They Ain’t got the Answers (1/2)

Have you listened to Kanye West’s latest album Ye?Let me rephrase that: what did you think of the album? Because I know that you listened to it. Okay I’ll go first; I loved it.

We all witnessed Kanye’s meltdown / regrettable choice of words / whatever you want to call it. The whole debacle had started out quite well actually, he tweeted a bunch of inspirational things like only he can, some which I retweeted. Unfortunately I can’t find the tweets in question, a sign that he’s probably gone on a deleting spree, again.

But no matter the drama, no matter the criticism (boy was it heavy and vicious), I had faith he would deliver musically. Yes, some of the things he said / tweeted during  his “media outing”, if we’re sugar-coating it, I completely and fundamentally disagree with. I’m not saying anything that hasn’t already been said, there’s nothing new to revisit here.

It’s important for me to note that while the craziness was going on, as usual in cases like these, I took a step back and observed the madness from afar. That’s a suggestion I have for anyone interested in pop culture and social issues. Observe from a distance, think carefully, and try to figure out what’s really going on. Don’t rush to offer your opinion because you want to be part of a moment.

That’s what I feel like a lot of people do, and you know, to each their own really. But when you see some situations unfold on social media for example, not even necessarily the Kanye West fiasco I’m addressing in this post, but other similarly buzz worthy topics, that’s exactly what happens and it’s incredibly toxic; people comment, they crack jokes,  and try to be clever, or they offer their unwarranted opinions. All of this because they absolutely want to insert their voice into something that will be forgotten and won’t matter in a month’s time. They want attention, views, click, likes, retweets.

All the noise and chatter that happens because of Kanye West’s words for example, can and will drown out your own opinion, your own view. What you think of the situation, and any other one for that matter, can morph into the popular opinion, and prompt you to say the politically correct thing for fear of repercussions and judgement. That is the most dangerous thing and exactly why I stay away from it all.

I started to notice that my opinions, thoughts and views on some things were swayed by the court of popular opinion. If I had read, heard or watched something from someone who sounded more convincing, more confident or in some cases someone who just presented their point of view in a loud manner (yes that can influence you too), I tended to side with them. Very easily and quickly.

It’s also important to have the critical thinking skills to recognize when the popular opinion is the right opinion though, such as in Kanye’s case. The things he was saying had serious damage potential to the physical and mental being of a certain community of people not just in the USA, but worldwide.

All that brings me to the reaction of Kanye West and his “free thinking” philosophy. I was baffled by how hurt people were when he was saying the things he said. It was made into such a big deal that I had to turn it off and seriously ask myself if all this constant drama is really worth it.

Why was it such a big deal? Because for the millionth time, we put too much value on what artists / creative people / athletes / public figures / people we look up to and admire have to say about political and social issues.

We live our lives through these people too much, to unhealthy levels. So much so that it’s unbearably hurtful to hear them say something we don’t agree with. Why do we live our lives so much through these people? Because we’re not doing what we are supposed to be doing, we’re not working towards our own life’s purpose, refer to a previous postI wrote for more explanation.

I’m going to use a famous Kanye quote on him: “You ain’t got the answers!” A few seconds before that, he had given us the unforgettable “HOW SWAY?!” You should watch the whole thing if you haven’t, it always gets me.

I like Kanye West for one reason: his musical genius. It begins and ends there. Anything else pertaining to life issues, I can find my own answers. And this is exactly what I want people to do. Find your own f******g answers! Stop elevating these people to impossible levels.

These people are great at what they do: making music, acting, playing basketball, football and they get paid handsomely for that. But that’s it! Outside of that they are people who piss, s**t, and look for answers just like us. How anyone equates fame, money and success to the key to life’s questions is beyond me.

Listen I’m not saying that artists should stick to creating, or that athletes should shut up and dribble. They are more than their jobs, that’s for sure. And some of them do great work to positively impact our society and community. LeBron does, Kendrick Lamar does, J. Cole does, Kareem Abdul Jabbar has for years, so has Bill Russell. If their line of thinking is in tune with yours, by all means support it. But what they say and think should ONLY complement, not overshadow, your own opinion / views / morals.

And these positive role models, however amazing they are, should never reach a level of influence in your life where you are looking to them to validate your sense of thought or self-worth. You should be your own person, that’s the whole point of this, J. Cole said as much (watch from 1:02:05 to 1:06:31).

In closing, it is perfectly possible to separate Kanye West the musician, from Kanye West the human, even though some people try to argue against it. The Ye album delivers, but I will address the album itself in another post.