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Professional fashion designer and part-time rapper Kanye West praised the new album “The Life of Pablo” after being dropped this week. Sources say the anti-humility icon commended the artistry of the album and the recording artist who made it: Kanye West. Critics, however, contend the album lacks coherent focus and it does not represent “real music.”
I am one of these critics.
UH students have their own critiques of the album. Some of these critics argue that West is not a true artist for what they perceive as a lack of instrumentation. While they love classic rock bands who shamelessly cover blues song lyrics without crediting the original artists, at least they play original music.
“Kanye West is not a musician,” said physical therapy freshman Justin Taylor. “He does not play real instruments, at least as far as I know. All he does is rap over other people’s music. That’s not music as far as I’m concerned. We need more original artists like Led Zeppelin. I love their song ‘When the Levee Breaks.’ Whichever one of them who wrote that song was a genius.”
Other critics decry the subject matter of his music. They object to the fact that much of his lyrics are about himself; something they say other artists do not talk about.
“All Kanye ever raps about is himself,” said engineering junior Laura Joy. “None of the artists I listen to ever talk about themselves. Like Taylor Swift; she only talks about her experiences. That’s different.”
Kanye West has reportedly heard these criticisms before, so he has decided to respond to the critics who say he is a narcissist.
“Honestly, I’m quite surprised about these accusations of narcissism,” said West. “I always thought fans would appreciate me for making Taylor Swift famous. I also thought they would appreciate that I’ve changed the face of hip hop for generations to come.”
I, for one, am one of the critics of the new album. The album fails to include any original guitar solos; something that is essential to “real” music. Any music that does not have any face melting guitar solos or high octane drumming is sorely lacking in the music department. I am someone who is qualified to know the standard of real music because I am not focused on my own preferences like Kanye is.
Opinion columnist Samuel Pichowsky is a political science sophomore and may be reached at [email protected]
