Kanye West (The new Shatner) vs Beck (the kooky space-churchman)

I ran across this story on Salon by Arthur Chu.

First off, I hate Beck and I am not a fan of his music or his kooky religion, which people tend to forget. However, what Kanye West did was wrong and is NOT part of a bigger picture of white media and bias and other bullshit. West has proven time and time again that his ego can't take it at award shows and he puts himself out there to protest not for “white mediocrity” but for himself. What he thinks should win awards.

You're missing the point, man.

This is something that some people in the black writing community bring up from time to time, claiming it to be a subtle form of racism to attack Kanye. I don't like this angle.

Athur Chu's article just bothers me with his take on the Kanye West thing. From Salon, ((So it was strange–though not surprising, for Internet junkies–that Kanye West came in for an avalanche of criticism for doing what was basically a competent, if flawed, music video that was as good or better than any other musical act that night. ))

The problem is he once again tried to bum-rush the stage and make the award about Kanye talking about Kanye. It is an ego problem.

It sickens me to see a grown professional black man act like such a complete ass over award shows. He's done it many times. Why is he so engulfed in award shows? When does make making good music get validated by awards, Kanye? Selling albums and pleasing fans should be rewarding enough at this point.

It angers me that he lets his ego get more press than his music. And, I think his ego has actually done more harm than good to his career and music. Just look at Bound 2. It is total shit from music and video. Bound 2 comprises everything that's wrong with Kanye's “mediocrity”.

So, it is troubling to see this piece written by Mr. Chu making it about something else. From Salon, ((There’s a lot of voices–lumped under names like “Black Twitter”–who have begun to consistently speak out to fill in the missing pieces from stories like the Kanye West Saga, to poke holes in pat narratives like “Kanye West is an egotist” or “Kanye West is a maniac.” ))

Being a black blogger then, I can say that “Black Twitter” is wrong. Kanye is about Kanye and how he feels about the music world and not about “Black Excellence vs. White Mediocrity. ”. It bothers me whenever I see this shit. Could there be a argument or discussion about this “White Mediocrity”? Yes, but it doesn't begin or end with Kanye West.

Kanye was a good artist that has now Shatner-ed into a parody of himself. And, he's not in on the joke. If you disagree with awards, you don't confront the winners on stage like a spoiled little shit. This is not helping the black music community and helping put a spotlight on the how bad pop music really is now. Don't put him in that light. Yes, there are problems with black artists not getting the respect for the music and creativity over white artists and the “white washing” issue, but it has nothing to do with Mr. West.

Who gives a f' about awards? Beyoncé should care about that when she is a professional black woman with talent that is going against the tide of shitty music and people are buying and supporting her. THAT'S how fight “Mediocrity” and not grabbing a mic from some popstar.

I used to like Mr. West, but he is now the musical version of Shatner and there is no way to defend that. Stop defending West's shitty behavior.