Rare News Desk
Kanye West is a jerk. Kanye West is an arrogant jerk. Kanye West is a self-absorbed arrogant jerk.
Videos by Rare
But Kanye West is also the greatest entertainer on the planet.
Last night, I headed to the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C with some friends to see the man they call “Yeezus.” Almost three hours later, our ears sensitive to any sound that wasn’t a reverb pedal, we left the show feeling as if we had just survived some larger experience.
For West, art is life and life is art. This notion isn’t an exclusive trait to this man, however, I think it can be said that he takes it the most seriously. Once a cautious and jovial backpack rapper from Chicago, West has spent the last decade meticulously crafting a public image based around one thing: Nobody does anything better than Kanye West. Along the way, he managed to polarize music critics, fans and even the president of the United States. Yet, for some reason, people from all walks of life still adore him. Black, white, Republican, Democrat, rich, poor — everyone was out in full force last night in Washington, D.C.
Kanye gets away with this brash arrogance simply because in his decades-long career, he has yet to fail. People can point to his engagement to a certain reality-television star as trivial but they can’t deny the fact that that engagement spawned one of the most ambitious records of the 21st century.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoIiQcElCq8
Last night’s show exhibited everything that makes Kanye West Kanye West.
The stage, a giant illuminated mountain was adorned with faceless models right out of an episode of “American Horror Story.” His attire, a series of puffy jackets and elaborate bejeweled masks was closer to something out of a horror film than a rap video. Throughout most of the show, the man rarely spoke, opting to let his songs and visuals do the talking.
This was perhaps best exemplified when, as a precursor to “Jesus Walks,” a man dressed as Jesus Christ came from within the mountain to bless his disciple, Kanye West. West then proceeded to remove his mask and perform the rest of the show, not as the monster he had portrayed, but as the man he had become. What followed was a 13-minute-long rant about succeeding at your goals and how mad he was that the CEO of Nike wouldn’t take a meeting with him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaeuNXlRuBA
“They tell you that I’m insane, but thats because they are scared of their own dreams. I want you to put your hands in the air if you believe you can do anything,” West sang into an auto-tuned microphone.
A quick assessment of the audience was a true reminder to the power of music. Everyone in attendance, from markedly different backgrounds, all came for the same reason. Despite his arrogance, and despite everyone’s differences, the music of West had a deep impact on each individual.
In my own experience, despite my opinion of the artist as a man, I cannot deny that his songs have been the soundtrack to my adolescence and early adulthood. I remember hearing “Jesus Walks” for the first time in a friend’s basement, the new song played for us by his cool older brother. I was 12-years old at the time. When I got to high school, “Gold Digger” and “Diamonds of Sierra Leone” were mainstays at my first parties. I was 16 then. When I had my first real break-up, “Heartless” and “Coldest Winter” were the soundtracks to my sadness. I was 18.
Now, over a decade after I first heard his name, “Blood on the Leaves” and “Power” are my iPod mainstays.
People aren’t supposed to like Kanye West, however, seven albums later, he is clearly not going anywhere.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkedkXozGaw
