Kanye West changes name

[Jimi Shandrix]

He's no Chuck D.

[Jimi Shandrix]

3 minutes ago, NotThePars said:

I could do Aphex Twin’s music someone get me GarageBand

...and he's certainly no Aphex Twin

[Mr Waldo]

1 hour ago, Proposition Joe said:

Kanye West has produced some bangers, it shouldn't even be up for debate.

His maw produced at least one banger tae! 

[SANTAN]

1 hour ago, The Moonster said:

Can you flesh this out a bit? To me a musical genius is someone like Frank Zappa or Bob Dylan or Prince, they do stuff that most others can't, either musically or lyrically. Kanye doesn't seem especially genius to me in either lyrical content or in musical composition, given that he makes all his music on a computer programme that me or you could do with a 6 week course. I'm not a big rap fan, so I'll take your word for it that he's changed that genre but when I hear rap music these days I can't say there's a noticeable difference to what has gone before, but I accept that I don't really seek out rap and only ever hear it if it's on the radio in work or in a pub. I just hate folk throwing genius around, and folk who compare him to Prince are fucking at it. 

In short his production quality is ahead of it's time. You can argue over whether pressing buttons on a screen is worthy of being a genius or not but as a rap fan I'm content to call him that and I definitely couldn't learn it in 6 weeks. I prefer him over all the acts you've mentioned, I like Bob Dylan but wouldn't call him a musical genius and if it's for lyricism then Kanye can go toe to toe with him easily as could a lot of rappers. 

I mentioned it before about his album 808s and Heartbreak and how it inspired wave after wave of auto tune style rap but also his early work and the samples he would use helped steer rap away from the Gangster stuff when he started dominating the rap game and even through all his wild stages his production quality or just quite simply his ear for a good beat/sample arrangement is unmatched at such a commercial level imo. Appreciate it's not you preferred genre but for me I could easily distinguish the evolution through the past 20 years or so and Kanye has had a huge part in shaping the way that went, all the Drake style rappers wouldn't even be about if he hadn't of opened the doors to them (I detest Drake btw)

[NotThePars]

...and he's certainly no Aphex Twin

That seems pretty obvious. Aphex is a long haired white man from Britain and Kanye is a black man from Chicago. Were people confusing the two?

[Jimi Shandrix]

3 minutes ago, SANTAN said:

In short his production quality is ahead of it's time. You can argue over whether pressing buttons on a screen is worthy of being a genius or not but as a rap fan I'm content to call him that and I definitely couldn't learn it in 6 weeks. I prefer him over all the acts you've mentioned, I like Bob Dylan but wouldn't call him a musical genius and if it's for lyricism then Kanye can go toe to toe with him easily as could a lot of rappers. 

I mentioned it before about his album 808s and Heartbreak and how it inspired wave after wave of auto tune style rap but also his early work and the samples he would use helped steer rap away from the Gangster stuff when he started dominating the rap game and even through all his wild stages his production quality or just quite simply his ear for a good beat/sample arrangement is unmatched at such a commercial level imo. Appreciate it's not you preferred genre but for me I could easily distinguish the evolution through the past 20 years or so and Kanye has had a huge part in shaping the way that went, all the Drake style rappers wouldn't even be about if he hadn't of opened the doors to them (I detest Drake btw)

Eloquently put Santan. I'll give Kanye another go.

[paranoid android]

There obviously is a skill involved in making music with computers, just as there can be a skill in the craft of a DJ - some of it will be good - some of it will be successful - some of it will be bad - some of it will be unsuccessful - you can't equate success with quality - we know this because a lot of things that have been successful are pish. 

I don't think it matters how the music is made - I think it's more about whether the music is any good or not. 

Music is changing. just as the way that music is made is changing.

I've never heard a Kanye track that I've liked, but he's not making music for the likes of me.

I think we can all agree, though, that Kanye is a bell end. 

 

[The Moonster]

1 minute ago, SANTAN said:

In short his production quality is ahead of it's time. You can argue over whether pressing buttons on a screen is worthy of being a genius or not but as a rap fan I'm content to call him that and I definitely couldn't learn it in 6 weeks. I prefer him over all the acts you've mentioned, I like Bob Dylan but wouldn't call him a musical genius and if it's for lyricism then Kanye can go toe to toe with him easily as could a lot of rappers. 

I mentioned it before about his album 808s and Heartbreak and how it inspired wave after wave of auto tune style rap but also his early work and the samples he would use helped steer rap away from the Gangster stuff when he started dominating the rap game and even through all his wild stages his production quality or just quite simply his ear for a good beat/sample arrangement is unmatched at such a commercial level imo. Appreciate it's not you preferred genre but for me I could easily distinguish the evolution through the past 20 years or so and Kanye has had a huge part in shaping the way that went, all the Drake style rappers wouldn't even be about if he hadn't of opened the doors to them (I detest Drake btw)

The part in bold I just can't agree with, but I accept your other points in that first paragraph, I would really need to listen to his entire catalogue to argue against that. Dylan paved the way for artists in genres that weren't his own, you'll find covers of his songs in just about every style of music. He's the only songwriter to be given a Nobel prize and whilst I agree you can argue the merits of a Nobel prize, it's clear he's regarded around the world as a brilliant poet and lyricist. 

"Inspiring wave after wave of auto-tune style rap" seems like a negative thing to me. Might just be my perspective but I prefer my singers to sing in tune rather than letting a computer do the work. Do we really want folk who can't play anything or sing filling up our genres (or am I misunderstanding what auto-tune rap is here)? That and auto-tune sounds fucking awful, but I accept that's my personal opinion. Perhaps I'm too hung up on old methods and that's why I don't get the "genius" of the man,.

[The Derry]

Genius might be exaggerating it, but he's clearly more talented than 90% of his genre.

[Scotty Tunbridge]

He ain’t married to no hobbit.

[MONKMAN]

Kanye West's music is about as appealing as his Yeezy trainer brand.  For those of you who don't know what a Yeezy looks like then I've given some examples, which will tell us all we need to know about Kanye West.

 

[DiegoDiego]

Nobody has said anything like that so we're okay. 

Fucking loads of people come out with that shite.

[Richey Edwards]

10 minutes ago, MONKMAN said:

Kanye West's music is about as appealing as his Yeezy trainer brand.  For those of you who don't know what a Yeezy looks like then I've given some examples, which will tell us all we need to know about Kanye West.

 

They look like what you would get if you asked yer gran to knit you some trainers for Christmas.

[topcat(The most tip top)]

1 hour ago, Jimi Shandrix said:

He's no Chuck D.

If Rap music had just stopped in 1992 when Terminator X left Public Enemy to farm ostriches then we wouldn't have lost much.

I bet they're great ostriches
 

 

Edited August 26, 2021 by topcat(The most tip top)

[Empty It]

Bob Dylan isn't a musical genius but Kanye West is, this thread is fucking at it.

[101]

33 minutes ago, MONKMAN said:

Kanye West's music is about as appealing as his Yeezy trainer brand.  For those of you who don't know what a Yeezy looks like then I've given some examples, which will tell us all we need to know about Kanye West.

 

A genius if he's managed to sell them, the top shoe in particular I bet cost pennies to make and I'm sure it's $100+ to buy.

[D Angelo Barksdale]

I would rock that top pair of trainers.

The other 2 are horrific.

[Jimi Shandrix]

Anyone over the age of 6 wearing the bottom pair need to take a long hard look at themselves to be honest.

[Granny Danger]

On 25/08/2021 at 11:46, Richey Edwards said:

 

Have any P&B members ever changed their name?

 

I changed my name to Steppenwolf.

I was born Toby Wilde.

Spoiler

Shamelessly stolen from the joke thread.

 

[JMDP]

A 6 week course to produce the type of music Kanye does is one of the wildest takes I've seen on here. I'm looking forward to being to write Revolver or Is this it after a couple of guitar lessons. 

I think Kanye is probably the most influential musician of this century for a lot of the reasons @SANTAN put above. Every album is brilliant in it's own right and his catalogue overall stacks up against anyone else IMO.

His debut was groundbreaking (nothing like Jesus Walks was getting made when he dropped it), 808's went against the grain of everything else produced at the time and MBDTF is a masterpiece. In terms of lyrics, he might not have the lyrical dexterity of someone like Wretch, but there are some amazing examples of great stuff (the sweetness of Hey Mama, honesty of Runaway, wordplay on Gone etc).

The other main thing about him, I think is quite overlooked is his ability to bring the best out of others - Nicki Minaj on Monster, Chance on Ultralight Beam, Cam'Ron and Consequence on Gone, Pusha T on Runaway. His drive and work ethic pushed those around him to better things. 

I know it's not for everyone but I think it's hard to deny his genius and influence.