The 500 - #298 - The College Dropout - Kanye West

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

---

Album: #298

Album Title: The College Dropout

Artist: Kanye West

Genre: Hip-Hop, Pop Rap, Chipmunk Soul, Conscious Rap

Recorded: 11 Studios in the U.S.

Released: February, 2004

My age at release: 33

How familiar was I with it before this week: One Song

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at 74 (Moving up 224 spots)

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist:  Jesus Walks

Album cover for The College Dropout

He goes by many names, including Yeezus, Yeezi, Ye, Saint Pablo and The Louis Vuitton Don.

He is a rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, fashion designer, entrepreneur and billionaire.

Some people, including himself, consider him a genius. Others, including his estranged wife Kim Kardashian, worry about his mental health.

West with Kardashian during their seven year marriage

He is Kanye West – a divisive figure, making provocative and controversial public choices and statements that have led to reactions that range from head-shaking dismissal to outrage from the media and the public. There have been so many dubious, questionable, weird and contentious moments in his 20-year career. Here are just a few:

• In 2005, during a televised celebrity fund raiser for victims of Hurricane Katrina, Kanye went off script to announce; "(President) George Bush doesn't care about black people."
• In 2009, at the MTV Music Awards, he stormed on stage to interrupt 19-year-old Taylor Swift's acceptance speech, announcing that Beyonce was more deserving of the award.
• When commenting on African-American slavery, Kanye state that, "it was a choice" because it went on for 400 years.
• Recently, he went into partnership with the clothing company The Gap. He insisted that his line of Yeezy clothing be stored in garbage bags on the floor of the store. Customers were expected to "root through" the bags to find their style and size. Advocates for people experiencing homelessness rightly took exception, but Kanye defended his "trash bag decision" claiming he was a misunderstood and creative genius.

Although his impulsive and outlandish behavior is troubling, none of it, save a few physical altercations with aggressive fans or paparazzi, amount to anything significant. As I searched through many websites and videos dedicated to Ye and all his craziness, I began to weigh his transgressions against the rock stars my friends and I idolized as kids and wondered:

Where does Kanye fit in the great pantheon of controversial rock stars and, do we judge him more harshly?

Consider the following artists who also have records on The 500:

• In November, 1980, Eagles multi-instrumentalist and singer Don Henley called paramedics to his home. Once they arrived, they helped revive a naked,16-year-old girl who had overdosed. A 15-year-old girl was also found in the home. The girls were charged, one with prostitution and the other with drug possession. Henley pleaded "no contest" to the charge of "contributing to the delinquency of a minor". He paid a paltry $2,500 fine and put on two years’ probation. He continues to perform to sold-out audiences and the court case is largely forgotten.

Don Henley performing in 2017

• In 1975, 27-year-old Aerosmith front-man Steven Tyler persuaded the parents of a 14-year-old groupie to allow her to travel on the road with him as "his girlfriend". It was well documented that he did drugs with the teen, and an unplanned pregnancy led to an abortion and their eventual break-up. There were no charges because he secured parental consent. However, one would expect some sort of public outcry for this legal but morally odious action. Again, he continues to perform to sold-out audiences and is still frequently featured as a judge on American Idol.

Steven Tyler doing publicity for American Idol

There are many other examples of rock stars behaving worse than Kanye. And their transgressions have been largely forgotten or forgiven. To name a couple:

• Ozzy Osborne relieving himself at the historic Alamo and, on another occasion, biting the head off two doves.
• Boy George kidnapping and hand-cuffing an escort to a wall and beating him with a chain.

In the case of Osborne and George, there were legal ramifications, but both returned to the public eye quickly. Kanye has encountered some legal issues for his violent outburst, but nothing of any significant consequence. The choices he makes that tend to bring the most tongue-wagging rebuke are, then, minor in comparison.

Perhaps the disparity in the public’s reaction between the behaviour of Kanye and the others is a matter of timing. His transgressions were amplified by the emergence of a rapacious social media, unlike his musical predecessors. Or maybe because hip-hop is, rightly or wrongly, associated with the “gangster rap” world. It might also be because a significant portion of the media reporting on music and pop-culture is dominated by an older, white establishment…and Kanye is an outspoken black man.

I suppose time will tell. Perhaps in 30 years, Kanye's behaviour will have faded into the mists of time, with his success in music surviving. Perhaps he, like Steven Tyler, will be the veteran judge on a future talent show, featuring performers who are not yet born…and who won’t know about any of these controversies.

A Little On The Record

Kanye’s antics aside, I was impressed immediately by this week's record, The College Dropout.. The tracks are varied and interesting. often sounding more like soul music of the early 1970s than the aggressive hip-hop fare I was hearing at the time. Kanye was an early dabbler in a progressive rap genre dubbed "chipmunk soul". This puzzling appellation stems from soul records from the 1960/70s being "sped up" -- much like the voices of those cartoon-singing rodents, Alvin and The Chipmunks.

The album also features, Jesus Walks, one of the few songs from Kanye I knew before embarking on my journey through The 500. One of my Grade 8 students played it for me many years ago during a break in class. He was trying to convince me that Kanye was different from other rappers. He was right. Consequently, I picked it for my 500 Spotify Playlist