and we have the capabilities to do so when material comes our way. A few of us here are fans of labels like Def Jux, Stones Throw and Lex.
Sadly, few companies bother to send us such music.
We are sponsoring the El-P tour next month, though. I'd like tothink that'll be something of a catalyst, prompting people to take DiS seriously so far as hip-hop coverage goes. We're willing to cover it if labels/PRs are willing to send it our way.
DiS
getting more hip-hop coverage is a good thing, and getting someone the calibre of Dom Passantino is a huge step towards this.
I sometimes feel like the general audience of DiS affects the tone of hip-hop reviews. Best Of 2007 So Far lists get replies of "Clipse who?" (although re-evaluation indicates this might be an apt repsonse) and outside of experimental (urgh) hip-hop like Anticon, most artists are met with derision.
Obviously it needs to be a gradual shift, with the number of hip-hop reviews increasing steadily rather than suddenly dominating the front page, and I'm positive that general consensus shall become more forgiving.
But the biggest obstacle seems to be people's fear that nodding your head to Paid In Full means your copy of Kid A gets confiscated.
Well, we're certainly not going to neglect hip-hop
A couple of choice LP reviews are coming really soon, one today, and neither are particularly 'experimental'.
It will be natural, I hope. Expansion = great, and there's no reason why we can't cover next to everything here on DiS. If it's relevant to our readership, it should be here.
This album was good.
This review was not.
I'd give it 7 or 8/10. The production is better, and he does experiment enough with sound to keep people interested. It's not just strings and trumpets/saxophones anymore. There are more electronic influences on almost every song on the album (not just on "Stronger"). The album is also more consistent, with less filler than "Late Registration".
I don't like Kanye or Fiddy, but I think Kanye is a talented producer who writes average lyrics. Most rappers aren't nearly as talented, and certainly do not produce such consistently good results.
still....
as a rapper, the claim that he is the lamest for some time is ludicrous. im not saying he's a hero when it comes to MCing but the state of hip hop in the mainstream dictates that he is actually a saving grace. i try to judge him by the 3 brilliant albums he has delivered us as a 'complete' hip hop artist (mcing + production,) rather than his over the top egomaniac act.
please don't get me wrong
asking DiS to (currently) review hip hop is akin to asking my butcher to sell me fruit and veg. i love DiS for what it does: great indie reviews. what it does not do is provide a broad and educated selection of hip hop reviews. if you develop into a website that does both, wonderful, if not, no problem really, we can go elsewhere.
rubbish
This review is so whack. I wonder who gave you your job. Thank heavens I got the album before comin to this website. The album deserves at least an 8 out of 10.
Hopefully...
...by dipping toes with more regularity we can attract contributors with said broad knowledge of hip-hop.
Most of us in-house have knowledge enough to tackle the 'backpack' style stuff, but nobody's particularly gangsta round 'ere ;o)
x
this is
a horrible review...not only is your hatred for the rapper being reflected on your review and making it so biased it's pointless to read.
"...he’s easily the least likeable rapper currently recording, and not just because of those fucking sunglasses."
DiS rarely makes good hip-hop reviews anyway.
kanye
thanks to dis for being strong enough to give a true critque of this over hyped so called star of "hip-hop," anyone of us could do better with the monitary backing; he's a joke. but its not funny are accepting.
Pitchfork gave it an 8.7
by my logic that anything over 8.4 on pitchfork must be a good album, this must be quite a good album.
i therefore bought it.
i must say, the first 6 songs are wonderful, but it does trail off towards the end.
Now way a 4 (that is fucking ridiculous) and it makes me quite sad that someone would let it be a 4 at Drowned in Sound.
very biased.
Shame people can't just put their preconcieved opinions behind them, and listen to the album.
it is actually pretty good, though it is obviously no petsounds etc etc etc whatever.
i really like
seeing kanye whine when he doesn't receive an award, "a black man is tryin'..." is HILARIOUS. whatevs he's a wimp and HE does come across as someone that is just EAGER to please with the "look at me look at me pleasssseeeeeee" approach to things--and i appreciate all sorts of reviews that whale-off on tangents and social circumstances, because it's hardly ever about the music...scratch that, it's never been about the music, and it never will be! hip-hop experts or not, it's important to hear other's points of view
So... wheres the review?
After being a lurker for awhile, I just had to register so as to respond to this...
I'm a big fan of Kanye's music, but I also don't tolerate his sensationalism or antics. With that said, this rant was completely devoid of actual review. I can see in your "review" a bias that permeates throughout, even pointing out how "annoying" it is that there is a track of quality...
I think you're reviewing his current state of mind instead of his tracklist, which is fine if I was on OMG Yahoo, Perez Hilton or some other shitty gossip site tryna rip people, whether correct or not. I mean, when Brit Spears comes out with an album, can I expect a scathing "review" that will mention her panty-less ways? Lack of parenting skills? Not appearing anoxeric at the VMAs?
Kanye, musically, is arguably unparalleled in mainstream music right now, even more so in rap. If he delivered a Lil Jon esque overtire, complete with the ass for credit card swipe machine and 28s on the Escalade, I suspect you'd say how tired his shit was. If he delivered some Anticon left of center shit where his shifty flow would perfectly fit the beat, I can hear the "review" saying "It seems Kanye is intent on killing music (and since he proclaims he is music), Kanye once again trys to Kurt Cobain himself but shoots blanks as he his incredibly massive head (which is holding his equally large ego) sees his work misfire, as his knack for making good music is once again absent like Sage Francis at a Republican fundraiser". Kanye is a catch 22 on DiS I sense...
Its funny (and massively ironic) to see you defend your "hip hop review" by saying you sponsor El P and other hip hop reviews. You can try to pass this review off and its lack of actual musical criticism because of an empty understanding on your part (I guess I should look forward to your "reviews" on progressive hip hop, since y'all understand what a Jansport is), but it messes with your integrity. I can appreciate the attempt towards a more diverse DiS. Admittedly, I dont come here for hip hop reviews. More importantly, I dont come here for "reviews' on an assholes personality. Although I actually agree with some of your stance on his character, I cant agree or disagree with your stand on his music since you didnt really provide any...
I still wear a Jansport
Its got those squishy pads
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