Kanye West finally released his new musical masterpiece The Life of Pablo on Saturday night following his Saturday Night Live appearance, and it didn’t take long for the reviews to come crashing in. Surprisingly, Kanye still pays attention to them, inspiring him to write a pretty intense string of tweets targeting the reviews from “white publications” (specifically some of the biggest names—Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, and New York Times).
First, he clapped back pretty hard, even though all of the reviews mentioned were generally positive.
Pitchfork, the album is a 30 out of 10
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 15, 2016
To Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, New York Times, and any other white publication. Please do not comment on black music anymore.
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 15, 2016
I love love love white people but you don't understand what it means to be the great grandson of ex slaves and make it this far.
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 15, 2016
The system is designed for colored people to fail and one of our only voices is music. One of our only ways out is music.
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 15, 2016
Don't tell me Lebron had a bad game. What yo jump shot look like???
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 15, 2016
Aight then …
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 15, 2016
Shut the fuck up and enjoy the greatness.
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 15, 2016
This was made with love. Only God can judge me. So I only expect love back!!!
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 15, 2016
Then, he started a more in-depth discussion about his position as an artist.
I’m an artist… the definition of art – or at least my definition – is to be able to see the truth and then express it…
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 16, 2016
This is clearly a complicated and loaded topic, and I happen to believe that pop music (in general) is fair game for criticism. However, Kanye has managed to bring “message music” into his realm of hip-hop, which is a genre that isn’t necessarily always for the masses and is better suited being criticized by the niche it was created for. In other words, of course most white writers don’t understand where Kanye and his art comes from. It’s a slippery slope, but Kanye’s position of expecting white people to listen and use his brand of hip-hop as a tool for reflection and learning will also attract people with differences of opinion.
All that aside, Kanye’s tweets have me more concerned about his mental health and well-being than anything. His album is no less than another stellar collection of musical genius—as per usual for Mr. West, but I’m hopeful that he’s well and healthy underneath all of the Twitter rants and alleged backstage antics.
