Kanye Catapults Rap Into the Stratosphere at So-Fi

 Kanye West, now known as Ye, makes an extraordinary  comeback catapulting the Rap genre into the stratosphere with an out of this world light show on top of fantastic stage displays, appearing almost holographic, of planet earth and its moon with amazing performances by himself and guest artists including Lauryn Hill, Zion Marley, Travis Scott and daughter North West before sold out audiences of 80,000 over two nights in one of  LA's largest concert venues. Other artists appearing over the span of two nights on different days were Cee Lo Green, Andre Troutman and YG Marley.

It is estimated that Ye raised a record 33 million from ticket sales alone from what some critics have described as a cultural takeover.

Two of the corporate sponsors decided to bail out when they learned they were backing Ye. Obviously because of his past media antics promoting Nazis, putting down Jews and making outlandish remarks about some of his closest friends and allies like Hova and Beyonce. However, Ye went back to all apologizing, receiving acceptance from a Jewish rabbi, forgiveness from Jay-Z and begging for forgiveness for his mistakes, blaming his erratic behavior on a traumatic brain injury he experienced, the result of a car crash he had been involved in years ago. We all remember that. He had to have his jaws re-wired and could not talk or eat any solid food for months.

For more information on Ye's journey on the road to seek forgiveness for past transgressions that led to his being ostracized by his peers, the Jewish community and allegedly banned from concert appearances in the US,  watch the following Instagram reel by long time friend, Grammy and Emmy Award winning producer  Malik Yusef at this link.

For more history about past incidents that have resulted in Ye being called out on the carpet for his behavior towards fellow recording artists like Taylor Swift concerning a Grammy award win dispute involving Beyonce and ultimately forgiven by Swift see my prior blog post at the following link:

https://cynthiadwilson2.blogspot.com/2010/09/song-for-kanye-its-about-forgiveness.html?m=1

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FOR MORE posts on forgiveness in this blog follow these links:

https://cynthiadwilson2.blogspot.com/2026/03/15-year-anniversary-of-chris-browns.html?m=1

https://cynthiadwilson2.blogspot.com/2007/05/on-forgiveness.html?m=1

Grammy Elegance: Beyonce, Alicia,Doechii, Roan et Al

 

Alicia Keys Global Impact Award Acceptance Speech

Beyonce Wins Album of the Year Award 

The Grammy Awards show last night, I would describe as pure elegance from the set,stage decor,the performances and of course the acceptance speeches, of which the most vibrant were Beyonce, Keys,Doechii and Roan. Trevor Noah excelled again as host.
It was good and was glad to see Beyonce I
(and vicariously hubby Jay-Z) finally get that album of the year award even though Beyonce has won the most Grammys than any other artist ever with 27 wins before she won the coveted Album of the Year Award and a few others last night. Now with a total of 35.Kudos to her and the graceful manner in which she and daughter Blue lvy accompanying her on stage,accepted the long overdue bonus. I say bonus because her range and excellence in the pop music field had been proven time and time again
by her numerous Grammy wins in the past. And, quite frankly it was a shrewd move to go country.

 If Swift could cross over from country to pop and skyrocket up the charts why not Beyonce switching over from pop to country. It definitely paid off in more ways than one. Shaboozey, Lil Nas, Darius Rucker deserve their cross over propers as well and Mickey Guyton for paving the way as well in country genre are all blacks in country. Beyonce did Charlie Pride and many more little known Black country artists proud while elevating the genre in the black community and globally. While showing her country roots Texas style. Savvy move. 

Alicia Keys was simply stunning from her approach to the stage accompanied by one of her children to the dynamic way in which she lauded the artists community for how they were coming together to support one another inserting a well timed reminder in light of recent events by the current administration. She mentioned and I am paraphrasing, about how diversity is a gift and not something to be discarded or frowned upon. It should be welcomed and nurtured.How she reached out to the community of female musicians and opened up doors with. She is in the Music, helped children in Africa with Keep A Child Alive and other programs she initiated and developed over the years. Queen Latifah's introduction of Alicia was beautiful. She lifted her up as a good friend who is always there when you call on her. The camera zoomed in on Alicia returning a warm and appreciative smile for the props.Alicia not only received the Dr. DRE Global Impact Award,but she also received a Grammy for her Broadway bioplay Hell's Kitchen.

I especially resonated with Roans speech and how she in a soft spoken manner. Her slogan,sure to become a popular adage among artists was "labels we got you, but do you have us"?  Well done Roan in an unassuming,yet forcefully gentle way.
She spoke out about the need for health coverage and other financial benefits that often go missing from artists compensation in a multi million dollar industry. Right on Roan!

Link to my podcast episode here for more commentary on the show.

Marketing the Bad Boy Image

There is something to be said about the tremendous success, media attention and hefty paychecks that a bad boy image can garner in today's entertainment market, catapulting many of the misbehaving or those rumored of being dark and twisted to the top of the Hollywood dung heap. Taylor Swift's recent album including a song entitled Dear John,which alludes to an alleged past relationship with guitar god/singer songwriter John Mayer was said to be the fastest selling album of 2010. The song describes Mayer as dark and asks the question of him "Don't you think I was too young to be messed with?
John Mayer's media coverage concerning Jennifer Aniston and Jessica Simpson overshadowed significantly his extraordinary talent as an artist. Our culture seems to promote and thrive on the antics of the shocking and the outrageous. The brazen and raw outtakes are in today's reality driven market the kind of incidents that draw mass attention and are almost certain to go viral, in the process attracting devoted followings and even offers ranging in the tens of thousands to the millions for product endorsement and advertising deals. Call it the dark side or the hard cold reality of the business.
The domestic violence episode on the Kardashian reality show some months ago where blood was actually drawn due to the severity of the injuries certainly had everyone talking and "outraged" for days, if not weeks. The ratings of course went through the roof and, of course, the Kardashian clan came out on top financially last year grossing upwards of 11 million dollars. There have been other attention drawing antics that have also generated attention and controversy. By today's television standards they are considered royalty, and, a standard to measure up to.
Seriously, how can you really blame stars and their handlers hungry for either money or attention for taking the more lucrative, albeit less tasteful and sometimes sleazier route if it will mean the difference between a hefty paycheck or a paltry one? And, in some cases it could mean the difference between having a career or simply not working at all. For some it is simply a formula, a method and a calculation for guaranteed success, assuring popularity and a rise in mass appeal. I can imagine the tremendous pressure that some artists must be under to conform their real selves to the image that sells.
I don't want to sound too preachy or for my observations to take on a self-righteous tone because I am well aware and painfully in tune with the realities of the world in which we live. Yet somehow in the midst of all of this there seems to be a higher standard, a mark or a bar which we are being called to raise ourselves in order to bring some sense of sanity and decency back into the equation. If not it seems the frenzy of mass appeal generated by the thrill rides of shock value and the like are poised to overtake our sense of decency and morality, heading our society on a collision course with itself and a sure route to implosion. The examples cited are just a tip of the iceberg. If the low achievements in US education revealed in plumeting test scores and our ranking 30 on the list with China at number one is not a subtle wake up call of sorts and a barometer of misplaced priorities then what other signals do we need and what else will it take?



I read recently that John Mayer was heckled on city streets by women who were still railing from his treatment of ex-girlfriends Jennifer Aniston and Jessica Simpson, proclaiming rather boisterously in a public place that he was a horrible person. Mayer has been portrayed consistently in the media as the serial heartbreaker, the tell all ex who characterized Jessica Simpson as sexual napalm. He was so distressed by this incident that he is currently on a full court press to make an "image" adjustment and change people's perspective about "it." I said "image" and not him because an artist's image and who they are authentically outside of the public persona that is oftentimes developed to sell a product varies significantly. Many of John's close friends and fans have experienced him as a completely different person. A horrible person is something that would not even come across their minds as a way of describing him.
Charlie Sheen, the most notorious bad boy these days is the highest paid actor on television commanding 1.25 million per episode after renegotiations which came despite a Christmastime arrest over an assault on his wife and subsequent sentencing to 30 days of rehab. Sheen made over 40 million dollars last year and his television sitcom is number one.

While there are no hard and fast solutions to what seems to be an ongoing dilemma of the marketability of the authentic person in contrast to the profitability of the 'bad boy" image, it seems to me it will boil down ultimately to the following questions. The first is what will the market ,and, ultimately society, bear? The second is how well does the sporter of the bad boy image sleep at night? Charlie Sheen and other bad boys have either at some point in the process overdosed on drugs, been in and out of rehab and clocked up numerous hours on their therapists couches. So, the question at the end of the day and eventually, at the end of life's journey is "how much is or was it really worth?"

Something upon which to ponder,reflect and perhaps rethink...

Taylor's Dear John...Sour Grapes or Tall Tale?

From day to day the tabloid and gossip machine churns and spurts out the daily, if not periodic spin to grab the attention of the pop culture audience. There are those who are chomping at the bits for their daily dosage of "who did who wrong" sensationalism spins as well as the latest paparrazis photo exploits to get the adrenaline pumping and the gossip machine cranking full speed ahead.  It seems the majority of those who report and could make a positive difference in pop mania instead seek to kill inspiration or at least place a chilling effect on it. 

Today the pop world is abuzz about the purported calling out of John Mayer in Taylor Swift's new song entitled "Dear John". For those who don't know,Mayer  has written a number of inspiring songs that have been warming the hearts of fans for years. But you may not know this if you focus entirely on the constant spin of dating news that seems to circulate without end throughout the mediasphere. You almost have to conduct your own independent research.

 I've skimmed through most of the spins about Taylor's purported song about John and the two being romantically linked, including the Perez Hilton account as well as the other web gossip magazines and even some new faces in the category.  Its good to keep abreast about what is happening in pop culture across the spectrum. Today's stories on this topic  range from how John Mayer has broken the heart of a young teenager to whether the two were dating, were romantically linked or have had sex. The song is on her forthcoming album and the lyrics must have been burning a whole in someone's pocket to be released because they have been tossed around the web like wildfire and have really caused a stir. If only there was another way to leak a song to the public and get such undivided attention. Go figure!

The word is and once again John Mayer has been denigrated and reduced to an insensitive and non-caring cad. Those who have met and know John are probably thinking to themselves "Here we go again with the pop spin which is in his case often laced with a good amount of  shock value and sensation to get and keep people buzzing about the incident for days.  In this case and so many others in the recent past,it seems John has taken more than his fair share of these kinds of hits to his character.  Even if its true, there should be more an effort to tone it down than to fire it up.That he would break the heart of America's pop princess on the heel of another,well, is of course being touted as and really is unthinkable. My response is this,there are several songs on Taylor's upcomong CD "Speak Now".  There was also a song that she sang on the Video music awards that even though was an act of forgiving Kanye West  could have very well had John's name on it as well. John was 32 at the time she wrote and sang that very same song for Kanye who is also 32 . In the song she refers to the man to whom she sings it as an innocent and as being 32. See my previous blog post about that below.

My point is before the pop culture medium is filled with speculation that could impact a sensitive singer songwriter's reputation and image,and perhaps undeservedly so,at least give a listen to the other songs. Also, be circumspect about jumping on the bandwagon of any spin without doing your research and due diligence. You just may discover that you have a substantive angle to share that could possibly blow the previous spin out of the water. And, even if you don't care to take the time,at least give the person accused the benefit of the doubt until you get the complete story.

Incidentally, you can find the lyrics to "Dear John" here.

Dear John


I see it all now that you're gone

Don't you think I was too young

To be messed with

The girl in the dress

Cried the whole way home

I should've known.
It was wrong

Don't you think nineteen's too young

To be played

By your dark, twisted games

When I loved you so.



My mother accused me of losing my mind

But I swore I was fine

You'll add my name to your long list of traitors

Who don't understand

And I'll look back in regret

I ignored what they said 'Run as fast as you can."


 My previous article about Taylor's song forgiving Kanye West can be found here.http://cynthiadwilson.blogspot.com/2010/09/song-for-kanye-its-about-forgiveness.html

Related Articles:

Song for Kanye: It's About Forgiveness

A Song for Kanye: It's About Forgiveness and Class. Hooray to Taylor for Letting it Shine Through Her Music!

I watched the Video Music Awards last Sunday on MTV in anticipation of an engaging program filled with spectacular pop performances. I was also eagerly expecting some suprise performances. From the list that had been broadcast in previews of the show, the line-up did not seem to be well rounded. But the show came through and most of the performances were good. There were several which were very good,despite the industry's subconscious or conscious attempt to echo GaGa-esque music filled with that muffled speaker type echo. I honestly don't know the technical musical term for it,but most of you know what I am making reference to if you've listened to the songs in the  pop music top 10.  Most of them have that same sound effect...and beat. I do enjoy the outlandishly creative Ga Ga outfits though. She is a creative genius in image design to say the least.Anyway,enough of the introductories.

All of the performances were entertaining. There was one performance that night with which I was thoroughly impressed. Taylor Swift's song was beautiful. I thought she projected her sweet youthful energy and song writing talent,which was showcased by the song and the ambience created with her bare feet,white dress and innocence. I have to admit that I did not know that the song was about Kanye West. When I made that discovery,her stock rose exponentially in my book.  To tell you the truth, I am glad I did not discover this fact until after the performance. It took away any pre-conceived notions and prejudicial brownie points  that would have accumulated if I had known in advance. So my opinion is really unbiased as it is based purely on the strength of the song and Taylor's lovely performance of it. In a world and industry filled with glorified nastiness and tit for tat psychological rough housing by way of snarks and dissing, 9 times out of 10 for the pure shock value of it all, in eforts to gain attention,the song was refreshing. I found myself analyzing the lyrics,especially the mention of the 32 year old who was still an innocent. That phrase in the lyric made me think of someone other than Kanye. At the end the song closes with a reference to using a bicycle instead when crossing the tightrope. Well, hopefully you get the picture.  The bottom line is , if like me you were not in on the 'inside info, it was still just a beautiful song that appealed to the imagination. The fact that it was a song for Kanye  ups Taylor's ante in the class department. To all the naysayers out there,forgiveness is not something you do to increase your popularity. It is transformative action and gift from the divine which is as beneficial to the one forgiving as it is for the one being forgiven. It is an action that  wipes the slate clean if forgiveness is actually acomplished. It allows people to move on with their lives emotionally,spiritually and physically. In fact, some have been afflicted with illness and disease because they've held onto grudges and misdeeds performed by others against them or someone else close to the point that they become physically sick. So in the spirit of Christianity and Yom Kippur in Judaism,please let the forgiveness begin.

Other Class Acts:

Drake who brought in Swizz Beatz and Mary J. Blige for a fabulous rendition of "Fancy".

                                          
The young brother definitely has it going on. The lyrics to his songs are not only thought provoking,but he also has that artistic integrity that you root for enthusiastically from the sidelines. Drake is a conscientious  and thoughtful rapper that you want to see win. The performance with Mary J. Blige and Swizz Beatz was one of the highlights of the show. Mary delivered a powerfully soulful rendition of "Fancy" with Swizz Beatz demonstrating his grand piano skills. I found myself wondering if Alicia was going to join him on the piano. The stage choreography augmented the Rat Pack theme that Drake was aiming for and the well lit and positioned "Drake" sign in the background added to the class. I found myself intently listening to the lyrics and witnessing the new hip hop standard for being fancy unfolding with swagger and subtle panache...if there can be such a thing.


Eminem and Rihanna

As the show opener Eminem's performance bordered on the "hip hop" spectacular. The drum orchestra in the background,stage set up and enthusiastic audience contributed to the excitement generated.  He is a talented rapper indeed.His creativity and command for catchy and thought provoking storytelling was aptly showcased in "Not Afraid", an inspiring rallying cry.

Usher

Top notch.

Forgiveness and class won out in my book. What more can I say?


Well done.