My CGN boys and I often have Kanye debates. After the Matt Lauer debacle, I had to say something. I couldn’t just “he’s not worth my energy”, so I went in. Thanks for posting, too, Ibemusic. Here’s what I came up with:

Kanye can’t really think that the majority of people, let’s say, the “world” and define that as the population who has a tv with access to secular entertainment and/or the internet, will ever take him seriously until he realizes that his self-articulated growth is not a measurable unit. We (I consider myself a part of the “world”) are not sitting on our seats to see how he’s matured or come to his senses. We’re waiting for a trainwreck and willing or not, he gives it to us. On a silver platter. There is a capacity in the human mind to have extreme forethought and prowess and I used to attribute this ability to Kanye, whether I liked to believe it or not. His trainwrecks make money, there’s no denying the serpentine methodology that it could have been in the past. I know you guys are advocates of him and I seriously respect that, but what I can’t agree with is his deluded thinking that he can be a well-educated, respected member of society. You are a rapper. You are an entertainer. You are not Matt Lauer’s equal.

Anyone that is going to go on national tv and speak before a worldwide audience should at least be self-aware enough to take your hands out of your mouth. Going farther, this is body language in and of itself that indicates that he’s unsure of what communication will follow. A confident person builds a set where empathy and understanding will be the dominant emotion. Kanye sits in defense, unknowingly afraid of what he is about to say (He even hired a media interview coach and was clearly unable to heed any of her expensive and necessary advice).

This is exactly what I argue about in our heated “Kanye’s Whack” discussions. Soljah Boy knows his limits. Ice T knows his limits. Jay Z knows his limits. Kanye does not. Kanye believes to his core that he is relevant everywhere in all genres of life. That everywhere he goes, they are all his constituents. The two statements of, “why you need to show that? how can i talk?” and “you wanna be quiet over there” are acceptable to him because he truly thinks that we should accept him for who he is, that this is Real.

No.

Kanye has no fear. He has no reality. Put him in front of a Siberian bartender, a Thai Head of State, an Icelandic puffin hunter, a Chilean serial killer–guess what, they won’t get it. They don’t have to.

His reaction will be to steer the barreling train off it’s iron and steel into a pile of snow. Because really, his wrecks aren’t serious, they’re a few scrapes and bruises. For instance, Kanye calling Bush a racist was as per Bush’s words, “the worst day of his presidency”. We can all agree that Bush is a charlatan and a lackluster masterpiece of some other artists’ hands so this statement comes as no surprise. So, I consider these series of interviews a parlaying of the equals.

Kanye is a sociopath. He has no true perception of what will make his life easier. He is comfortable here. In fact, he can’t live anywhere else. He does not have the ability to see this for what it really is–an ambitious psychotherapist’s wet dream.

Cheers,
Sam Kim