14 DAY TRIAL // Kanye West smiles so rarely for photos that he’s earned the reputation of being one of the most miserable celebrities of our times. At best, Kanye West is said to suffer from what is known as the [B-word] permanent resting face, which makes him look as if he’s always miffed about something.
The bottom line is that no one does Kanye West like Kanye West: whenever he sees a camera, he stares at it intensely and puts on his best mean face. Photos of a smiling Kanye are so rare that, legend has it, they might exist only in a parallel universe where unicorns also live.
People in attendance at Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals got a glimpse into this parallel universe when, for the shortest second, Kanye was caught smiling on camera. He immediately realized that the camera was aimed at him, and he went back to being Kanye West.
The transition from one expression to the other, at the opposite end of the spectrum, can be seen in the Vine below, which has been making the rounds online, getting a lot of attention. If you watch it, you will understand why: the transition is effortless and immediate, which confirms that Kanye is quite skilled at being Kanye.
What else did you expect from a guy who once said he’d taught himself not to smile in public because he’d noticed that royalty members in classic portraits were always serious, and that he wanted to look as regal as them?