Kanye West: World Leader
Kanye West as an American rapper became popular during the late 90s and early 2000s producing music that appealed to teens and young adults. Through his music and actions, he tells his audiences how he truly feels without caring about what people think. Kanye West reflects American cultures desire to speak up for unrepresented people trying to deliver messages through music.
Hip-Hop is the most prominent musical genre in today’s society being led by many influential leaders including Kanye West. West is an African American producer, rapper, fashion designer and influencer, born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1977. West is married to Kim Kardashian and has 3 kids with her. He is best known for his free speaking and strong, independent ego. His influence on the music industry and society has greatly increased since he started producing music in the late 90s. Some of his most popular music includes Gold Digger, Heartless. And Stronger. In Kanye’s music, he changed the rap style by creating songs that don't follow the typical “Gangster-Rap” style in the 90s. This also allows teens and adults to listen to a unique style of rap making it more popular. West is often controversial in his music, particularly in his “Famous” music video, but also in his speeches saying “George Bush doesn't care about black people,” eventually leading to more discussion about African American equality in the U. S. He has also influenced the world by founding “Kanye West Foundation” in efforts to battle dropout and illiteracy rates, and to provide unprivileged youth access to music education.
West is very popular in the music industry selling over 21 millions albums along with over 66 million digital downloads, 21 grammys, and 3 of his albums are ranked on Rolling Stone’s 500 greatest albums. Our culture today looks up to certain celebrities because of the way they act, the way they portray themselves in public and what they do on social media. Many youth in today’s society look up to Kanye West because of his free speech and his break away from the typical rap style of music. He has changed the style by going against mainstream rap and then creates music that the majority of people can conform to. West also does not care what people think about him so he says “. . . . as we abolish the 13th amendment” and “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” stirring up talk about African American rights.
On social media, Kanye West posts pictures about Donald Trump, which it is not typical for an African American to be a republican and supporting such a controversial person, which led to a lot of his supporters to no longer following and agreeing with his actions. The culture of today, is greatly influenced through social media and celebrities impact through it. In West’s tweets “Hi Grammys this is the most important living artist talking” and “You may be talented but you’re not Kanye West” makes his fans want to be more like him because he tweets and says whatever he wants not thinking of the consequences.
Many people in today’s society are scared to be themselves, but when someone like him being such a popular person saying stuff on twitter about being self confident, people want to be more like him. Also West’s posts are sometimes funny because he is so self-absorbed and people enjoy his cockiness almost making fun of it by creating memes. Also with his wife being one of the most influential social media leaders, that has made his fame rise on social media negatively and positively.
