Kanye_West_and_His_Impact_on_Urban_Culture

Dimitri Gobin “I’m Really Happy For You And I’ma Let You Finish, But Kanye West Had The Biggest Urban Culture Impact…OF ALL TIME!” Throughout time there have been few people who have made major contributions to urban culture. Few celebrities have had a bigger cultural impact than Kanye West. The adversity West has overcome is a feat almost impossible to top. He is a talent that is rarely come across. His brash decisions to speak out on his unusual opinions have landed West in massive scandals numerous times. Kanye West’s talent is not to be questioned, as it has gained universal acclaim and an abundant number of accolades. West also possesses a certain style that has set a standard as to how the average person in an urban environment dresses. Without Kanye West, the current state of urban culture wouldn’t be moulded the way it is. It is known that Kanye West is eager to speak his mind on what he believes is right. In 2005, he and Mike Myers shared a segment on “A Concert for Hurricane Relief” which was a benefit show for Hurricane Katrina. During the segment, West spoke about the treatment of African Americans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the little help he believed they were receiving from the government. The climax of the controversy was when he decided to say “George Bush doesn't care about black people.” This caused outrage nationwide as people criticized him for his bluntness. Others praised him for stating what people have been trying to say for a while. In a recent interview, George W. Bush said that his incident with West was the most disgusting moment in his presidency. Last year, Kanye West was involved in an incident with Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. Swift had beat Beyoncé’s for Best Female Video, Kanye West stormed onto the stage saying “Yo Taylor, I'm really happy for you. I'll let you finish, but Beyoncé has one of the best videos of all time. One of the best videos of all time!" This caused a media uproar as people chewed him out for tainting Swift’s first televised award. Some went on to say that West himself was a racist, stating that he must have been mad that a white women beat out a black women. This event sent him into hiding for several months to re-group and re-examine his life. When he re-emerged into the spotlight later this year, he said that he did what he did at the VMAs because he was tired of the right people getting cheated out of awards they deserved. He claimed that the VMAs incident helped him develop empathy towards George W. Bush, as he was now in the same position he put Bush in five years ago. Kanye West’s talent is not something to be doubted as he continuously awarded for his achievements. When he first started out, West was a music producer. His early notable work was for members of Roc-A-Fella Records (such as Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel, etc.) He gained much popularity when he produced a large portion of Jay-Z’s album, The Blueprint in 2001. He went on to become a sought after producer in the hip-hop industry. As Kanye West improved his producing resume, he decided to take the route of becoming a hip-hop artist. Record companies feared the possible result of a producer-turned-rapper and nobody wanted to take a chance on his rap career. After failed deals with a few companies, mainly Capitol Records, West finally found success with Roc-A-Fella Records; the same record label that helped flourish his producing career. In the song Last Call, West talks about the struggle of going from producer to award winning MC. His producing skills were amazing, and his lyrical skills were a cut above the rest. Kanye West went on to put out classic hip-hop albums and classic albums in general. West continued putting out quality music, and a result he was still able to sell hundreds of thousands of albums. The College Dropout (441,000 copies first week), Late Registration (860,000 copies first week) and Graduation (957,000 copies first week) have received global acclaim as they brought a style to hip-hop never seen before. He was also praised for his genre-bending album, 808s and Heartbreak (450,000 copies first week) for being able to put out quality music, even if not in his area of specialty. His latest effort, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, isn’t slated to come out until November 22nd, 2010, yet it is already being reviewed as the best album of the year and possibly his best album yet. The consensus is that My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is a mixture of his previous efforts. It is said to blend the lyrics and subject matter from The College Dropout, the overdone production from Late Registration, the flamboyant feel of Graduation and the concepts of 8o8s and Heartbreak. The fashion trends Kanye West has started has set a standard for how males of the urban lifestyle dress. One reason why record labels didn’t want to sign West was because of the way he dressed. They didn’t want to spend their money marketing a rapper who wore pink shirts and Gucci loafers. They believed he wouldn’t be taken seriously. As his music became more popular, people wanted to be like him. He wore Polo Ralph Lauren shirts and was laughed at for wearing “white-people clothing”. There was a lot of confusion as to why a rapper would wear something so different from the norm. People bought into it though, and now Polo shirts are universally accepted in urban culture. Rappers were always seen wearing baggy jeans, but West branched out and started wearing slim fit and skinny jeans. As seen today, people who follow the urban lifestyle can now be seen wearing closer fitting jeans. Kanye West has been the front-runner in bringing back sensible fashion. He popularized the “Jesus Piece”, which is a piece of jewellery with a pendant of Jesus’ face on a chain. Since the average person can’t afford flashy jewellery made from gold or platinum or encrusted with diamonds, companies such as Good Wood and Northskull have made handcrafted wooden Jesus Pieces. They are priced so the average individual can afford them, making it easier for people to follow the style of people like Kanye West. The state of urban culture wouldn’t be what it is today if not for Kanye West. His boldness to speak freely has made nationwide headlines. The talent that West possesses has made him one of the overall greatest hip-hop artists of all time. The trends that he has started have their place in history and will be remembered for years to come. Kanye West has repeatedly been the topic of conversation across North America. No matter what you think of him, his legacy will never be forgotten. There is no denying the impact he sha. There will never be another Kanye Omari West.