Before I get too far into this, I should say my opinion about Kanye. I really believe he's one of the most talented and inspired artists out there. I would almost say he's a genius musically. He is always exploring new avenues for music that have not been written before. Every album sounds different. He took a chance on 808s and Heartbreak - and was successful with it - that you wouldn't see most artists dare to attempt. I almost believe he's bored musically, because he's challenging himself to be better and doesn't want more of the same. He's exploring other avenues as well - fashion obviously being one of his other passions. You don't usually see a straight black man adamant about creating new fashion, yet there's Kanye doing his thing. He's got very strong emotions, as you can see in his tantrums, beliefs (like the George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People), and even how upset he got over his mother's untimely passing.
He's cocky. There's no doubt about it. But he usually backs it up. He really believes that he deserves all the credit in the world for his music, and can't believe that U2 could possibly create a better record than him for the 2006 Grammys. Really Kanye? Better than U2? Good luck. Many people hate him for his brashness. I think that's what makes him so great; his belief in himself that he is the best. It's a gift & a curse. You think Taylor Swift really thought she was good enough to win Album of the Year this year? Over GaGa, Beyonce, Dave, and Black Eyed Peas? (I love/have a crush on Taylor and think she's absolutely adorable/amazing/etc but she probably would have bet on all of them but herself. That's part of what makes Taylor great though. I'm rambling.) Kanye believes he's the best. You have to respect his opinion.
There's no way around the Taylor Swift/VMA incident. He came off looking like an asshole. Everyone hated him. He was right though - Beyonce's video was the best. He just had (or created) a platform to share his opinion with the world. And look - Beyonce's video won Video of the Year. (Random tangent - how do you lose Female Video of the Year but win Video of the Year, don't they correlate? MTV is dumb.)
That doesn't make what Yeezy did right. It was Taylor's time to shine. He took that away from her. Asshole move, absolutely. He tweeted how everyone benefited from it though - and yet again, he's right. Taylor was/is clearly a rising star destined for the top, but her hysteria reached a new high following that incident. So did Beyonce's. Jay Leno certainly did for his first night. So did Kanye's. I think he summed it up best in this tweet: "Remember in Anchor Man when Ron Burgandy cursed on air and the entire city turned on him? But this wasn't a joke. This was & is my real life"
So besides 'Ye's spelling problems, it's so true. Ron Burgundy came back from his exile. Which finally (and longer than I had planned) gets back to why Kanye is good for Twitter. Kanye seems to be the rare breed of celebrity that really doesn't censor himself. He doesn't have someone talk for him. Kanye talks from his heart, without thinking rationally or about the implications of his words. At his level of celebrity, society says he can't say things like our President doesn't care about black people. His emotions told him otherwise.
Some celebrities don't speak, and if they're on Twitter, it's automated or fake or just stupid tweets. I'm not saying Kanye's are the most intellectual things out there, and it's not how everyone else (read: probably you) should tweet. But Twitter breaks down the barrier between the fan and the celebrity and Kanye can really speak to us. I saw his UStream from a month ago and was surprised at how normal he is, yet how much of a genius he is. It opens a whole new door that I think is perfect for him.
So Kanye apologized on Twitter. He's done it before. Going through all of his tweets, you can tell he has really thought about this. It's been on his mind for a while. The amount of criticism he got was unreal. I'm real excited to hear his song that he wrote for Taylor, and his new album. I don't really believe Kanye is a "changed man" - you can't change who you are. He may try harder to be a better person, but he is who he is - and that's why we listen to his music.
No one man should have all that power.
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