Watch: Kanye West offers his response on Leno
Three things to take from last night’s debut of The Jay Leno Show: 1.) Jay Leno remains unfunny. 2.) It was really Kanye West’s night. 3.) Despite his flaws, Mr. West remains one hell of an entertainer… and alive and well.
The last 24 hours have been an absolute nightmare for the Chicago rapper, and rightfully so. What he did to Taylor Swift at Sunday’s VMAs was arrogant, inexcusable, and downright pathetic. President Obama summed it up perfectly when he called West a “jackass.”
That said, Kanye has done this thing before. Remember the whole “George Bush hates black people”? What about when he went all Taylor Swift on Justice a few years back? Bonnaroo, anyone? The fact is, Sunday’s night stunt was just Kanye being Kanye.
There’s no denying his ego and self-referential attitude. But for as bad as these traits may be, they are also a part of Kanye’s charm. Sure, he’s a “jackass,” but he’s our “jackass.” His personality makes him captivating, his comments make him a thrill to write about, and his confidence has helped him become perhaps the decade’s greatest entertainer.
So, while you can say Sunday’s incident was the final straw and call for a mass boycott all you want, know this: Kanye’s career is far from over. In fact, if his Leno appearance and performance say anything, the rapper, well, to quote his song, is only going to get stronger.
Accompanying Rihanna and Jay-Z’s on “Run This Town”, (sorry Hova, but this was Kanye’s night!) West’s performance was nothing less of spectacular. Emotionally raw and incredibly passionate, the 90 seconds worth of rhymes saw a rapper falling back on the only thing he could truly rely on with 100% certainty: his talents.
If anything, West now again has something to prove. Last night was only a taste. A few months from now, after a “career break”, shit will go down.
And we’ll all be there with open arms…
I like this Really guy. He is doing my job so I can do other things.
“He makes some songs to be informative and educational and then he does some egotistical, selfish shit like this.”
Take another listen to College Dropout. It’s all about the hypocritical nature of his life, specifically regarding hip hop.
For the record, I have never said that Kanye WASN’T a douche. I was really wondering why people were immediately trying to make this about race. He’s an asshole who just happens to be one of the biggest names in music of the past decade.
Hopefully the excessive backlash will act as a wakeup call.
And whoever made that comment about Kanye’s mom dying to get away from him…you should be pooped on.
I’ve always seen Kanye as a kid. A musically talented child. Yes he makes music, and good pop music at that but he’s never really fully matured. His talent and creativity sometimes take a backseat to his antics, but usually i have not taken them seriously. This time around however, and all the times before this, he deserves the backlash. Whether or not he improves his character is beyond us. Its like listening to the killers, their music is ok but you never really take them seriously.
As if it were needed, Kayne simply confirmed Sunday night what has been apparent all along - huge bag of douchiness! For a person who claims to be a ‘man of faith’, he sure isn’t very kind - he must have missed church the day they talked about kindness. He may be talented, but he’ll be remembered as a drunk, asshole. Here’s an idea: instead of you guys praising his ‘talent’, why don’t you start a fund to help pay for rehab and anger management? Give the gift of an intervention!
I think what Kanye did was just pure bullshit. Once again, he proves to be one of the biggest assholes in the music industry. He’s a hyprocrite. He makes some songs to be informative and educational and then he does some egotistical, selfish shit like this. It’s time for Kanye to really grow up and act like a man, not a child.
As far as him being the “greatest entertainer”, please. I saw his tour last year with Rihanna, N.E.R.D., and Lupe. I missed Lupe, but his performance was weak compared to Rihanna and NERD. If I had to guess, based on the other 3 times I’ve seen Lupe, his performance was probably better too. His last album was a joke. A whole album using auto-tune is ridiculous.
It’s time for all the musical outlets to stop jamming this shit up everyone’s ass and make way for some artists who believe in what they say in their music.
To: Kayne West
From: Bonnarro 08
FUCK KAYNE
I was mostly referring to the “fucking ghetto disrespectful piece of shit”.
With the persistent use of hyperbole within our culture, I typically dismiss these types of comments as nothing more than trash talk, but I see your point. The unfortunate inclusion of the word ghetto could be perceived as having segregative overtones.
Comments like “Kanye West doesn’t care about white people” are not even funny, despite the attempt at comedy.
Yes, that one is quite cliché.
“Really… on Sep 15th, 2009 at 9:18 am
I never knew how subconsciously racist the average COS reader is…”
you’ve got to be kidding. this has nothing to do with race, it has to do with kayne being an asshole who thinks the world owes him somehting.
I was mostly referring to the “fucking ghetto disrespectful piece of shit”. What does that even mean? A dude gets drunk and ruins an awards presentation and now he’s “fucking ghetto”?
Comments like “Kanye West doesn’t care about white people” are not even funny, despite the attempt at comedy. Hoping a white country artist interrupts a Kanye speech? When did this suddenly become a race issue?
Oh no! The big black man interrupted a white girl’s speech! APOCOCOCOLPYSE!!!!!!one!!!!111
Lines like “your mother died to get away from you” are some of the most insensitive and rude things I’ve ever read. Two wrongs do not make a right in this situation. Classy.
Does anyone else find Kanye to be…just dull?
Alex, is there really a point to italicize the “all” in your “we’ll all be there with open arms”? I agree that Kanye is an incredible entertainer, but his immature actions will most likely cost him a considerable amount of his fanbase. Not that he needs the money or popularity, but blatant disrespect for self-promotion stinks in any market. It’s not a race/genre issue…. some people are genuinely sick of celebrities using their status as an excuse for however they act. I appreciate his (what did seem to be sincere) apology -and it’s obviously up to him to work things out with Taylor Swift- but although I will follow Kanye in the news/blogs, I will never purchase any music that he puts out in the future. And I can’t begin to imagine that I’m the only one who has lost a lot of respect for him.
1.) Jay Leno remains unfunny.
Agreed.
2.) It was really Kanye West’s night.
I disagree. Many have been eagerly anticipating the release of Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3. And Rihanna is still somewhat of a comeback kid due to her unfortunate incident with Chris Brown. This focus on Kanye is a direct result of his actions at the VMAs.
3.) Despite his flaws, Mr. West remains one hell of an entertainer…
His performances are very consistent & polished, but I do not see how that relates to, or justifies for that matter, his unpleasant public demeanor.
In closing I have a question for Really…: How did you arrive to the conclusion that addressing Mr. West’s pomposity is subconsciously racist? Please elaborate.
Hey “really…….” Based on your comment about “I never knew how subconsciously racist the average COS reader is…”. I think you’re a bit like Kanye and don’t really listen or read what people are actually saying. The only remotely subconciously racist thing I may have read in this whole thread was “fucking ghetto disrespectful piece of shit.” Which may be taken as subconciously racist, yet i take it as the truth. Open your eyes a little maybe and really read why people are disliking him?
wow… that was awkward.
I want Kanye West to win an award some year. And when he goes up to take that award and thank his posse and family and God, or whatever, I want the white trashiest, cornfed country artist to walk up there, grab the mic from him, and start talking about how they should have won. And then i want to see what Kanye’s reaction is. And then we will know a thing or two about this guy’s enormous ego.
so now we pat people on the back for being narcissistic and arrogant? kanye west has talent, but he’s becoming mainstream popular not for that talent, but for his ability to make award shows interesting, with his endless outbursts and boo hoo moments. hey look at me hey look at me, over here, over here! i see almost all interviews with him ending with, “well, we know we can expect excitement whenever you take the stage”. pat on the back. good job, way to be a clown.
and then we wonder why kids in school act out. when their role models behave as asses, and are essentially rewarded for it (more airtime, soundbytes, constant interviews, 24/7 news coverage) - then hey, why not be an ass yourself? it seems to work!
pathetic.
This is crazy, he can sit and feel sorry for himself over being a famous rapper but their is no reason to get up and walk on stage in the middle of someone else speech. If someone did that to him we would never hear the end of it.
I never knew how subconsciously racist the average COS reader is…
i can’t believe how many people keep throwing this guy a bone. he’s a pompous asshole and needs to be put in his place.
Kanye is a fucking ghetto disrespectful piece of shit. He should just go hide under a rock until he learns how to act. Oh and aside from his ridiculous haircut the vma awards were at night and indoors why the fuck is that idiot wearing sunglasses. Whatever fucking idiot.
Love this site but this is the worst article I have ever read. I hope his career is done. I don’t think he is talented. Jay-Z is ten times the performer he can ever hope to be.
Some talent is not an excuss for no class. Pure Asshole.
Millax - the “Kanye West idol..” line was funny. Regarding Kayne, he is a good producer, by far not the best, and also a good entertainer. However, he does act rather childish and egomaniacl, both on stage and off. I think dude needs counseling before he self destructs.
WHAT WOULD YOUR MOM SAY ABOUT THIS? fuck kanye and fuck you. “shit will go down”. wow. leno hammered kanye and embarassed the fuck out of him. kudos to leno. your dead mother would be ashamed of you kanye. she died to get away from you.
One of these days I am going to come on down to the COS office and destroy that Kanye West idol you guys pray to each and every morning.
The guy is not the legend you make him out to be, and his music is not as earth shattering as you wish it to be.
Nothing he has done outside of his douche bag behavior makes him stand out.
Yet somehow regardless of what he does, some of your writers think he is the bees knees. I don’t get it.
kanye and any other talentless r&b/hip hop artist doesn’t deserve the air time. It’s a travesty that this article was written about him. He deserves no respect and the writer should reconsider what they’re doing with their life after writing this garbage.
I mean seriously…Kanye being Kanye….his attitude is the worst….and there are a lot more talented artists out there who aren’t complete A-holes….why defend him at all? Just say he is so talented but he is even more of a dick so we should just forget him and move on.
LOVE YOU KANYE
yeah i like that you have you’re own opinion Alex. That’s why i keep reading. But i have never seen Wayne Gretzky, Stephan Hawkins, or Bill Gates ever make pompous remarks or immature behavior in my life. All were the top people in their field. Yes all not in music, but that’s what makes them the best at what they do. Cause they don’t act like Kanye.
KANYE DOESN”T CARE ABOUT WHITE PEOPLE!
Are you fucking kidding? Being talented isn’t an excuse to act like a fifteen year old asshole.
Fuck Kanye and fuck you for trying to justify his bullshit behavior.
Kanye did have the decency to apologize to that young artist. I think he should do a song with her if she allows it.
Sep 18th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
[...] a week, eh? Kanye, Pavement, Pavement, Pavement, Pavement, Vampire Weekend, and Bealtesmania! The only thing that can [...]