A producer slash rapper. He is among the second generation of hip-hop sell outs that specifically write
music to appeal to
pop listeners. The decline of Hip-Hop as we know began almost at an instant after the
death of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.
G. It was later revived significantly by the "Great White Hope"; better known as
Eminem, as he attempted to change the game with his complex storytelling skills, satire, and humor. After 2000 things changed for the worst. Rocafella's
Kanye West first appeared on Jay-Z's the Blueprint 2 on the song titled "The Bounce". He later dropped his first album titled "The College Dropout". Hip-Hop as we know it was quickly becoming Hip-
Pop. His single "Jesus Walks"; an unoriginal religously themed song secured radio rotation as it was intended to as well as a number of other hits such as "Through the Wire" and "Slow Jamz". It was obvious his charisma was uncanny asm well as the fact that he was only slighlty better than average rappers. Still he recieved much attention from
pop listeners and even won a grammy. Cocky, and arrogant, Kanye is nearly untouchable as far as beats, but he is no top ten greatest MC at all. But he may be the one of the most well recieved artist ever.
Kanye West aligns himself with the self conscious/intellectual MC's such as Common, Mos Def, and Talib Kweli but if you studyed his lyrics you'd find there is little comparing. Though many of his songs appear to be real it can't be helped but questioned whether he is into really saving Hip-Hop or permanent destroying it with his desire for wealth and fame. Only time
will tell. Kanye
will be among the greatest
pop sensations ever but his position among the Best Mc's ever
will be at best be low. He is in the top 50.
