The Redemption of America’s “Jackass”: A Retrospective
By: Matthew Turner
Mr. West Carrying the Torch
If you were alive in 2009, and you weren’t living under a rock, you definitely remember the controversy that Mr. Kanye West ran into at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. Just for story’s sake, I’ll retell the tale of Kanye interrupting America’s Sweetheart, Taylor Swift, for a truth bomb. When Ms. Swift was awarded the statue for Best Female Video, for “You Belong with Me,” Kanye rushed the stage to only half-congratulate her. You see, Kanye thought it should be known that Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time with her dance-heavy video for “Single Ladies.” The crowd and the music-loving world were obviously shocked at his interruption of this young lady that was finally reaching a national level of fame. Question for the person reading this: which music video do you remember more? For me it is without a doubt “Single Ladies,” due to its consistent parodies and airplay dominating pop-culture. Don’t get me wrong, “You Belong with Me” has had its fair share of memes in recent years, but that is for one frame out of a whole forgettable music video. I’m not saying that what Kanye did was completely right and morally pure, but when Nathaniel Hörnblowér did the same thing at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards he was celebrated. For those of you who don’t know the genius character of Nathaniel Hörnblowér, allow me to gush and inform. When the best director award was being announced, there was a clear fan-favorite destined to win that night: Spike Jonze for the masterful “Sabotage” music video that he directed for the Beastie Boys. MTV had a different opinion than the general public however, instead awarding Jake Scott for his work on the video for “Everybody Hurts” by R.E.M. While “Everybody Hurts” supplied a good video and a good tune, “Sabotage” has one of the best music videos ever and it is still seen as a masterpiece of both the rap and rock genres. When the winner was announced, a man named Nathaniel Hörnblowér rushed the stage to explain that the wrong director won. This eccentric bearded man donning a lederhosen and a goofy hat praised the music video for “Sabotage” while pushing the announced winner and R.E.M. aside. The best part of this interruption was that Nathaniel Hörnblowér is not a real person at all, but rather the intellectual Beastie Boy Adam Yauch in full disguise. This is often seen as one of the most iconic and awesome moments in Beastie Boys history, so why wasn’t Kanye’s interruption of Taylor Swift praised in a similar fashion? Why did everyone mock him, parody him, harass him, and insult him for it? One of the biggest criticisms against Kanye came from then-POTUS Barack Obama who referred to him as “a jackass.” Is this an example of white privilege? Rap/Hip-Hop discrimination? I couldn’t tell you as I respect both Adam Yauch and Kanye West for expressing their freedom of speech to the highest degree. What I can tell you is that this universal mocking primed Mr. West for one of the greatest comebacks in music history.
Excellence in Exile
With Kanye going through the emotional ringer in recent years, most notably the death of his beloved mother Donda West in 2007, the controversy surrounding his act at the Video Music Awards was the final straw for him. He exiled himself in Hawaii away from the paparazzi and media in general. It was also here that Kanye created his artistic and thematic masterpiece My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, along with many of his close artist friends. These musician contributors included the legendary Rihanna, Kid Cudi, John Legend, and even Sir Elton John. The album was finally released on November 22, 2010, hence why this 10th anniversary retrospective is hitting the web on November 22nd, to unbelievable critical acclaim. The album achieved the impossible feat of being the highest reviewed album of the year throughout the critical aggregate site Metacritic. What this means is that overall, the majority of music critics named the album the best of the year, and even the decade in later years. What you need to understand from my opinion of the album is that it is not just the sheer quality of the album that wins my praises, but rather the context that the success carries. If Kanye released the album to the acclaim under normal circumstances, it would still be seen as a modern classic. However, the decline in Kanye’s mental health and self-image made this album both a win for him and his followers. When I think about this album I don’t just think of a bombastic and daring piece of music, but I think of the odds that Kanye had to beat to make this album. From the death of his mother that is still taking a heavy toll on his mental health, to the ridicule he went through for expressing his opinion, his production of this album had a lot at stake. For a man that was personally insulted by the leader of his country, Kanye admirably took this supposed mental defeat in stride and was able to take this passion out in the most artistic way possible. For those with mental health problems, it is hard to take that sort of negative energy and create something truly beautiful with it. Instead of just writing his thoughts down in a journal, he bared all of his thoughts and emotions to the world and shot the biggest middle finger to his haters in the process. As a picky writer, I can’t imagine having the extreme confidence to create one of the biggest albums ever and embracing the complete maximalist style without any reservations, especially in a time when the world was against me metaphorically and literally. I understand if Kanye doesn’t sit well with people, I’m looking at you Dad, but this album and Kanye in general have my utmost respect due to the BDE they both radiate to this day. If you haven’t listened to the album, or you’re just in need of a revisit, I hope my extreme respect and contextual evidence draw you into it. Thank you to Kanye West for creating such an inspirational album that empowers the douchebags, the assholes, the scumbags, and even the jerk offs. If you ever felt like the world had it out for you, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy will certainly hit you harder than the people that look down on others with no regard for mental health.
My Beautiful Proper Twisted Review
- My top 5 favorite samples in no particular order
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- “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath (“Hell of a Life”)
- “21st Century Schizoid Man” by King Crimson (“Power”)
- “In High Places” by Mike Oldfield (“Dark Fantasy”)
- “Avril 14th” by Aphex Twin (“Blame Game”)
- “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” by Smokey Robinson (“Devil in a New Dress”)
- My top 5 favorite features in no particular order
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- Nicki Minaj: “Monster”
- Kid Cudi: “Gorgeous”
- RZA: “So Appalled”
- Rihanna: “All of the Lights”
- Pusha T: “Runaway”
- My top 5 tracks in no particular order
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- “Runaway”
- “Monster”
- “Devil in a New Dress”
- “Hell of a Life”
- “All of the Lights”
- My overall score
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- I’m sure this isn’t even necessary at this point due to how much I’ve gushed over the album for the past thousand words, but just in case you don’t know: this album is a 10 for me. I still get goosebumps every time I listen to this album, and it will always hold a special place in my heart. Can’t say that about many albums, and I hope it affects you the same way.
