Seems like everybody’s talking these days about how Kanye West is a douchebag. While even just using the word “douche” to describe him annoys me, I also must be totally honest here. I don’t find him annoying AT ALL. Why is this? He constantly compares himself to musical legends, he unabashedly claims he is the voice of our generation, and he claims that if the Bible were being written today, he would be in it. There’s no doubt, anyone saying something like that sounds really asshatty, and there’s absolutely no question, this guy has a huge ego. I get all that.
So why doesn’t he annoy me? To quote Beyonce, maybe it’s “cuz he can back it up”? I don’t hear anybody saying they hate his music. Personally, I find nothing but enjoyment and entertainment in everything that Kanye does.
Blog posts? I enjoy reading them. (And sometimes, he finds stuff that’s actually cool.) Perhaps I’m not annoyed because I’m not trying to become a rapper, or make it in the music business, so therefore I don’t feel jealousy towards him. I do believe the man works hard, and sincerely is trying to do the best he can. He’s not getting up there and putting on terrible performances all the time. He doesn’t seem to be a crackhead, and he’s not trying to convert anyone to some weird religion. He gets in scuffles with the paparazzi, I think, because he’s half-normal. I think most of us, if confronted with a camera man in our private lives, would react the way he has. When celebrities seem to have an obsession (and even personal relationship) with the paparazzi, that is what’s concerning. That’s twatwaffley. Kanye is, all at once, capable of brilliance, but he’s arrogant and immature; he’s an obsessive consumer of things, both material and cultural; he thinks he knows (and believes he can provide) what the world needs and wants; and, at the end of the day, he just wants to feel important. WHO DOES THAT REMIND YOU OF? Hmmmm. How about The United States Of America! Thus, to hate Kanye is to hate yourself. He’s full of contradictions, yes, but he’s a reflection of our culture at this time. And besides that, should we really take him (and ourselves) all that seriously? Just dance around to it, that’s all you’re supposed to do.
Finally, to use the word “douche” to describe him, I believe, is misguided. Someone like Spencer Pratt is, unequivocally, a total douchebag. Why? Because he contributes NOTHING to our society. He may serve as a sort of punching bag, a court jester who has no idea we’re laughing at him for the wrong reasons. That’s doucebaggery. Thus, we post about him occasionally, to hold up a mirror to our society and question why these types of people are allowed to exist. Because seriously, there’s only so many times I have to look at a fleshbeard before having to stand up and say NO MORE. The bottom line: at least Kanye makes something. And, he commissioned this:
And for that, I will always love him, no matter what he says or does.
