Kanye West is one of the most famous rappers of all time - but he's not just known for his music. The Atlanta-born artist also hits the headlines for his eccentric sense of style, his struggles with mental health, and of course his marriage to mega-star Kim Kardashian.
Dr Kirsten Zemke is an ethnomusicologist and senior lecturer in popular music at Auckland University. She joined Jesse in the Auckland studio to talk through West's career and public image.
Kanye West. Photo: AFP
Listen to the full interview with Dr Kirsten Zemke
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Zemke begins with 'Gold Digger' which she says came at a time when popular rap was leaning more towards a ‘gangster’ style with people like Snoop Dogg, Tupac, and Biggie. West brought back the influence of pop with Jamie Foxx and the references to Ray Charles.
“He’s quite clear, he’s not a mumble rapper or a fast rapper. He does a lot of story telling and humour. He’s definitely accessible to non-hip-hop fans in a way that some hip-hop artists aren’t and that’s why I think he crossed over to the pop market.”
West was first known for his production and his creative use of sampling.
“Sampling was used in hip-hop in the 1980s, but he’s helped keep it revitalised and popular. There’s this whole archiving of black music that they keep refreshing and reworking.”
His penchant for hyperbole and erratic behaviour has earned West a fair amount of media attention and controversy and Zemke says it’s a shame that people who don’t know his music only see that side of him.
“They get the negativity and wonder why we’re even talking about this man… but he’s sold 20 million albums and won 22 Grammys so he’s really important, even if you’re not into his music, to just look at as a figure of our time…. He’s just this unstoppable creative force.”
Another factor to West’s musical fame is that he’s often ahead of his time. Certain albums, such as 808s and Heartbreak, have initially landed badly but, a year later, are held in high esteem.
“That album was so electronic, more sort of ‘white music’, then there was the auto-tune stuff that people thought was on the way out.”
While West is certainly narcissistic, he believes there’s a racial element to the way he receives media coverage and that media only celebrate black people if they’re acting on their terms of behaviour.
“Kanye may be weird, but he’s often right. He does have this kind of insight and he does connect the schadenfreude to his race.”
When it comes to music, West believes that he is a genius and has claimed to be the modern Beatles and his music can cure cancer.
“He doesn’t feel that the music press talks about him in that way, but he feels that they should. You or I might think that, but we would never say it out loud, but he feels that his music is complex, interesting, and altering the whole genre and he doesn’t get enough credit.”
West has bipolar and there’s a common strain of thought that the medication for it can suppress creativity which might explain why he’s gone off them in the past.
“As a non-psychologist, you can almost observe the periods where he goes off his meds. He will create an amazing album, he will jump up on stage with Taylor Swift, or he will run for president.”
The latest thing for West has been his Christianity and his music is now in a strictly Christian vein with him holding full gospel services.
“It’s been there the whole time, he had a single with Jesus Walks which is unusual for pop culture, but it’s his big thing now…. I think he’s creating some amazing stuff and he just got a Grammy for Christian music.”