"We got this new thing called classism. It’s racism’s cousin. This is what we do to hold people back. This is what we do. And we got this other thing that’s also been working for a long time when you don’t have to be racist anymore. It’s called self-hate. It works on itself. It’s like real estate of racism. Where just like that, when someone comes up and says something like, ‘I am a god,’ everybody says, ‘Who does he think he is?’ I just told you who I thought I was! A god! I just told you. That’s who I think I am. Would it have been better if I had a song that said, ‘I am a n***a? Or if I had a song that said, ‘I am a gangster’? Or if I had a song that said, ‘I am a pimp’? All those colors and patinas fit better on a person like me, right? But to say you are a god, especially when you got shipped over to the country that you’re in, and your last name is a slave owner’s. How could you say that? How could you have that mentality?"Kanye believes that he has hit the glass ceiling in the music and fashion industry as there are still restrictions for people of colour. He claims, "And I’ve been at it for 10 years, and I look around, and I say, wait a second, there’s no one in this space that looks like me, and if they are, they’re quiet as fuck. So that means, wait a second, now we’re seriously, like, in a civil rights movement." With comments such as these as well as his tone, many disliked Kanye and Jimmy Kimmel went ahead and spoofed the interview by making children reenact it. This set Kanye on a twitter rant against Kimmel who then invited him onto his talk show to clear up thei feud as well as explain his BBC radio interview. Unlike other celebrities, Kanye wanted to make a point that he doesn't want to fit into the mold that society has created for him and he wants to make a change in both industries to create progress. While he does come across as aggressive and ridiculous (as most journalists have written about him after both interviews) he does make some justified claims about race in the industry and the still prevalent restrictions against races.
In Pinky, she struggles with self identification and was afraid of the consequences she may face if she claimed her roots, yet finally professes her true self as a black women. She was able to not only be comfortable with herself but made an impact in her community. The final part of Pinky reminded me of Kanye's self love and strong statements and how he's trying to use this to make an impact because he is so comfortable with himself.
How do you guys feel about Kanye's interviews? Do you find it absurd like the majority of the internet does or do you think he is making justified claims?
More quotes from the BBC radio Interview: http://www.buzzfeed.com/hnigatu/22-quotes-from-kanyes-bbc-interview-to-make-you-think-about
More quotes from the BBC radio Interview: http://www.buzzfeed.com/hnigatu/22-quotes-from-kanyes-bbc-interview-to-make-you-think-about
More quotes from the BBC radio Interview: http://www.buzzfeed.com/hnigatu/22-quotes-from-kanyes-bbc-interview-to-make-you-think-about
Twitter rant against Jimmy Kimmel: http://www.buzzfeed.com/hunterschwarz/kanye-west-went-on-an-all-caps-twitter-rampage-against-jimmy
Jimmy Kimmel interview and quotes: http://www.buzzfeed.com/jordanzakarin/kanye-west-visits-jimmy-kimmel-love-and-awkwardness-ensue
2 comments:
I definitely think that Kanye has a point, although it can be quite misguided sometimes given his ego. From this interview I got that he was trying to say that racism is no longer something that is done to us but it is now something that we internalize and put on ourselves and the people within our race. But I think where is argument is flawed is in the fact that he 1. believes that classism is this brand new form of oppression and 2. believes that classism now triumphs over racism as the dominant form of oppression. They are both inextricably linked from one another and very often one is influenced, controlled, or triggered by the other.
In fact a lot of Kanye's argument is more race related than it is class related. For example, he states that people are often put off by his ability to call himself a God and expect of him to call himself a gangster or a pimp. What this point lacks, however, is that people expect him to call himself a gangster or a pimp because he is black. He glosses over it by saying " All those colors and patinas fit better on a person like me, right?" but he then refuses to further articulate as to what "a person like me" means, leaving it up to interpretation that he is more or less referring to his blackness. While somewhat muddled, I think that Kanye's point is very valid that no matter how much money African Americans or any minority group member is able to obtain, it is not your money that will make you rich but your whiteness. And I think that same point resonates in parts of Pinky. It actually really reminds me of this bit from a stand up show that Chris Rock did on his next door neighbors (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kxp9CEJeAg).
I saw bits and pieces of this interview and from what I saw it first seems like Kanye is full of himself. However I find the chosen quote to be interesting. Kanye is proclaiming himself to be something that people do not perceive him to be; but does that truly make him any less of what he thinks he is, simply because he does not look the part?
I think this interview is a stroke of geniis because kanye is, through a different medium, telling the interviewer and the audience who he is. This also manifests itself in the way that Kanye speaks. If you listen to his voice, he sounds nothing like his performing voice. Many people believe that he is putting on a front but who are we to say that because he is presented in a certain way or looks a certain way, that he does not truly speak in that manner.
In comparison to Pinky I see it in a slightly different way. I feel like Pinky was heavily being pressured to come into her true Black self. Kanye West, on the other hand, is trying to find new ways to define himself that may not seem to match up with what he looks like. I don't think Kanye is trying to get back to his roots. I think he is trying open the door for himself and others to show that yes he is a Black man but he can also be a "god", a fashion designer, a philanthropist. All of the things that you wouldn't think of when you see a Black man.
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