YEEZY ACTIONS

April 25, 2021

Lately the boy Kanye West has been under hella scrutiny and I guess for good reason. He ran around supporting what some people consider public enemy number one, he said slavery was a choice (even though people knew what he meant they just chose to ignore that), and a host of other things that made people go “wtf kanye”. Regardless of Kanye’s crazy actions we should applaud these actions he’s taken lately.

I. DMX

First off rest in peace, Earl Simmons. You may know him as DMX, the polarizing Yonkers MC gave the world numerous classics and greater than his classics he provided the world with an ingenuity that few possess. DMX was filled with so much soul that radiated with the nation, all colors and creed. When DMX passed hit it us all hard and naturally those in the arts wanted to honor DMX with tangible art.

Kanye did that by partnering with Balenciaga to create a DMX memorial tee. What makes this collaboration special is Kanye could’ve easily released this on his own accord or DMX estate could’ve easily printed up $30 tees for the public to consume. However, Kanye used high fashion and used people love for designer to his advantage.

Adding the designer cache, using a non-hip platform to elevate a hip hop legend, all equals a winning strategy that ended up greatly benefitting DMX’s estate. A $200 shirt amassed over a $1 Million that went to DMX’s estate and will continue to help his family even after DMX’s unfortunate passing. Ye didn’t have to do this. But his love and respect for DMX, especially having early placements on DMX album, drove him to make sure he honored DMX in a way HE KNEW he could. That’s something to respect in my opinion.

II. GEORGE FLOYD

Also, rest in peace to George Floyd. I don’t even have to go into details here, we all sadly know that George Floyd’s life was unjustly taking and stirred up a smorgasbord of emotions across the world! Everyone reacted in different ways..some took to the streets to protest, some was driven to write, some was driven to create art, and some was even pushed to pray harder for change.

“I am one with the people” - Kanye West.(c) Saint Pablo ft Sampha. The Life of Pablo. — *“I am one with the people” - Kanye West.*
*(c) Saint Pablo ft Sampha. The Life of Pablo.*

Kanye took action as well by silently making one of the most commendable moves that a person with his stature can make in response to a situation such as this. Kanye donated $2 million to the estates of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery.

Not only did he make a monetary donation to the estate, he started a college fund for George Floyd’s daughter! Say what you want but that’s huge! Unfortunately the unjust deaths of blacks & minorities bring out vultures and attention whores who want to use misfortune to their advantage. It serves as think-pieces, social commentary, and many other profit driven forms.

Nothing is wrong with speaking and writing about these situations, but if you claim to be a progenitor of change but you’re all talk and no action then what are you really doing? Ye was not obligated to do this, yes he’s wealthy but his wealth is not owed to society. He may be criticized if he chose to not use his wealth to make change but at the end of the day it is his choice! He didn’t make a big splash or come out screaming from the mountain tops, “Look at what me, Kanye West has done!!!”.

No he saw a great wrong and he did what he probably felt in his heart was right. For someone who’s life was cut without just cause, creating opportunity for their offspring is one of the most respectable things you can do. Its literally putting your money where your mouth is, which is more of what we need!

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ALBUM CREDITS and WHY THEY’RE IMPORTANT

new kanye west album out now , “YE”, https://tidal.com/album/89768255 — *new kanye west album out now , “YE”, https://tidal.com/album/89768255*

Today a new Kanye album has released and it sparked something in me about album credits. Being that I heard the album during a livestream it made me wonder about who produced what, who’s featured, what are the name of these samples??!

Gone are the days of flipping through that CD book admiring the fresh photo shoot, reading the thank you note, and of course the album credits(which sometime featured lyrics).

Album credits are essential to an album because you can see everyone who contributed to the sound that are pleasing to your ears.

For example, Kanye West’s All of The Lights from his 2010 album “MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY”. It was like a thousand people on that song and without the credits it would hard to identify everyone who was apart of that song.

1. everyone’s voice wasn’t distinguishable

2. Every person behind each instrument/lyric cannot be identified.

*My album. FIRST OF HIS NAME, out now , go to the music tab to listen. Also on all streaming platforms.*

Album credits add to the excitement of the album. Even with my own album, if you check the iTunes info you can see the names of people I went to school with and samples I’ve used that may not be identifiable. It makes people wanna listen even more when they can identify with something so close to them like seeing they’re on name or hearing themselves.

With the digital takeover, the CD collector has been at a disadvantage with fully capturing the moment of purchasing a new album.

But thanks to Platforms like TIDAL that include the credits, users can get a sense of the old times once more.

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