Kanye West, self-proclaimed “voice of this generation,” was an obvious target for the satire of “South Park,” as egomaniacs are far more fun to poke fun at than the humble sort. While West is admittedly talented in production and performance, comments on his blog such as “Barack is the ‘Best Interracial Male’ but I’m proud to be the Best International Male in the world” show that fame has gone straight to his epic head.
The ever-classy “South Park” production team saw West’s self-love as inspiring material for their most recent episode, “Fish Sticks.” For those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to witness the cartoon’s Kanye episode, the plot centers on a joke about liking fish sticks, ergo, being called a gay fish (just say it fast and do the math…). The spoof pokes fun at West’s non-existent sense of humor as he doesn’t understand why liking fish sticks equates his homosexuality. Enraged at the rumors being spread of his alleged love of fish sticks, Kanye has his thugs beat comedian Carlos Mencia, who took false credit for the joke.
Needless to say, it’s better to watch the actual episode, however close attention was paid to West’s blog following the premier of the “South Park” episode. At first, it looked like the prodigy might be turning over a new leaf in the form of humility. “I actually have been working on my ego though. Having the crazy ego is played out at this point in my life and career … I just wanna be a doper person which starts with me not always telling people how dope I think I am. … I need to just get past myself. Drop the bravado and just make dope product. Everything is not that serious. As long as people think I act like a bitch this type of shit will happen to me,” West’s blog said. Perhaps people will take him more seriously if he retired the word “dope.” Just a thought.
The Chicago native does have an impressive r?sum? to say the least. After graduating high school, West graced Chicago State University with his “dope” presence for a short time before dropping out to pursue his music career. He first “made it” as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, working with artists like Jay-Z and Ludacris. His rap career did not come as easily. Few producers saw a rap star within the middle-class artsy lyricist. West didn’t fit the typical gangster profile popular early this decade. “It was a strike against me that I didn’t wear baggy jeans and jerseys and that I never hustled, never sold drugs,” West has said.
Nonetheless, Roc-A-Fella decided to see what West had to offer. Roc-A-Fella’s investment paid off when West’s first album, released in 2004, The College Dropout, almost went triple platinum. Apparently, living the thug life was not a pre-requisite for making it in the hip-hop jungle.
West’s preppy style and relevant lyrics brought hip-hop back to its progressive roots instead of perpetuating the stereotype of the African American gangster. For this reason, West thinks he is the Moses of hip-hop, parting the red sea of the industry with a return to thought-provoking lyrics and techno beats. While Kanye did revive the hip-hop scene in 2004, he classily threw a Chicago-style deep-dish temper tantrum at the 2004 American Music Awards. After losing the Best Album of the Year to Gretchen Wilson, he stomped out and was quoted saying, “I was the best new artist this year, so get that other bullshit out of here.” So much for gracefully accepting defeat.
His next album, Late Registration, was released in 2005, and went triple platinum. Apparently this made West feel like he was the son of God. His 2006 controversial pose on the cover of Rolling Stone took his self-worship one large step too far as he attempted to rock a crown of thorns. I wonder what his father, a Christian counselor, had to say about that comparison — now there’s an awkward dinner conversation. West backed up his ballsy move by saying he has already “made history” and he is just “bringing attention to historical figures.” Yes Kanye, educate the 6-year-olds who subscribe to the Rolling Stone — perhaps this explanation would ring true if he were on the cover of Tiger Beat.
In 2007, the album Graduation carried “Stronger” to the top of the charts. He mixed techno with a little sexual suggestion and his signature lyrically dense style. 808’s and Heartbreaks was the last straw that broke Kanye’s egotistical back in 2008. This was the first album on which West sang for a majority of the tracks, and few could tell West he was anything short of revolutionary. The difference between singing and synthesized singing was made fun of in Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s remixed version of “Heartless,” better known as “gay fish.”
Is it possible that all of a sudden West has had a complete change of heart as his humble blog post would suggest? The transition from flaming head case to homegrown is not instantaneous. It seems a little too convenient that West would claim, after the episode aired, he had been working on his ego before “South Park” decided to make a fool of his allegedly groundbreaking work.
While West is a little closer to the real world in which we all live, this change of attitude will prove to be temporary until he loses another award and stomps off to cry about it. While I would like to be optimistic and believe the talented hip-hop artist has turned over a new leaf, his five-year history in the music spotlight features far too many ridiculous comments and temper tantrums to take anything he says at this point seriously.
Currently, West is pursuing fashion design and dating a former stripper-turned-model, Amber Rose. Strategically, West has kept the blogs about the South Park episode to a minimum. The latest and seemingly final “fish stick” post talked about his experience in the Cheesecake Factory where, following a meal, the manager brought out a plate of fish sticks to West’s table. Needless to say, West wasn’t thrilled about the incident, but he saved his angst for his blog. We shall see how long West will endure the public poking fun at his delicate persona.
