Kanye West - Voice of this generation?

Tim

...
Kanye West has claimed that he is the "voice of this generation", and this year's music MVP. He even clarified it when asked again. He pulled aside Paul McCartney after he had just won the ultimate legend award, just so he could see whether Paul liked his music. This guy is really cocky. He even said that he has full right to be cocky about this music. So do you feel that Kanye West is the voice of this generation? And who is the voice of this generation, if not Kanye?

I feel this guy is just way too cocky, and there is no way he is the voice of this generation. He has the nerve to say that, yet there are many more people that have released better quality music, and that have gotten more hits and sold more albums then him. When I think about it, I feel like nobody is the voice of this generation, it is a mixture of people. There won't be one standout person that will be remembered, and if by some slight chance there will be, it will definately not be Kanye West.
 
Well, there's no right or wrong answer to your question because to his avid, hardcore fans, they could say he is the voice of this generation, which I disagree with, in the end, it's just personal preferance really. I will disagree with his statements.

It is a pretty cocky and bold statement though, was he even completely serious about what he was saying? He could just have said that to stir up media attention and publicity for himself to get people to pay attention to him.

Possibly the voice of this generation of hip hop or rnb or whatever stars, but certainly not the entire generation.
 
How can he be the voice of my generation if I don't even know who he is? That doesn't even begin to make sense.

Just reading some of the stuff here, I take it he's a rapper. Well, I can tell you this. A rapper will never be the voice for me, nor the voice for anyone with the ability to reason for themselves.

As the late Curt Henning so eloquently put it, "Rap is Crap".
 
How can he be the voice of my generation if I don't even know who he is? That doesn't even begin to make sense.

Slyfox, you're too old to be considered a part of this generation. Your students are the ones who are his generation.

Just reading some of the stuff here, I take it he's a rapper. Well, I can tell you this. A rapper will never be the voice for me, nor the voice for anyone with the ability to reason for themselves.

Absolute bullshit. I'm so sick of the stereotype that all rappers are fucking idiots who rap about money drugs and women. That is not the end-all be-all of rap for god's sake. You have zero right to criticize something you know fuck-all about Sly.

But yeah, a rapper like Vinnie Paz, who raps about Galileo, Nikola Tesla, metaphysicism and Hebrew texts...yeah, what a fucking MORON that guy is!

As the late Curt Henning so eloquently put it, "Rap is Crap".

You're wrong. End of story.
 
Can any current singer be the voice of this generation ? I dont think so. Hell , I dont even think Kanye West has been the most influential artist of this generation. If i had to pick a artist for the voice of this generation i'd have to pick Eminenem. If you think about it he realy has had a huge impact. He almost single handedly created the white boy gangsta trend a few years back. (see John Cena) That's realy been the biggest thing in the 2000's (that i can think of) I dont even like rap but i like his music. He brings a raw passion to his songs that no other artist does. Whether you like it or not , He's the 2000's version of Nirvana , Michael Jackson , The Beatles ,EtC.
 
Lmao you have GOT to be kidding me. I mean seriously, he thinks this? I actually LOL'd. Saying Kanye West is the voice of this generation is saying all rappers are. Why? Because a majority of them sound the same, and sound shit. Okay, so I'll take that the second part of that is subjective, and many may like him. But there's no denying the fact most of it sounds the same. Kanye tried something different recently, and it failed epically. He sounds bad when he's the same as everyone else, and worse when he tries to be different.

You may like him, you may not. That's fair enough. But to say he's the voice of this generation is stupid. There never will be one 'voice' of a generation.
 
Absolute bullshit. I'm so sick of the stereotype that all rappers are fucking idiots who rap about money drugs and women. That is not the end-all be-all of rap for god's sake. You have zero right to criticize something you know fuck-all about Sly.

What else do they rap about? Hm? Please, tell me. All I have ever heard is about sex, money, drugs, and more sex. That's it.


But yeah, a rapper like Vinnie Paz, who raps about Galileo, Nikola Tesla, metaphysicism and Hebrew texts...yeah, what a fucking MORON that guy is!

Who?



You're wrong. End of story.

Nope.. Pretty sure he's right. Like always.
 
It's impossible to be the voice of a generation. I can't give you an opinion on Kanye's music, because I've never listened to it and I have no intention to do so. I've heard that he's kind of a dick, but I don't keep up with the general hip-hop/rap news scene, so I couldn't tell you honestly. It wouldn't matter, however, if Kanye was Jesus descended from heaven itself, and his music was beautiful and melted even the iciest of hearts. More than ever today, music is split into so many groups and subgenres, that you can never be the voice of anything outside your own niche. Maybe Kanye is the voice of his niche, which is good for him.

There is always a counterculture, and there's usually a counterculture to the counterculture, and probably even a reverse counterculture to the second counterculture. Look at music today. You have the pop scene, the rap/hip hop scene, the hard rock/heavy metal scene (which is split into so many subgenres itself that it makes the head spin), those two losers who like country, the punk/hardcore scene, and the scene that hates all the other scenes, and prefers not be identified with a scene, and simply enjoys all music. No one could ever claim to be the voice of all that, it's simply impossible. I can not offer any opinion on Kanye's music, nor can I offer you an opinion on whether all rappers are stupid, thugs, etc., etc. But what I can say is that when anyone, not just Kanye, but anyone claims to be the voice of a generation, they are wrong, and ignorant for making the claim in the first place.
 
Slyfox, you're too old to be considered a part of this generation. Your students are the ones who are his generation.
Funny. I thought I was still alive.
shrugbetter.gif


And doing a Wikipedia search, I see that he was born in 1977. So, he's older than me. I can be part of this generation.

Absolute bullshit. I'm so sick of the stereotype that all rappers are fucking idiots who rap about money drugs and women. That is not the end-all be-all of rap for god's sake. You have zero right to criticize something you know fuck-all about Sly.
Quickly scans last post...

Nope, I see nothing about money, drugs and/or women. What the fuck are you talking about?

You're wrong. End of story.
Such a compelling argument. :rolleyes:

At the end of the day, a rapper will never speak for my generation, nor anyone with the ability to reason for themselves. You just need to understand this simple truth.
 
Lmao you have GOT to be kidding me. I mean seriously, he thinks this? I actually LOL'd. Saying Kanye West is the voice of this generation is saying all rappers are. Why? Because a majority of them sound the same, and sound shit

Coming from you this is quite funny. You're criticizing rap for all sounding alike (music in a specific genre sounding similiar?! Insanity!) and yet you're constantly singing the praises of bands like Snow Patrol. I could go to any city in this country and find atleast 3 bands who sound exactly alike.

But yes, because the man's culture is different, obviously that means his artform isn't as important as our artforms. That doesn't sound like racism at all.

What else do they rap about? Hm? Please, tell me. All I have ever heard is about sex, money, drugs, and more sex. That's it.

Are you joking? Then thank you for just having proven you know absolutely nothing about rap music.

Look up the lyrics to any of the following artists:

Eric B. & Rakim
KRS-One
Run DMC
Afrika Bambaataa
Public Enemy
Black Sta
Talib Kweli
Common
Goodie Mob
Arrested Development
De La Soul
Paris
All rap artists before 1988

See where I'm going?

You're criticizing an entire genre of music based on one sub-genre. That's akin to someone saying that all rock music is about politics because the sub-genre of punk rock is frequently about politics. In other words, it's fucking stupid.

Nope.. Pretty sure he's right. Like always.

Right. You're going to sit here and argue with me that you are correct in saying that ALL rap music is about drugs, sex, and money?

Okay, here are the lyrics to a rap song:

Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
I say the darker the flesh then the deeper the roots
I give a holler to my sisters on welfare
Tupac cares, if don't nobody else care
And uhh, I know they like to beat ya down a lot
When you come around the block brothas clown a lot
But please don't cry, dry your eyes, never let up
Forgive but don't forget, girl keep your head up
And when he tells you you ain't nuttin don't believe him
And if he can't learn to love you you should leave him
Cause sista you don't need him
And I ain't tryin to cash up, I just call em how I see em
You know it makes me unhappy (what's that)
When brothas make babies, and leave a young mother to be unhappy
And since we all came from a woman
Got our name from a woman and our game from a woman
I wonder why we take from our women
Why we rape our women, do we hate our women?
I think it's time to kill for our women
Time to heal our women, be real to our women
And if we don't we'll have a race of babies
That will hate the ladies, that make the babies
And since a man can't make one
He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one
So will the real men get up
I know you're fed up ladies, but keep your head up

Verse Two:

Aiyyo, I remember Marvin Gaye, used to sing ta me
He had me feelin like black was tha thing to be
And suddenly tha ghetto didn't seem so tough
And though we had it rough, we always had enough
I huffed and puffed about my curfew and broke the rules
Ran with the local crew, and had a smoke or two
And I realize momma really paid the price
She nearly gave her life, to raise me right
And all I had ta give her was my pipe dream
Of how I'd rock the mic, and make it to tha bright screen
I'm tryin to make a dollar out of fifteen cents
It's hard to be legit and still pay tha rent
And in the end it seems I'm headin for tha pen
I try and find my friends, but they're blowin in the wind
Last night my buddy lost his whole family
It's gonna take the man in me to conquer this insanity
It seems tha rain'll never let up
I try to keep my head up, and still keep from gettin wet up
You know it's funny when it rains it pours
They got money for wars, but can't feed the poor
Say there ain't no hope for the youth and the truth is
it ain't no hope for tha future
And then they wonder why we crazy
I blame my mother, for turning my brother into a crack baby
We ain't meant to survive, cause it's a setup
And even though you're fed up
Huh, ya got to keep your head up

Verse Three:

And uhh
To all the ladies havin babies on they own
I know it's kinda rough and you're feelin all alone
Daddy's long gone and he left you by ya lonesome
Thank the Lord for my kids, even if nobody else want em
Cause I think we can make it, in fact, I'm sure
And if you fall, stand tall and comeback for more
Cause ain't nuttin worse than when your son
wants to kno why his daddy don't love him no mo'
You can't complain you was dealt this
hell of a hand without a man, feelin helpless
Because there's too many things for you to deal with
Dying inside, but outside you're looking fearless
While tears, is rollin down your cheeks
Ya steady hopin things don't all down this week
Cause if it did, you couldn't take it, and don't blame me
I was given this world I didn't make it
And now my son's getten older and older and cold
From havin the world on his shoulders
While the rich kids is drivin Benz
I'm still tryin to hold on to survivin friends
And it's crazy, it seems it'll never let up, but
please... you got to keep your head up




Seeing as how that rap song was not about sex, money, and drugs, and since you said EVERY rap song is, I have just proven you wrong, 100%. Thanks for playing.
 
This is all subjective I guess. Everyone who know's Kanye West know's he has an ego bigger than Sly's and he mostly does this to get publicity and for promo for his CD's and it usually works. He has said many controversial things yet he's last album sold 900k in it's first week, and all 3 of his albums have at least went 3x Platinum. But I think it's obvious that he is just saying this since his new CD "808's & Heartbreak"(great album btw) is coming out and he wants to get some publicity. As for "voice" of this generation I think maybe he means how he is so controversial and say's what he want's instead of most people who refuse to speak out about different things. I don't think anybody can call themselves this but it's Kanye West and he does what he wants, and still is one of the most popular rappers/artists of the last 10 years.
 
Coming from you this is quite funny. You're criticizing rap for all sounding alike (music in a specific genre sounding similiar?! Insanity!) and yet you're constantly singing the praises of bands like Snow Patrol. I could go to any city in this country and find atleast 3 bands who sound exactly alike.

I'm not saying that genre doesn't have very similar styles. They do, and I like most of it. Just like many people like a lot of rap. But for me to say Snow Patrol are the voice of the generation would be stupid, just as it's stupid to say Kanye West it.

But yes, because the man's culture is different, obviously that means his artform isn't as important as our artforms. That doesn't sound like racism at all.

Hahaha did you just call me racist for not liking rap music?
 
To begin with, it is my experience that anyone that says they are the voice of a generation has far too big of an ego. Yes, he may be popular, yes he may be the best rapper around right now, but the voice of a generation? What in the hell does taht even mean? He speaks for everyone in a certain age group? I'm sorry, but no. No one can claim that they feel they speak for everyone. Let's see, 2 arrests for vandalism. Really not seeing that as someone that speaks for me and my views on life. I've never been a fan of rap, meaning that I'm not a fan of Kanye West. He can go right along being "the voice of the generation". I won't be listening.
 
well now it sounds like its time for me to adress this all rap sounds the same ignorance I will admit that but some rap is incredibly bad but saying it all sounds that way makes you just as ignorant as someone who would buy it there is alot of good rap out there if you just look heres a perfect example Lupe Fiasco one of the biggest most popular artists out there adressing the same problem you dont like about rap and also giving you lyrical bliss

[youtube]q1Et1siZhTk[/youtube]
 
Kanye West sucks ass, end of story. You want good rap? Chamillionaire, Nas and Eminem are the best around today. Kanye West is pure garbage. How so many people actually like this douche is astonishing. Not only is he terrible at his music (i.e. rap, singing, and half of the time, his beats), but he's also a cunt as a person to top it off.

If 20 years from now critics and such are calling Kayne West the voice of my generation, I'd just go ahead and kill myself then. There is no point to live when someone like Kayne West represents your generation musically. But thank God, the ********er doesn't. Miley Cyrus and the fucking Jonas Brothers are more of a voice to today's generation then he is. As far as rap... he can't top Eminem as far as being the most influential and having the largest fan base. Fuck, he can't top that idiot Lil' Wayne right now, either. Yet, he still believes this garbage?

Kayne West and Puff Daddy are the fucking most annoying people in all of music. If a sniper took them both out tomorrow, I wouldn't give the least damn sympathy towards them.
 
Kanye might want to think he is the voice of his generation, and if he is, I feel sorry for this generation. Kanye West, is perhaps, the most ignorant, talentless bastard the music industry has produced this last decade. He's not going to be rememberd for his rap, oh no, it's going to be for him being a clueless idiot and politicizing the Katrina aftermath with his wonderful "George Bush Hates black people" mindless rant.

The over generalization though that all rappers are about blounts, forties, and bitches is a stretch to. There is a healthy middle of poetic rappers. Kanye though seems to fall in the category of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson inspired black artist, and that's bitch about the white man, and hold your hand out waiting for his money. Hopefully Kanye is far from the voice of his generation, and someone like Obama is.
 
When talking about Music the last two that I would say are the voices of their Generation were Kurt Cobain and Joe Strummer. Neither of which went out and made the claim that they were the voice of a generation. The fact that they both have more talent than Kanye "Who am I ripping off this week" West should be indication that he isn't. Musically speaking noone is the voice of this generation, noone has stepped up to the plate and been that profound that it makes people stop and think. Listen to some of the stuff Joe Strummer wrote and you see it, same thing with Kurt Cobain. Kanye west can't be the voice of a generation because he has not put a thing out that could come close to having that level of depth to his "work".
 
Kanye West has some talent, but to say he's the voice of any generation is absurd. He may create great beats and decent raps, but his "voice" doesn't reach any further than that. Outside of his music, he is an idiot who never knows when to keep his mouth shut. No person like that can speak for any generation, period.

AND, anyone who says that rap/hip hop is only about materialistic things doesn't know a damn thing about the genre, end of story. There are scores of rap artists that make positive and sometimes poetic songs. So, don't diss things you don't know the full scoop about.
 
808s and heartbreaks is amazing.... see you in my nighmers is da best. kanye west is just way to cocky about every thing. my best friends has every one of his albums and i have them on my itunes but i only listen to college droupout and 808s
 
I'm not saying that genre doesn't have very similar styles. They do, and I like most of it. Just like many people like a lot of rap. But for me to say Snow Patrol are the voice of the generation would be stupid, just as it's stupid to say Kanye West it.

I'm not even talking about Kanye claiming to be voice of his generation, my posts weren't really about that to begin with.

What's hypocritical about your post is that you criticize rap for sounding similiar, yet are constantly talking about how great Snow Patrol and their genre of "indie" music is whenever music is brought up. I'm not saying that they're bad, or vice versa, simply that you cannot criticize one genre for sounding too simliar and then praise another that sounds just as similiar.

Hahaha did you just call me racist for not liking rap music?

No, I said that acting as though one culture's art is inferior to your culture's art is a racist idea. Wasn't calling you a racist.

1988 was 20 years ago. That's a long time. That's a completely different generation. Rap songs today are about women and money. There may be the occasional one that isn't, but those are few and far between.

The overwhelming majority of rap is in fact crap.

You are quickly proving yourself to be one of the least intelligent frequent posters on here. You clearly know absolutely nothing about rap music, and if you even attempt to claim to you're full of shit.

You probably don't like folk music either, so does that mean all folk music is crap and Bob Dylan is a hack artist? No. So please stop generalizing an entire genre of music into two or three subject matters, because all it does is make you look like a total fucking moron.
 
Saying rap is crap is just as bad as saying Cena is crap. Both are huge draws(Rap CD's are some of the best selling CD's in the past few years). Also everyone saying "rap is crap" should say "I think rap is crap", since music is subjective and what I find great isn't what you find great. As for rap music being all about money & women, what is the majority of country songs about(love, men, women). What are most songs about? Also don't generalize, listen to "Hey Mama" by Kanye West. Great "meaningful" song about his mother.

As I said before Kanye is just doing this to get attention for his new album, and it seems to be working since it is estimated to sell around 500-600k and beat bands like Guns & Roses, The Killers aswell as Ludicris this week on the chart. So really Kanye is a genius. While his pissing off half of the country(who probably wouldn't buy his album anyways)he is just promoting his stuff and still selling tons of CD's.
 
I'm not even talking about Kanye claiming to be voice of his generation, my posts weren't really about that to begin with.

What's hypocritical about your post is that you criticize rap for sounding similiar, yet are constantly talking about how great Snow Patrol and their genre of "indie" music is whenever music is brought up. I'm not saying that they're bad, or vice versa, simply that you cannot criticize one genre for sounding too simliar and then praise another that sounds just as similiar.

Yet the point of this thread is discussing that sole person being the voice of this generation. My point was how can he be the voice of the generation when he sounds the same as everyone else?

That genre of music is also very similar, but I don't hear anyone saying "Snow Patrol are the voice of this generation" which would be as stupid a claim as the one about Kanye West being so.


No, I said that acting as though one culture's art is inferior to your culture's art is a racist idea. Wasn't calling you a racist.

It's 'inferior' because I don't like listening to it. It has nothing to do with which culture each music type is from. I don't hate rap music because it's not sung by my 'culture'. I hate it because in my opinion it sounds rubbish. The only person bringing race and culture up is you, when really it has no place in this.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
174,826
Messages
3,300,734
Members
21,726
Latest member
chrisxenforo
Back
Top