Response to Riley's "Real Talk with Kanye West"

Please find Riley's original blog here http://jesusblawg.blogspot.com/2011/01/real-talk-with-kanye-west.html

Hi Riley!

         I am so happy that you posted on this topic! As we were watching the Jesus Walks video 2 classes ago, I could not help but think of how Kanye West is a type of Christian “poser”. Although West proclaims himself to be a follower of Christ, he seems to be ‘all talk and no do’. Some of his songs, as you reflect, evoke Christianity and he does talk openly about his faith, however other areas of his life do not reflect this.

         One of West’s most popular stints of his career is saying on international television that “George W. Bush hates black people” while hosting a telethon for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Bush responded to West’s accusations were one of his lowest points in office. His other more recent faux pas was at the 2009 Video Music Awards when he grabbed the mic from Taylor Swift’s hands and told the world that Beyonce should have won. When I see these types of actions, I really say to myself: “are you serious?? Who is this guy? And WHY am I buying his music and seeing him in concert?” Just this past November, West brought up these two incidents yet again after a performance in New York City citing that Swift should have come to his defense in an interview and that she “rode the wave”. West then brought up Bush’s response to him saying ""If you look at the interview, he said, 'It's one of his lowest moments,' and he said it about 10 different things… but because the popularity of me, they [the media] exploited that to make you watch the interview and make you feel that he was stupider than ever...It shows you the way they try to villainize." Here we see West’s not too subtle approach at criticizing the media. But really, do you think the media are going to stop criticizing you if you continue to do the wrong thing? It's funny, because just two weeks before his performance, he cancelled an interview with the Today Show over Twitter saying that he was not going to make it in 'tweets'. 

         In brief mention of Dustin Kidd’s argument of normalcy and establishing social change, is Kanye West (and his entire persona, rapping, etc) an example of social change that really is beneficial to society? Is his outspoken nature going to influence young people that view him as being a role model? Who will he offend next? Will he continue to praise God? Will he ever really feel bad for what he did to Taylor Swift or George W.? Personally, I think when it comes to celebrities and their unpredictable nature there is only one answer we can ponder: “who knows”.

- kathleen

Kanye West 'tweet's' the Today Show his cancellation

http://ca.eonline.com/uberblog/b210986_mr_bitter_twitter_kanye_tweets_in_his.html

Taylor Swift Should've Stuck Up for Me!

http://ca.eonline.com/uberblog/b213088_kanye_west_taylor_swift_shouldve_stuck.html

Video of Kanye West speaking of Bush and Swift in New York, November 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LcnE_SM6x0