Picture a thin line. On one side lies artistic expression. Painters, writers and creators of musical compositions centered around ideas so strong and passionate that some are better felt than discussed. Our thin, imaginary line stretches when thinking about what ungodliness lies opposite of said expression. When art is reality, what is created holds a beauty within itself, which is left for humans to decipher, judge and pick apart.

No doubt that music holds the same societal divination as art but too many of our creative Hip Hop minds play the modest game about what it is that they do, acting reluctantly to place their work on that highest of pedestals and actually call it art. Maybe they know they are wack, maybe not. Kanye West has never been afraid. He consistently challenges the way we, and he himself thinks about what art is. Always the same, true to the self-confessed fact that he will never stay the same his progression has been well documented and his evolution has received countless depth analyzations.

Kanye West is a safe answer to the question, what is an artist. We don’t have to like him (chances are you don’t), but his greatness is in no way diminished by our opinions of him. Because, in the classic mold of an artist, he is revered for being what everyone wants him to be, successfully taking any shape we set upon him. Thats called transcendency. From backpack-rapper to neo-soul rapper to conscious rapper to gospel rapper, he somehow fits into every box.

Mr. H-to-the-Izzo

If you believe that an artists language is their medium, then we heard Yeezus speak before we ever even heard his voice. Mr. H-To-The-Izzo let you know from jump, through his sound, that he was THAT good. The sped-up soul samples drum up a conversation has been beaten raw, not to mention the pure confidence his early production displayed. That confidence in and of itself was enough to host everyones favorite premiere god emcee of all time in the universe, Jay-Z.

In early interviews, Mr. West would talk about seeing music. Like seeing actual physical manifestations of music in nature and the world around him. This was not a new idea, but he broke it down so vividly that we understood where he was coming from, and going, with his creativity. One hallmark of an artist is their career arc, or artistic evolution if you will. In those days people really thought he regretted dropping out of college with all the frat inspired skits and collegiate themes. But The Louie Vuitton Don was in his own university, just as in he is always in his own world. His Graduation came early with his junior album and he was ready for the real world at last.

Then his mom passed away.

Kanye West made no secret of his love for his mother and the world felt that emotion and sentiment in the seminal 808’s and Heartbreak. The polarizing project no doubt changed the sound of hip hop, sounding like nothing he had ever recorded, whereas Graduation held plenty of leftover themes from his first two projects. The radical switch left fans pining for the still fabled fourth installment in the college series, “Good Ass Job”.

But Yeezy would grow to release his opus to date, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The album was decisive look into the conflicted, contradicting chaos that is Kanye West, minus any imaging portrayed in his first three works or the trauma ignited by personal tragedy showed on 808’s. Again the transformation and evolution of his artistry were on full display clearly showing an extent to the mastery of his execution brought on by what his career to that point in time had taught him.

Yeezus

Yeezus continued to integrate into his music the ideas that drives his absolutism and us not being able to “get it” weighed heavily on his ego. Comparing himself to Steve Jobs, William Shakespeare and Jesus Christ the very name of his sixth solo studio release implied his name being synonymous with perfection. Overboard with narcissism, gluttony and regret, it found new ways of letting us know that Kanye West is one of the, if not the, premiere musical artist of our time.

Pablo, The Patron Saint Of Hip Hop, deals with these same ideas as he finds new situations with new perspectives from which to view new calamities of his ever-adaptive mentality. The album further divided his fanbase, tipping the point where anything he does would be talked about and TLOP left a lot to be said. Kanye, now a husband of two years in a highly publicized relationship, felt a more poignant criticism than in the past.

But when Pablo came back he wasn’t Pablo anymore, he was Ye. New name, same iconic, polarizing personality that went on to say the most ridiculous shit to date. This is the time to point out the hypocrisy of fans for after almost 15 years of people constantly escalating their crazy shit saying about him then nailing him to a cross for mirroring the ladder of craziness one needs to climb in order to be seen, heard or payed attention to in any way.

Ye was Yeezus’s and Pablo’s offspring but most fans didn’t want to hear it. His rumored presidential run coupled with his many off-color comments almost sealed the same fate for 2019’s Jesus is King. While the public was well primed for the rebrand through efforts like his Sunday Service, many were turned away by his rendition of the gospel and were forced to separate state from church in a sense. Donning a MAGA hat and endorsing Trump (while running against him) was the final straw for most and his fans all but abandoned him.

I Miss the New Kanye

Mr. Wests artistry has always been a sign of the times, navigating the ocean of our collective mind to literally shape the culture. If his artistic history is any reputable map, we should understand that his divorce has deeply affected, or even changed him and his apparent resurface into the public eye is a sign of something epic to come. It can only be assumed that Kanye West will continue his progressive trend. To be your own idol must be a surreal state of mind. As he continues to push what we know music to be towards the edge of fine art while letting us know that it is never effortless. He constantly works to be an all around better artist and sometimes it can be difficult to decide which side of that thin, imaginary line his bullshit resides on.

So really, fuck who he voted for. Fuck his views on slavery. Fuck Ye, Saint Pablo, Yeezus, Yeezy, the Louie Vuitton Don, Mr. West AND Mr. H to the Izzo, I might already miss the new Kanye.