14 DAY TRIAL // The modern industry of making and selling music is very dynamic. One needs to not only be a creative genius but also a chameleon in order to survive and compete in a medium that is changing so fast that not even the audience can keep up with the pace.
Kanye West is one of those stars who think they have it all: the looks, the talent, but most importantly, the savvy to propel them to stardom. Granted, Kanye does have a couple of hits out there to show for, a successful album and a successful tour, but not even that can justify the fact that the man often goes on stage and rants for tens of minutes on end and calls it a “performance.”
His latest stunt of a similar nature was at the Wireless Festival, which took place in London over the weekend, and unlike his usual shows he puts on during his own concerts, Kanye was surprised to see that people booed him.
Surprised, but not phased, because he took the stage the following night to fill in for Drake who couldn't make an appearance due to poor health, he again decided he would rant rather than sing. Granted, if on the first night he ranted for 20 minutes, the following day he dropped it down to only about 5 minutes.
The issue with this isn't exactly the fact that he chooses to talk on stage to some generic background music and autotune his voice to make it sound like he's singing when he's actually not, but it's the fact that Kanye uses the stage as a place from which he can gripe and criticize things that he doesn't like.
Again, that wouldn't exactly be such a cruel experience if the man were to criticize social issues, draw attention to struggling regions or some medical research to save and improve lives for everyone on this planet. But no, Kanye uses the stage to moan about people who don't see his genius and about how brands shut him out because he's black and don't want to accept his ideas.
If you can imagine the most self-absorbed person in the world, or one very close to that title, give him an international audience numbering in the millions and some success to lead him to the impression that his opinion actually matters, then you would have created a personality just as annoying as Kanye's.
The crowds at Wirelles came to listen to Kanye sing and they got that for about 10 minutes, but then the rapper remembered that he had bones to pick with some fashion brands he felt dissed him when they didn't acknowledge his creative genius. So he simply stopped singing and started telling his audience things they couldn't care less about.
If his minions sit quietly and breathlessly at his concerts and eat up every word he says in his sometimes hour-long rants about all the injustice in the world today and about how it's all directed at him, the same can't be said about British audiences who just wanted to enjoy some quality music.
But Kanye didn't pick up on that. Instead, when he came back the following night for his encore performance, he brazenly compared being photographed by paparazzi without his consent to being raped.
For a man who makes a lot of cash by getting his photo taken and is often paid hefty sums to make public appearances, you'd think that Kanye would have the decency to shut up and put up with the price that comes with fame, that is a complete lack of intimacy, but he doesn't.
Instead, he constantly complains about how he's hounded by the paparazzi and he can't have a quiet moment in his life where someone isn't pointing a camera lens at him. Strangely, other celebrities manage the exact same thing without a problem, by simply moving to places where paparazzi don't normally go, but Kanye and his reality star wife, Kim Kardashian, can't afford to do that, because the cash flow would suddenly end.
It's a Catch 22 situation, but West only wants the benefits and none of the hassle. So he's willing to complain to anyone who's willing to lend an ear. The only thing that sets him apart from the rest of the whiners is the fact that he does it on a stage and calls it music.