I’m gonna let the video finish, but Kanye was like the average black person, at least for me, the real black middle class… not the Huxtables. The type who’s momma dragged him to church and worked and maybe had a little college or a degree or some trade. He felt like us, and it’s sad cause now he feels loss.
@@dnikkithatsame5990 True. Maybe he was too close to his momma. Maybe he always had mental health issues. And losing his momma probably pushed him over the edge.
Frfr Crack Music was one of the first songs as a good that really got me listening to music the way I do today. Especially with the concept of Kayfabe. The idea of comparing the industry's marketing of young black men the way they do in hip-hop to the point of others trying to emulate that image to gain their own success while being sold to white America. The same way crack was introduced to black neighborhoods to paint a picture of black Americans in a negative light while generating profit
Hi, mental health professional here. I remember around the last election when Kanye was behaving very erratically (I think it was Nylah Burton?) mentioning that we culturally only make room for mental illness that expresses itself as mild anxiety and depression. We only wish to destigmatize mental health issues whose expression is understandable/relatable or makes someone into an unquestionable victim worthy of our sympathy. There is neither room nor sympathy for bipolar disorder, delusions, psychosis, narcissism, etc. I think this plays a large role in how many people treat and talk about Kanye. People have a hard time accepting this and it is confounded by race and gender in Kanye’s case. I really appreciate the deep dive into this topic and value your insight as always. Thank you!
@DribsOscar lol, what a great impression of them. Spewing random numbers to rep their idol, bringing up other artists fanbases, trying to puff up your own fan credentials and "no true scottsmanning" anyone whose opinion you disagree with. The seething rage at even the slightest perceived threat to your hero. You hit all the major notes. Great work!
On god, even as a kid, when Kanye said “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” I was ecstatic to know that someone said it out LOUD, especially someone like Kanye
And now he backs trump and the republicans lol. Its like he has to think he's the under dog or the genius. Every time. South park called him out Years ago before any of this. The guy is a nightmare.
I mean even his Taylor's speech interruption, that was rude and kinda asshole atitude, but he was trying to show how of a injustice were Taylor winning on Beyoncé, black empower, and cmon he was right, Taylor won cuz she was 18 and a white blond girl, the industry wasnt ready for putting Beyoncé where she should have been.
I was born in 2002, so it is really strange to see how different he was. When I think of Kanye, I think of him as he is now. I never really understood the appeal of him, but looking back on his starting career and the context, I can defiantly see it now. It’s kind of sad to see where he is now.
Same I was born 2002 but I think he started acting that way when he got married to Kim which we all know once a black guy deal with that family they never the same
@@That_girl-l6w He started acting out when his mom passed. She was one of the biggest forces keeping him grounded to both humbleness and reality, if not the biggest force
me toooo! the timing of this is perfect ! i saw a quote recently that had me think twice about my hateful attitude toward kanye: " i only love god as much as the person i love the least". i'm hoping this video will help me hold more compassion.
OMG KHADIJA 😭 SEEING U HERE MAKES ME EVEN HAPPIER THAT I JUST SUBSCRIBED!!! cuz now i KNOW i’m in for some quality content😌 i love ur videos btw 😍 i literally always learn something new from each 1 & i genuinely appreciate u for that so yeah, thx🤗
@@christinathein951 kanye was funny as FUCK a lot of the time and i feel like it went unnoticed because he had really dry humor. not to say that excuses everything he’s done obviously but he had so many peak moments.
As a person with severe bipolar disorder Kanye is frustrating for me. I want to support him getting well. I know I've said and done shit in episodes, had black outs, delusions, and craziness. I'm fortunate not to do it on a world stage with everyone watching documenting everything I say. But I also know that if you're going to have this problem you have to take your meds, see your shrink, do the work. Learn your triggers or how to spot when you're going off the rails. I don't want him to be perfect but I want him to make an effort. Honestly maybe obscurity will be best for him. He can leave the public eye and get help and be healthier. Continuing to feed his ego and narcissism and propping him up just maintains his illusion/delusion.
Dude won't get well, he's a narcissist too on top of being bipolar. Can't tell narcissists anything....we can just focus on our own treatments to make our mental disorder less of a hassle. To put it lightly.
Kanye West is patient zero of the 21st Century. There have been hyper-celebrities struggling with mental health for a long time, but very few who have been as big as him, and lived under the level of scrutiny in our always-online media landscape. People are going to write books on what Kanye is going through.
As a young gay black man hearing someone like Kanye stick up for people like me in the mid-2000s hit different it really felt like there was hope that people like me could make it not just in a music industry, but the black community, that we could make it without having to be the punchline or a joke, that you could be taken seriously. I still appreciate that acknowledgement even with all the stuff Kanye is done the last few years,.
@@northleedspoppa Yeah I know it's a weird kind of duality to deal with, I don't at all support him or his shit views now but I still respect his standing up for people like me at a time when doing so was a major risk especially in the hip hop world.
I think that the ultimate reason we haven't given up on him is that we had this introspective, sensitive, break out of box yet masculine rapper who became successful and we want to see that black success mixed with kindness has a happy ending and doesn't become a Greek tragedy.
I dont buy that, tbh. But that's fine and i can accept it bcoz that's your guys' take. I just wish the Blk community (and the world) was as sensitive with and to bw who start out as faves then make mistakes. Like chrisette michel
I love the Kayfabe analogy. The smokescreen of defending violent music as street reporting always created cognitive dissonance, since descriptions of crimes were recognized to be literary flourishes. But if, like you’ve said, rappers were obligated to defend their persona’s lore, or amplify their personality like a wrestler staying in character, that just rings true. Great insight
Kayfabe is such a great word, too, and it describes a concept that doesn't really have a definition. When we don't have a definition for something, then how can we collectively notice it and what it does?
I don’t know why exactly, but I absolutely love your use of the English language in this comment, I’m gonna subscribe to you now so I can use your videos as background noise 😂 if you ever decide to write a book or something please inform me if you have the time, I’d love the read an entire book filled with English usage like this.
Its a shame Andre 3000 was not given his due credit here. Way too often Outkast is overlooked. It was Andre 3000 on Aquemini, Stankonia, and The Love Below that paved the way and inspired a new generation of rappers to be vulnerable, introspective, and to openly defy black male stereotypes. Andre 3000 is the rapper that made space for Kanye, Drake, Kid Cudi, Childish Gambino, and Kendrick to dominate the mainstream in the 2000s and beyond. Other rappers had sung, had vulnerable/introspective/conscious lyrics, had experimented with other genres, had defied black male stereotypes, but Andre 3000 was the first rapper to do all of those things at once, while also succeeding at a mainstream level. More importantly than reaching a mass audience, he managed to be cool and widely accepted both in hip hop and broader society for who he was despite being so different and eclectic. Don't get me wrong, Kanye was a huge part of making the blueprint for that entire lane but he didn't start that wave. Andre3k did that. Even musically it can be argued Outkast is Kanye's greatest influence, where do you think he got the inspiration to switch up his sound album to album from? Through The Wire uses Outkast drums for gods sake! Its a perfect metaphor for how essential OutKast was to what Kanye became. Kanye is one of my favorite artists (I grew up on him) and he deserves his credit for being the first major solo act to build a successful career on that approach and then heavily influencing most of the newer generations greatest rappers/producers. Its just wrong to not mention Outkast or Andre 3000 at all in his story, feels bad man.
They didn't create that, though. Plenty of rappers were doing that before Outkast. Scarface, LL, Mos Def, Common, Talib, Tribe and De La all paved the way for the Outkast's, and those who follow that mold.
@@IkePhillipRuffin Other than Tribe and LL Cool J, the other artists you mentioned were contemporaries of Outkast. I think East Coast “conscious” rap had this sort of self awareness and vulnerability well before Southern Rap. Outkast was definitely trailblazing those topics and themes as far as the South was concerned
FD, I’m 15 minutes in and already feeling so emotional. I’m Black woman, was in middle school when Dropout dropped and I’ll never forget how I felt the first time I heard Thru the Wire. Kanye’s music saved my life later on in college, hell 2 if my tattoos are bars of his. But damn if he hasn’t been making me sick these last few years. Thank you for taking the time to make this with respect and heart. Sometimes it feels like no one gets why I ever was a fan to begin with let alone now… it’s so so comforting to hear this from a Black man’s perspective. Already shared this with friends 🙌🏽
This video is incredible. Kanye was a big hero to me and my brother growing up, as a black creative and reshaping the way I viewed Hip-Hop and my own self. Seeing a strong video on this platform addressing this complicated relationship a lot of us have with him is refreshing. Amazing work as always.
I have always known Kanye was bipolar, being bipolar myself I could see him struggling with the same struggles I do. It saddens me that instead of learning to cope healthily with his issues, he instead dived head first into the mania and depression and found solace in ego. Bipolar is a disease that requires constant self awareness to keep in check and instead of developing those skills to stay level, he embraced the grandiose delusions that come with bipolar and completely lost his true sense of self. I hate that the people who have provided him the validation and comfort he craves are manipulative far right personalities and so he has thrown his lot in with them.
40:38 okay as a queer person I had no idea that this had happened. I'm highly critical of modern Kanye for obvious reasons, but I've always respected him immensely as an artist and as a public figure. I actually met him once and he was nothing but kind to me. I had no idea he went to bat for gay people back then. I remember how homophobic that time period was and it's incredible that he spoke up. I often talk about the difference between goodness and greatness. Kanye flirts with both, he's a complicated person. He has both my respect and my condemnation. I think the world is inarguably better for him being in it.
I was thinking the EXACT same thing. It really didn't surprise me, but it made me happy to see. I've always loved older Kanye, but that made me respect him even more. As a gay man, I've always loved hip hop, but felt odd about it's relationship with who I am. To see a rapper of his caliber, at that time, say something like that just kind of blows my mind.
Kanye is the true definition of someone who needed help, but was ignored for profit. Also I think blackness and our culture's relationship with mental health forever play a role in this predicament. Will never doubt Kanye's abilities to create powerful and influential music. He also (from an outside looking in perspective) seems very lost and troubled and lately I believe it has had an affect on his music, the industry, and the culture for better or worse. Interested to see this video later today and see the future of Kanye.
It's so sad to see how as he lost people that actually knew him, his mom, older friends, his first fiance, and started being surrounded by yes men, clowns and people who want to exploit his talent, he has become unhinged and probably untethered to reality, and when you don't have people who challenge you, call you out on your bs and hear them because you love them and they love you back, and we add the factor of mental health, we get this picture of a very troubled and I still believe the very talented man. We're as good as our closest friends, mentors and pillars can help us become.
Genuinely it feels one of the reasons people still stick by is because recent Kanye...I mean, to me, feels like something is just wrong. Rather than someone who just genuinely has bad views, opinions, etc... I'm not going to try and diagnose him of course. And mental health, among other things, is not excuse to get away from anything. But as you point out, the seemingly failure of those around him to support him in the right ways and the predatory environment of the entertainment industry, I can undersrand why its hard to just write him off (especially given all the context to his history given in this video) I don't know. It's hard. I get people walking away. But it's clearly not a simple issue.
did you help your self today before talking about helping a made man, an adult that does what he wants 🤣🤣🤣 y’all are sad thinking people are lost because they didn’t stick to the idea you have of them.
Not only ignored, the issues he needed help with were exploited FOR profit and our entertainment. It's sickening. Kanye is aware of this, I'm sure. I feel like he's addressed it but he gets gaslit as crazy cuz yea, he is "crazy" in a lot of ways because of trauma and mental illness, but he also gets called crazy when he highlights how manipulative the industry is about it.
I'll be honest, I'm a white dude who has always been perplexed by the love of Kanye and when I wonder why people still gave a shit about him, I definitely wasn't asking in bad faith, I just straight up didn't understand it. He always seemed like an egomaniac shit hustler to me. This was an enlightening video on why there was such a love for him, and I really appreciate your channel and how it helps me evolve my perspective by better being able to understand yours.
It's kinda like the downfall of MJ the sad part is Kanye brought it on himself whereas Michael.. Oh wait.. no he brang it in himself also No its more like O.J No wait
Man...the psychological toll of kayfabe is real! As a lifelong black nerd, I still remember black AND white kids saying that Paul Wall was "blacker" than me because I didn't portray a 'hood' persona...that shit was infuriating and hurtful.
I think you're right. I'm a white dude and I'm seeing Kanye wearing polo shirts and sweaters and I'm like, wait this is approachable. We have shit in common. The themes of his music were rad. And made for great basement party tracks.
Hey, we out here. Deep breaths man. You ARE alright just the way you are. That insecurity that people use against you is their own insecurity of not being able to put things in categories.
we are all survivors and are so used to going it alone. we need a support group, lol. i love who i am and i had to fight out of the trenches during my developmental years.
Man those type of comments used to kill me too. You just feel alienated because the one people you think would have your back, turn their backs on you just because you're not a "specific type of black". That shit cuts deep man
I miss the old Kanye, straight from the 'Go Kanye Chop up the soul Kanye, set on his goals Kanye I hate the new Kanye, the bad mood Kanye The always rude Kanye, spaz in the news Kanye I miss the sweet Kanye, chop up the beats Kanye I gotta to say at that time I'd like to meet Kanye See I invented Kanye, it wasn't any Kanyes And now I look and look around and there's so many Kanyes I used to love Kanye, I used to love Kanye I even had the pink polo, I thought I was Kanye What if Kanye made a song about Kanye Called "I Miss The Old Kanye, " man that would be so Kanye That's all it was Kanye, we still love Kanye And I love you like Kanye loves Kanye
I love this because it shows that Kanye is aware of the issues and he has the desire in him to reconnect with what has been lost to the circus of fame. It's bittersweet but I think a lot of us relate to him, we miss our old selves before the world broke us.
Watching this during his whole “white lives matter” debacle and it hurts. Everyday I wear either the graduation bear or the 808s heart on the steel chain on my neck because that’s how much Kanye’s music and persona until about 2013 mean to me. But I’m strongly considering just putting those pieces away because the man who’s art and whole persona touched me to my core is now everything that he once stood against. Ever since the trump situation it’s been so hard to defend him, as someone who has my own mental health issues I could sympathize with what he’s going through, but at this point it’s beyond just mental health. Yes it’s much of what got him to this point stems from these issues, but he has changed so much and it truly is a toxic relationship I have with this man as a figure in my life
(oh my goodness, this is a paragraph i am….so. sorry.) my dad had kanye playing a lot when we were in the car together. so when i was in high school and up until last year, i wanted to delve deeper into his sound and get a real feel for the music now that i’m older. i really enjoyed learning about his creative process and watching video essays about his work. i started to build some respect for him because i’m a creative person too, but don’t have a huge amount of drive like kanye did. he was inspiring to me and i was hoping his “outbursts” and…”dramatic moments” were behind him and he was gonna be just fine. or at least the best he could. but it’s gotten so conflicting and upsetting to watch him go back to making negative statements and doing huge “stunts.” especially after learning about some of his past and finding out that his mom passed, i started to relate to him more than i thought i would. my dad passed when i was young and it was the lowest few years of my life. much like kanye’s mom, we were attached at the hip and he let me be my truest self around him. i’m still trying to keep it moving after struggles with my own mental health. so learning about my own grief and mental health really made me realize that kanye must’ve really been struggling, but change with his mental health needs to happen for the better. not all treatment works the same for everyone, but he should at least be exploring his options for treatment. wether it’s medication that works for his brain chemistry or talking to a therapist. at this point anything would be a step in the right direction for him and it could turn into something even more beneficial. he could focus his energy and attitude on music and other projects rather than spewing negativity like he is right now. if kanye can keep that positive change in his life, it would be amazing. because let’s face it. no one who appreciates him wants to see him like this. :(
Why are y’all so fixated on having some kind of figure to idolize? Stop being sheep and live your life the way you wanna live it stop letting celebrity figures change your perspective just because they are growing and you aren’t 💀 Kanye is ahead of his time always someday y’all will come around and actually listen to what he’s tryin to say
man i never was really invested in kanye, never listened to any of his albums entirely, and this was just packed full of relevations. that ending, him losing two important black women, made me tear up a bit because as a gen z black kid, i only know the part 2 kanye. the foreshadowing of what's to come is so much more tragic with this new perspective of what he was. I totally feel represented by this part 1 kanye, as just a middle class black kid who doesn't live up to the kayfabe of rappers, and completly understand that respect & admiration you have for him. gonna go listen to his first 3 albums now
I grew up in the same era as Fiq. I was a sophmore in High school rather than college. Fiq does a brilliant job laying out how much of an underdog he was. We were all hoping he would get the attention he deserved because rappers were promoted so cliche at the time. Part of Kanye's downfall is the fact he was doubted and overlooked for such a long time. So when he went off the deep end it seemed hard to stop because he looked at as the same doubt. I've been off the Kanye train since St. Pablo but Fiq did a great job explaining why our generation elevated him for so long. When we heard his mom died, we all felt a way.
im a old zoomer and witnessed the face to heel transition. I became a big Kanye fan a little before graduation and witnessed all of the heel moments live like the Katrina and Taylor incident live on tv, shit even obama called him a jackass. Like kanye was public enemy number 1 & almost killed himself due to the hate. I still fw him despite all of the crap because i believe he is redeemable.
I’m curious how you feel about OutKast, especially Andre. He definitely broke the mole on the typical hyper masculine rapper. The more they stepped away from the stereotype the more successful they became. They were the precursor to Kanye.
Andre was definitely the prototype (lmao) for the non-hyper-masculine rapper but Kanye took that image and sorta made it more accessible/desirable. Like, there weren't any kids my age that were trying to wear green jockey outfits but everyone had a pink polo.
@@mowkikowski I agree with you but keep in mind Andre didn't start that way he evolved into the more eccentric outfits after dating Erykah Badu. But your point so remains valid
"Even if you looks like Steve Urkel and talked like Calton Banks, they expect that deep down you're 50 Cent" I felt that and I was a black metal/goth kid back in the late 90s/early 00s
@@EpicWin1337 oh for sure. I havent been to a metal show in a few years but my favorite thing back then was getting tickets to a death metal show, putting on my favorite Death or Atheist sleeveless shirt, cut-off black jeans, tying a bandana around my long ass hair, and moshing with a bunch of other dudes dressed the same exact way. I'm like the least violent person ever, I get mad if I accidently step on a bug and never been in a fight. But I love music about death, terror, and destruction... and moshing is a blast. It's all a performance
This seems tough. On one hand you keep rooting for this person because of how they shaped you and what their art means to you and the culture, but on the other hand they are advocating for hurtful policies that affect your community. This seems similar to what has been going on with J. K. Rowling. It's not something easy to address and I really appreciate all the nuance and thought that you put in your analysis. As someone who isn't black nor american I learn a lot from your videos and I enjoy your perspective very much. I'll be waiting for part two!
@@geocyo8835 if you haven't you should check Trans youtuber Natalie Wynn's (Contrapoints) video on JK Rowling. Since JK goes after trans people mostly. Any F.D. video on this subject would be pretty great though.
47:50 Even in Shakespeare, it's a Black character making the Yo Mama joke: In the play Titus Andronicus, the white Empress of Rome, married to the white Emperor, has just given birth to a child fathered by her Black secret lover, Aaron. One of her sons angrily calls out Aaron: "Villain, thou hast undone our mother!", to which Aaron replies: "Villain, I have done thy mother!"
Wanted to say I really appreciate this insight into somebody I've only ever known for his weird public persona. I'm a 43 y/o white guy who's deeply into rock and metal, so for me he's Kim's Kardashian's crazy (ex)husband and only heard his music through Goldigger at a party or something. It's always revealing to see how completely insulated you can be from movements in society that are hugely influential to others. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for viewing it that way. I’m deep into classic 60s/70s rock but love Kanye and it has me fuming sometimes when people who generally have good taste in music start shitting on Kanye without knowing anything about him when he’s the closest thing to the David Bowie of rap
Such an interesting perspective to not have been impacted by his first two albums, being 43 (around my age), but I also can think of many examples where I've been insulated af. (After getting my post-graduate degree, it literally felt like I was coming out from under a rock, like "What's everybody been up to?"😅)
I'm similar as a late-30s mainly rock and metal fan with not much hip-hop knowledge. The thing about Kanye was, the way that people would talk about him (mainly I'm talking about other people like me who aren't hip hop fans and only knew him through his crazy behaviour), I could tell there was just something not quite right about it. The level of vitriol directed towards him when (and I'm not defending him) there are surely other people in a similar position who've behaved much worse, it just seemed disproportionate to me. I could quite put my finger on it and it seemed too simplistic to say 'it must be because he's black', so I've always just kept quiet about it. I'm interested in seeing a take on it from someone who actually knows about the context and can give a bit more insight.
@@aliquidcow I think it had a lot to do with people who straight up don't respect Hip Hop hearing Kanye say he's the biggest musical genius of all time. IE, 'I don't even think you're very talented, but you're making millions of dollars and getting adoration from millions of people and you think you're such hot shit.' Like if you were passionate about, say, movie making and M. Night Shyamalan kept getting huge Appearances and truckloads of cash saying he's the best director who ever lived.
thank you so much for this video and all of your work. I'm black + nigerian and have a brother who fell down the conservative pipeline and has mental health issues (our whole family has mental health issues) that he is not getting help with. it hurts me because we used to be so, so close, and he was such a funny, emotional, and understanding person. but his illness and conservatism has driven us apart, especially with me being nonbinary trans man. he has always been a big kanye fan and reminds me of kanye a lot. the trajectory of his life has a lot of parallels with kanye so this was a very emotional watch. i feel like I've left this comment before so sorry if this is redundant! but your videos are so important on this youtube space because I feel like a lot of black (cis/het) men are struggling to find an outlet for their emotions about racism and masculinity, and are often not comfortable discussing that with black people of marginalized genders. this can push them further into toxic behavior or even into the arms of white conservatism. so your work, speaking to them from a black cishet perspective, is so valuable in reaching them and I'm so glad you make videos. i hope other progressive black men also gain platforms on youtube and join you in this! if you have any recommendations please lmk 💜
You are so knowledgeable, articulate, and real. I stumbled upon your channel by chance as a random white woman and I just want to thank you for all of the profound insights you share. Insights that I’m not personally aware of because of the differences in our life experiences. I’m always here to learn and grow and now I’m about to subscribe to your channel because listening to you has made me think in ways that I haven’t before, but definitely should. I just really appreciate you and want you to know that you’re really great at what you do! Thank you for being you, Sir.
I've only heard the hits, but my favorite line of his was from testify, "back when they thought pink polos would hurt the roc" he's straight up saying your masculinity is so fragile that it gets obliterated if you wear the wrong color
I had to stop watching halfway to pull my husband over, restart the video and watch it together. I really think this is one of your best essays. The parallels between wrestling and the performance of Black masculinity is so fcking MASTERFUL, I cannot find any other word to describe it. Bravo. Bravo. Please consider writing this as well because it should absolutely be something people can read. It is so brilliant.
I've never been into hip hop or wrestling at all, but you're such a passionate and thoughtful speaker it's easy to enjoy 55 minutes hearing you talk about it, and I can't wait to watch Part 2!
The use of wrestling terminology as the framework was so helpful to understanding the arc Kanye has evolved through. This was really illuminating as a younger person that didn’t see much of his early years in real time. Thank you for sharing and doing what you do!
I'm a hard of hearing person, and just wanted to thank you for your skills in diction, and the pace at which you speak. It's truly enjoyable. Thank you 💜
"Streetlights" is my favorite Kanye song. I was actually having a conversation with my husband and roommate the other day about Kanye and I couldn't get them to understand why I care about him so much. My life has only ever been knowing others with, and having myself, neurodivergence and mental illness. I don't need to know him personally to know he's struggling. I don't need to know how deep his problems go to hope there is help for him somewhere. And I don't need to like who he's being to want to see him get and be better. It's like reading the origin story of a super villain; what brought them to this point doesn't excuse their actions, but pretending that morality is a switch that, once turned to "evil", can never be turned back to "good", is not only dooming others to same fate, it's cursing them to it. It's not a spectacle, it's not funny or pathetic, it's Kanye West, a real person whose life matters.
His music made and still makes me feel like I belong and I’m not alone. Even with all of the stuff that’s come since, nothing will change the influence his stuff had on me
As someone with a father with schizoaffective disorder (basically schizophrenia + bipolar disorder to put simply), I see a ton of my dad in Kanye West behavior. It’s heart breaking seeing someone so grounded turn into someone so disconnected from reality.
I just hope someday, Kanye will realize that he can be genius without being manic, and that getting help is not weakness. EDIT: Kanye indeed evolve the taste of Hip-hop fans, I was a teenager when his 4 first album came out, graduation was very formative, it gave confidence that I be a black man and like "white" music, I could be a black man and not look gangsta, I could be black man and deviate from fitting into my stereotype. Nowadays, I just want Kanye to be well.
I remember when I worked at Foot Locker back in the day (pre-Graduation to Yeezus era), me and my friend would often spend our entire shifts talking about Kanye and what his art meant to us. Like straight up 6 hours of philosophizing and debating about his music catalogue, fashion, interviews, everything. As artsy, backpack-wearing black kids, we felt like he really repped for us. I haven't listened to anything he's put out in the last 4 or 5 years because it's honestly hard to witness the transformation he's gone thru. The switch from old Kanye to new Kanye also coincided with my own transition into real-deal adulthood and leaving my hometown, so it really feels like what his new vibe represents is a point-of-no-return type situation. For me personally his transformation carries with it the baggage of losing my own youthful innocence, so it's extra painful to witness.
Same here! From meant so much to cringey and suss. I haven't even pressed play on this video bc I don't wanna cry over my brother. P.S.: I've tried to go back and play the old shit many times (cuz they were bangers, with soul) but, like you said, it hit a little different now.
@@pysq8 I get emotional listening to the graduation… at first I’m happy like “I remember this feeling” then it’s sadness that this person no longer exists. 😔
@@labelsandlife yeah man, it's that "you had to be there" type feeling... When it came out, he reminded of MJ as a young adult, just happy to do his thang... Never conceived how much like older MJ he'd be (seen as). The music industry is so tough on creative humans.
I initially peeped your vids due to a recommendation from Adam Millard - this video in particular - and as a black dude myself, I am so glad I checked you out. Looking forward to binging your older content for a bit.
I hope this isn't weird but I wish I had a male figure like you in my life. You are doing the work and as a fellow black male you inspire me. 😭 youre a touchstone in this youtube game.
As a black man that grew up in a predominantly white community, this channel has been helping me understand my blackness more. I wished I had someone like this man in my life as a kid, but also just grateful these videos exist.
There is a program called Big Brothers in a lot of cities that has good mentors. Also it's ok if u find a wht male mentor. My dad is wht tbh (I'm mixed) & he was a male figure to my brothers friends & a lot of kids on our block who did not have dads at the house
Your videos are so eye- opening to the black male perspective and I can't thank you enough. I feel like I really don't know black men like I thought I did.
As someone who only really met the 2016 on Kanye as a young teen it is an absolutely surreal experience watching this. I feel....I don't even know what. This is just an experience.
This is really fascinating and helpful. I'm a white woman born in 1997, had no idea who Kanye was until 2009ish with "Stronger." This really helps me understand how damn revolutionary he was and why people still check for him and hope to see him return to his former self.
Hello, white woman born in 1997. I am a Mexican man born in 1997, and I also first heard of Kanye when "Stronger" came out and I heard it in a movie somewhere. It was just refreshing and cool to see someone write that they had the same experience as me. I wish you well
I was in 3rd grade when "Through the Wire" came out and it really made me feel something that I hadn't gotten from music before. It made me cry! My family was usually poor so we often didn't have cable, but we did have it around 2003. What a great time to have experienced MTV before they stopped playing videos. Songs I remember from this time were Freek-A-Leek - Petey Pablo, Yeah! - Usher, Right Thurr - Chingy, Tipsy - J-Kwon. Kanye was just very different than everyone but super talented and I resonated with that. Young men started wearing pastel/neon colors and polos. Also the shutter shades were BIG later on. I hit puberty around this time too, so it was good to have a counter to the common portrayal of black men in media at the time. My parents just never gave me any advice on dating or relationships, so in a way I did start to think that the black male dating pool would consist of people like the ones I saw in the rap videos. (Also have to shoutout Outkast's Stankonia and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below for being positive influences) Kayfabe is a great way to explain a rapper's persona, but it wasn't something I completely understood as a child and I was very into wrestling lol. Just didn't know how to apply it to other media because the rappers I saw didn't represent any black men I knew until I connected them to people like Kanye or Lupe Fiasco. When I saw the video for "All Falls Down", it was notable to me how Kanye was following the woman, showed affection (lacking in my home) and was making the decision to let her go even though it was hard. He was supporting her and not controlling her. At least that was my kid interpretation. This is when I started getting sent to church, and it was a different message about relationship roles than from what I got from evangelicalism. I even nicknamed my tiny hatchback Alexis when I came up. Also what happen to Stacey Dash? A crying shame. I can't explain how painful it is to see him spiral like this after his mother died. My mom died tragically a few years ago and my brother hasn't handled it well at all. When talking to my dad about Kanye's behavior, he said something like "Everybody's mother dies, when is he going to get over it?" Note my father's mother died when he was a baby. Our black men are hurting and I'm not completely sure if they always know why. I love all your videos! I really want to understand black men's perspectives as a black woman, but black men are not the easiest people to get to be vulnerable or open to talking. These help me understand the men in my life a lot.
One caveat that people don’t mention often is that his conversion to Christianity is probably an attempt to reconnect with his mother(she was religious). As far as Kanye’s mental health issues, we can attribute that to the death of his mother as well as the nature of his profession. As far as his character, he has not changed, he always played the contrarian. In the past, he was loved for openly stating “Bush doesn’t like black people” and interrupting Taylor Swift to say Beyoncé had a better song. Now that popular culture has tilted a little left, to remain a contrarian he must shift right. By wearing a maga hat he isn’t betraying the old Kanye, he is protecting his sense of identity.
@Mark Matsiko I have often wondered: What if Beyoncé had publicly agreed? Was Beyoncé protecting her sense of identity or Kayfabe within the music industry at that time (let Swift have her moment)? If some blk people especially in the US admired Kanye for saying that Bush didn’t like blk people, wasn’t Kanye just saying what many regardless of race felt at that time re. album of the year going to Taylor Swift? Later, even when Adele won album of the year over Beyoncé’s Lemonade album, Adele had to concede herself at the 59th Grammy’s that she couldn’t possibly accept the award - Beyoncé looking on sitting front row and centre…I guess it’s not what Kanye says but the way he says things
@@jeancrown5524 It's really of no consequence whether the wider community agreed with Kanye or not, it wasn't going to change the fact that Taylor won the award. Ppl often gloss over Beyoncé's actual embarrassment regarding that moment which is why her actions were perfect. No one who is truly content wants to be uplifted at the expense of another person and those kinds of antics often bring extra unwarranted and negative backlash to the one uplifted.
I used to bash my brother about still watching wrestling until he told me wrestling to him is like soap operas to me. It’s a story line with characters that comes on consistently & while watching there are characters you love and ones you hate. After this explanation I never gave him crap about watching wrestling again.
Your intro, stellar. But imagine being a young black woman who connected to Kanye and how we feel with the switch. He left us a long time ago. My ex bf told me that my disappointment in Kanye felt personal and it very much was. Not much hip hop is a safe harbor for women thus Kanye was so refreshing
Okay I finally got to finish this and Imma let you finish...but....what about Andre 3000??? He was definitely not in the gangsta rap category and was pretty flamboyant, but maybe he was TOO different to Kanye... Nvm I just answered my own question.
Andre had far less of a broad impact. He had been out since the mid 90s and the culture still looked like what it did by the time Kanye came. After kanye you see a complete paradigm shift throughout hip hop.
And I would agree that Andre was a bit too much in his expression, but the irony is Andre's masculinity was never jn question while Kanye's was... there's something there. Another video for another time.
@@FDSignifire Pleeeaaaaasssee but I also recall 3000 rapping about how people were asking him if the was gay. I can't remember the song but it's maybe on ATLiens
That happened but that was pretty light. 3 stacks got the same pass prince got. There's some black men who's sex appeal is so heavy that no level of toxic masculinity is gonna affect them lol. There's also an element to Kanye like forcing himself into a group that didn't really want him vs Kast always being in their own space.
Man I mad that I ain't see a preview yet but I really can't wait fi dis 😭😩 as a music producer myself, Ye has had an indelible impact on me (yes even his post-Kardash era) but lawd how the mighty have fallen.
Update: Only Fiq could create a glowing laudation of someone who's villified in pop culture at the moment - all to tear him apart in the second part 🥴 eagerly awaiting the follow-up. Amazing show
I thought my mom would enjoy this video because she likes pop culture analysis and such, also I thought that the wrestling analogy was very cool and accessible. Anyway I was watching this with my mom on the TV and then my little brother starts watching with us and now they're both super into your stuff, we ended up watching at least 3 hours of your videos. The two of them are still watching but I'm going to bed since its almost midnight, anyway thanks so much for your perspective on so many things I anticipate great success for you and your channel.
I love how you explained Kanye’s public history here AND included your own experience to enhance your points about the culture. Very engaging and im excited for part 2!
Kanye always struck me as being himself, especially when I was younger. Late Registration was the first thing I bought with my first paycheck. His music and persona gave me extra fuel (not the only thing) for feeling comfortable in my own skin and liking what I like. That may or may not have been the message of Kanye but it had an impact on my life that still has me buying his albums and checking his socials from time to time.
Im a black woman and thank you for explaining to me why I can’t let go of Old Kanye, It’s kinda sick,I literally damn near ignore most of the dumb stuff he does because “Old Kanye” is in there somewhere and I love him😭😭😭 Come back Kanye!!!! I literally have a religious experience when “Two words “ , “ Crack Music” “Bring Me Down” and “Diamonds from Sierra Leon” 🤦🏾♀️ Intense pain can and will change you sometimes, not always for the better. I didn’t understand until I lost my Mom 2 years ago.
It's a bit like Ashoka and to a lesser degree, Obi-Wan(prior to the final episode of Kenobi season 1) with Darth Vader - they knew who Anakin Skywalker is/was and find it hard to give up.
Sometimes at work I just scream "may all your pain be champagne...yayaaaaaa" and people look at me like a crazy person. I always try to have a balanced approach to things. It's okay to say "damn Kanye is an anti-semite" while also understanding what he did for music and his fans, and I always try to remember he most likely has pretty severe bipolar with possible psychosis as well. If I met Kanye today I would still treat him like any other person and try to ask him about music and himself. But I'm a strange person and have the ability to talk to people calmly even if they've done horrible things. I still want to try to understand who they are and why they do what they do.
the thing that's so great about Late Registration is that it's such a singular album regardless of the historical context. as someone who grew up in the mid-2010s and was constantly hearing artists like Drake, Travis Scott, Migos, and Big Sean (no hate to any of those guys btw), Late Registration absolutely blew my mind because its sound is still so unique and fundamentally different from any hip-hop or music in general that I had ever heard. The mark of a truly great album is that it still sounds new and groundbreaking a full decade after its release. maybe my favorite album of all time
Maaaaaann.... I was avoiding this one for a while because I wasn't ready for the emotional roller coaster. I was fine accepting and writing off today's Kanye for all of his problematic behavior, but... It just... It REALLY HURTS to see your role model back in his Hay Day and knowing that he became broken, twisted, and never coming back. But thank you Fiq the Signifier for making this video. It means a lot to me and I'm sure I'll be watching it at least 20 more times in the future
Less than ten minutes in and I find myself agreeing with this new perspective presented to me. That is to say, Rick Ross is 100% kayfabe in rap music. So is Drake. So is Cardi B.
Its kind of wild that Kanye established the idea of a rapper who chooses to express himself "out of the traditional rapper persona" but Drake made that into his own kayfabe in ways.
@@anonuniversal364 i think rudrash meant that while kanye was made as famous as he is due to his lack of his persona, his open authenticity and sensitivity, drake seems to use a seemingly manufactured authenticity and sensitivity as his persona.
It’s sad to see how young and brilliant and full of hope and gratitude and joy he used to be. Compared to the egotistical, man weighed down by the things that he’s been through and his inability to heal from trauma. His first record was like fresh ass lemonade on a hot day. Now, his music sounds like a heavy coat on a hot day.
His music is still amazing. Sunday service is beautiful & im an atheist. The framing effect, ideological biases and hive mind are imo why people are saying he fell off. The Gospel Ye is currently producing is magnificent and the hip hop even tho not at the level it once was is still better than the vast majority of whats been released nowadays.
Having been involved in the black metal scene for about 25 years, the kayfabe concept feels very applicable to this subculture as well. Spectacle fueling expectations fueling spectacle.
I'm a diehard sludge/doom/stoner metal kind of guy, could never get into black metal or death metal or anything like that, specifically because of this. Not that there's not artifice in plenty of the stuff i like, but it's nowhere to the absurd and extreme degree that "extreme metal" takes it.
I found this video very informative. As Jewish kid from Brooklyn, this changed my opinion and understanding of the nature of people's relationship and attachment to Kanye. I can see this from a more compassionate, less dismissive, point of view now.
As someone who doesn't even know much about the history and culture surrounding music I listen to often, this breakdown of Kayne's contributions to hip hop is both incredibly informative and moving. It encouraged me to finally check out Kanye's music.
God I've been having such a hard time explaining to people that when I say "I miss the old Kanye" it's more than just a meme. This absolutely nails my feelings exactly. Thank you man!
As a member of the weird space between millennials and gen z, your series is really answering to an interesting question that I've had for a long time. Kanye's rise is in a space of my formative years where I didn't understand the significance of what he was to the culture, and I really only remember what he's done in recent years. Looking forward to all of your future work!
One of the best scholars of Danish hip hop culture (and scholars in Denmark on hip hop culture in general) is Peter "PTA" Trier Aagaard, who stylises himself as a "hiphop, wrestling, and Simpsons expert". You’re definitely not the first nor only one to have drawn parallels between these scenes. Great video! I’ll go watch part 2 now. :)
I have always liked Kanye. I thought it was because College Dropout was the first album I heard and played over and over. But you brought up so many things he did and how they empowered me without me realizing it until now. No matter what he does, Kanye will always have a place in my heart.
Very glad you highlighted Kanye's comments in the early 2000's on homophobia. As a bi-racial gay man who was in his early 20's at the time, that moment was very powerful.
What a great video. I can totally see why so many people were trying to carefully and gently reason with Kanye when he went off the deep end a few years ago. The interview where he denounces homophobia was a powerful moment.
Ok so I loved the video! I knew you would come with it!! I feel the same way about Lauryn Hill that y’all do about Kanye. I’m like “I know you’re still in there LAURYN!!! Tell us what to do to free you from your prison!!” 😭 😭 😭
@@FDSignifire haha!! I love it! I remember Charlemagne *insert eyeroll cuz Charlemagne 🤦🏽♀️* anyway…I remember Charlemagne saying “y’all still out here caping for Lauryn Hill off that one album”. I’m like YES!!!…Charlemagne…did you LISTEN to that album?? It’s literally golden. I’m from Newark, NJ #brickcity and I’m here to tell you it’s so hard to make Newark, New Jersey sound cool but she did it with “New Jerusalem”! She made a rap song with the hook “how you gonna win when you ain’t right within?”. She made positivity and self-respect COOL. The song ZION! The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill 🎵 Are you kidding?? We ride FOREVER!! Ok but back to Kanye, I feel like it is worth it to mention that while there are supporters like you that are still holding out for Kanye’s reversal….he also attracts men that engage in misogynoir AND his ally-ship with Trump brought him new Trumpster followers and supporters as well. So not all his ride or die followers are trying to get him to turn back time. And also…it’s sometimes hard for me to believe that this all comes from a place of only mental health and pain of loss. A lot of times it feels like what we see happen to a lot of black celebs. They make it to the top and then start thinking like and aligning themselves with the mindsets of the oppressors. Lastly, Lupe Fiasco 💜 hes my favorite rapper and he was also a part of the new age rap movement along with Kanye. He also fell into nonsense as well 🤦🏽♀️
This and your Tyson vid really prove you have a gift for these deep dives, for presenting the lives of these people in the context of their time and their relationship to their fans (with a nice touch of personal perspective). I'm also a sucker for anytime someone incorporates wrestling into a vid like this.
For most of my highschool life, I heard people talk about the genius of Kanye, of how important he was, and I just didn't get it at all. In my mind, I thought, "But it's just music, how can it be THAT good?" Then, in college, I heard my first ever Kanye song and I got it. Honestly, I'm mostly just commenting to boost engagement with your phenomenal video, but I just wanna thank you for laying this out in such a significant, meaningful, and digestible way. I'll never truly *get* what Kanye means to so many people, especially as a middle class white boy, but your videos on him have given me an understanding of the culture he created, of the impact he had, and it's given me empathy for the man himself. So thank you, keep on making amazing videos, I know we all appreciate you.
Cis het white dude here. I often talk about missing old Kanye. South Side, The Food, all of Late Registration... He was so good and I want him to be mentally well
I'm a 28 yt woman and I have bipolar disorder. I have a little more understanding for Kanye but I avoid watching his episodes. It filled me with an odd sadness and frustration. Now that I have stayed medicated and episode free for years I'm starting to feel like myself again. I want the young and brilliant Kanye back. I feel like his art is different and amazing and maybe this was a necessary process for his art to be put through but now I just want happiness, safety, and stability. He evolved into a God complex and now he needs to evolve back into a man. I think I subconsciously felt the sadness of losing the bright and hopeful Kanye that was so good for the black community. I think I felt the frustration of being able to stay medicated and healthy (which is hands down the easiest way to live) and seeing him fail to thrive personally. I hope he gets away from all the bad influences that brainwash him when he's vulnerable. I hope he gets trust in medicine that saved my life. I hope he gets his family (maybe not marriage) back. He deserves it and he has so much more to say that needs to be said by a respectable version of himself.
So I've been letting this sink in for a day now and I just have to say...even beyond the quality of the research, your insights, and gaining an appreciation for Pro Wrestling I never expected I think the thing I appreciate most about this video and your channel in general is just what a fantastic storyteller you are. The way you introduce themes that work in tandem with the narrative you create, growing and paying off with the central concepts you're relating is just a pleasure to watch and satisfying as hell. Even channels I watch that are explicitly about storytelling don't do this as well as you do. Well done!
@@FDSignifire i’ve been watching! i just moved in july and have been having a bit of a rough patch since then so it’s been hard to work on my own stuff. hoping to finish something in the next month-ish, honestly you’ve been a big motivator for me knowing you’re blowing up now and still putting out consistent, innovative new stuff. so happy you’re finally getting that recognition! thanks for not forgetting about me 😂
5:20 As an outsider looking in, the more I hear about professional wrestling the more I, too, get annoyed at the “but it’s not real” argument, because as you said, that doesn’t seem to be what it’s about.
This was such a thoughtful and thorough dive into the development of Kanye, his influence on the genre and how he brought a completely underrepresented aspect of blackness, as well as black masculinity, to the forefront of the culture. THANK YOU!
I’m a big wrestling fan so I love how that made its way into the telling of the story. I understood all of that so well from years of watching and I’m glad you broke it down for the people that may not be into wrestling like that. I’m really happy your channel landed on my feed a few weeks ago. Awesome stuff man, thank you.
Wow. Just stumbled on this channel and just finished watched the Lauryn Hill video. Loving it! So dope to get some academic, nerdy analysis on hip hop icons and culture. Subscribed!
I never liked how the media always highlighted kanye's flaws as something amusing to be tittled at. Obviously the man has spiraled and I would love to see him work on himself and be better, instead of using his faith as a crutch, but it's important to remember that Kanye is not just his flaws no matter how they may overshadow him in our perception. There is still a goodness in him and I don't mean just potentially but actively in the present moment , the media tends to shine a light on the worst of our heroes. To use another artist as as example, Dababy deserved every bit of flack for his homophobic and hurtful comments but in the process we myopically looked past the reality that he's also a loving father, a friend, a human being who is more then just "problematic or unproblematic." Humanity becomes ignored in the lens of public opinion .
Man, I'm not black nor american and I don't even listen to rap, but this 55 minute video kept me hooked from begining to end. It's mesmerizing how a single person had so much impact on a whole society, and Signifier's eloquence and how he contextualizes the history with his own personal feelings made me glimpse at the real importance of a figure like Kanye. Great video
Bruh..sorry for the second comment, but you really just opened my eyes with the kayfabe concept; thank you once again ✊🏾🖤 Not being aware of this has destroyed way too many folks lives smh
Another video knocked out of the park, man. So well done, so well thought out and well organized. I was one of the young white males in the 90s that bought into the kayfabe of West Coast Hip Hop. Thank you for once again putting words to thoughts and feelings that I’ve felt but not articulated. As usual, I learned a ton. Thank you. I really appreciate your videos.
How did the dude who wrote All falls down and Heard em say end up this not okay?
I’m gonna let the video finish, but Kanye was like the average black person, at least for me, the real black middle class… not the Huxtables. The type who’s momma dragged him to church and worked and maybe had a little college or a degree or some trade. He felt like us, and it’s sad cause now he feels loss.
Nothing's ever promised tomorrow today
If you want to last this long in the industry of fame you have to sell or delete your identity away
@@dnikkithatsame5990 True. Maybe he was too close to his momma. Maybe he always had mental health issues. And losing his momma probably pushed him over the edge.
Frfr Crack Music was one of the first songs as a good that really got me listening to music the way I do today.
Especially with the concept of Kayfabe. The idea of comparing the industry's marketing of young black men the way they do in hip-hop to the point of others trying to emulate that image to gain their own success while being sold to white America. The same way crack was introduced to black neighborhoods to paint a picture of black Americans in a negative light while generating profit
Hi, mental health professional here.
I remember around the last election when Kanye was behaving very erratically (I think it was Nylah Burton?) mentioning that we culturally only make room for mental illness that expresses itself as mild anxiety and depression. We only wish to destigmatize mental health issues whose expression is understandable/relatable or makes someone into an unquestionable victim worthy of our sympathy. There is neither room nor sympathy for bipolar disorder, delusions, psychosis, narcissism, etc. I think this plays a large role in how many people treat and talk about Kanye. People have a hard time accepting this and it is confounded by race and gender in Kanye’s case.
I really appreciate the deep dive into this topic and value your insight as always. Thank you!
Definitely going I'm to this next vid
@DribsOscar lol, what a great impression of them. Spewing random numbers to rep their idol, bringing up other artists fanbases, trying to puff up your own fan credentials and "no true scottsmanning" anyone whose opinion you disagree with. The seething rage at even the slightest perceived threat to your hero. You hit all the major notes. Great work!
@DribsOscar It’s clear from your comment that you didn’t bother to watch the video.
Idk why you had to qualify this with “mental health professional here”
@@inarixo There are plenty of programs and even psycho educational videos to help you with that.
On god, even as a kid, when Kanye said “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” I was ecstatic to know that someone said it out LOUD, especially someone like Kanye
Really strange to hear Kanye say that, knowing what an anti-semitic MAGA Republican he has become now.
It was so powerful
@@mariomouse8265 crazy what schizophrenia can do to a man. A long downward spiral.
And now he backs trump and the republicans lol. Its like he has to think he's the under dog or the genius. Every time. South park called him out Years ago before any of this. The guy is a nightmare.
I mean even his Taylor's speech interruption, that was rude and kinda asshole atitude, but he was trying to show how of a injustice were Taylor winning on Beyoncé, black empower, and cmon he was right, Taylor won cuz she was 18 and a white blond girl, the industry wasnt ready for putting Beyoncé where she should have been.
I was born in 2002, so it is really strange to see how different he was. When I think of Kanye, I think of him as he is now. I never really understood the appeal of him, but looking back on his starting career and the context, I can defiantly see it now. It’s kind of sad to see where he is now.
Same I was born 2002 but I think he started acting that way when he got married to Kim which we all know once a black guy deal with that family they never the same
@@That_girl-l6w He started acting out when his mom passed. She was one of the biggest forces keeping him grounded to both humbleness and reality, if not the biggest force
@@BuddyHollyMallCop I bet
same as me, it’s really sad
Listen to all his albums and you’ll get the appeal more
AHHHHHH I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS
me toooo! the timing of this is perfect ! i saw a quote recently that had me think twice about my hateful attitude toward kanye: " i only love god as much as the person i love the least". i'm hoping this video will help me hold more compassion.
Omg I adore your channel Khadija!
WHOA!!!
OMG KHADIJA 😭 SEEING U HERE MAKES ME EVEN HAPPIER THAT I JUST SUBSCRIBED!!!
cuz now i KNOW i’m in for some quality content😌
i love ur videos btw 😍
i literally always learn something new from each 1 & i genuinely appreciate u for that so yeah, thx🤗
Omg it’s Khadija!!!🖤🖤🖤
“I guess we’ll never know” still gives me full-body chills.
1:55 same with every new sonic...
I'm still getting over Forces.
Honestly really shakes me differently in retrospect
@@1Hawkears1 would we get a "imma let you finish" moment that early?
GOAT moment along with the interview where he says “Well I guess I was a SORE WINNER” that shit’s hilarious and just is sooo Kanye to a T.
@@christinathein951 kanye was funny as FUCK a lot of the time and i feel like it went unnoticed because he had really dry humor. not to say that excuses everything he’s done obviously but he had so many peak moments.
As a person with severe bipolar disorder Kanye is frustrating for me. I want to support him getting well. I know I've said and done shit in episodes, had black outs, delusions, and craziness. I'm fortunate not to do it on a world stage with everyone watching documenting everything I say. But I also know that if you're going to have this problem you have to take your meds, see your shrink, do the work. Learn your triggers or how to spot when you're going off the rails. I don't want him to be perfect but I want him to make an effort. Honestly maybe obscurity will be best for him. He can leave the public eye and get help and be healthier. Continuing to feed his ego and narcissism and propping him up just maintains his illusion/delusion.
How do you know how much effort he puts in?
@@kylevids3951Probably from living with the same condition bro.
Dude won't get well, he's a narcissist too on top of being bipolar. Can't tell narcissists anything....we can just focus on our own treatments to make our mental disorder less of a hassle. To put it lightly.
amen
clearly not enough effort@@kylevids3951
As a black man, being in College when Kanye was at his prime....there was nothing like it. One of those "you had to be there" moments.
Facts. He was inspiring a lot of dropouts, though.
The industry always needs to take more than it gives, especially from Black folks.
Facts!!! And I was at a HBCU feeling extra woke and proud. It’s sad to witness what he has become.
That’s how it was with Kendrick for me
im 41 and dropped out of college way before kanye was around lol. but yeah i hear yall
This is a fact G🙏🏽💯💯💯💯💯 dude literally changed the game with these classic albums
Kanye West is patient zero of the 21st Century.
There have been hyper-celebrities struggling with mental health for a long time, but very few who have been as big as him, and lived under the level of scrutiny in our always-online media landscape. People are going to write books on what Kanye is going through.
21st century schizoid maaaan
So, what I'm hearing you saying is, Britney Spears and Kanye should make a baby together!
@@rainbowkrampus no but they are one in each other( see what I did there). But seriously they are two sides of the same coin
Interesting views
Britney Spears, Lauryn Hill, Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys.
As a young gay black man hearing someone like Kanye stick up for people like me in the mid-2000s hit different it really felt like there was hope that people like me could make it not just in a music industry, but the black community, that we could make it without having to be the punchline or a joke, that you could be taken seriously.
I still appreciate that acknowledgement even with all the stuff Kanye is done the last few years,.
❤
watch out for the thug hunters man
This is the toxic relationship discussed in video
He openly hates you now
Horrible as it is
@@northleedspoppa
Yeah I know it's a weird kind of duality to deal with, I don't at all support him or his shit views now but I still respect his standing up for people like me at a time when doing so was a major risk especially in the hip hop world.
@@pbfloyd13he was saved by jonah hill. We will see what he says on the new album that is in the works
I think that the ultimate reason we haven't given up on him is that we had this introspective, sensitive, break out of box yet masculine rapper who became successful and we want to see that black success mixed with kindness has a happy ending and doesn't become a Greek tragedy.
I think the Greek tragedy is already playing out.
@@bethanychatman9531 exactly
Yea. I held on, but I had to let him go. The damage was too much for me.
kindness?
I dont buy that, tbh. But that's fine and i can accept it bcoz that's your guys' take. I just wish the Blk community (and the world) was as sensitive with and to bw who start out as faves then make mistakes. Like chrisette michel
I love the Kayfabe analogy. The smokescreen of defending violent music as street reporting always created cognitive dissonance, since descriptions of crimes were recognized to be literary flourishes. But if, like you’ve said, rappers were obligated to defend their persona’s lore, or amplify their personality like a wrestler staying in character, that just rings true. Great insight
Kayfabe is such a great word, too, and it describes a concept that doesn't really have a definition. When we don't have a definition for something, then how can we collectively notice it and what it does?
I remember Christopher Brian Bridges correcting an interviewer saying "Ludacris is a character.."
I don’t know why exactly, but I absolutely love your use of the English language in this comment, I’m gonna subscribe to you now so I can use your videos as background noise 😂 if you ever decide to write a book or something please inform me if you have the time, I’d love the read an entire book filled with English usage like this.
Y don't you upload anymore
@@jasonhealy8142 Definitely the best insight I've gotten from one of his videos.
Its a shame Andre 3000 was not given his due credit here. Way too often Outkast is overlooked. It was Andre 3000 on Aquemini, Stankonia, and The Love Below that paved the way and inspired a new generation of rappers to be vulnerable, introspective, and to openly defy black male stereotypes. Andre 3000 is the rapper that made space for Kanye, Drake, Kid Cudi, Childish Gambino, and Kendrick to dominate the mainstream in the 2000s and beyond.
Other rappers had sung, had vulnerable/introspective/conscious lyrics, had experimented with other genres, had defied black male stereotypes, but Andre 3000 was the first rapper to do all of those things at once, while also succeeding at a mainstream level. More importantly than reaching a mass audience, he managed to be cool and widely accepted both in hip hop and broader society for who he was despite being so different and eclectic.
Don't get me wrong, Kanye was a huge part of making the blueprint for that entire lane but he didn't start that wave. Andre3k did that. Even musically it can be argued Outkast is Kanye's greatest influence, where do you think he got the inspiration to switch up his sound album to album from? Through The Wire uses Outkast drums for gods sake! Its a perfect metaphor for how essential OutKast was to what Kanye became.
Kanye is one of my favorite artists (I grew up on him) and he deserves his credit for being the first major solo act to build a successful career on that approach and then heavily influencing most of the newer generations greatest rappers/producers. Its just wrong to not mention Outkast or Andre 3000 at all in his story, feels bad man.
FD talks a lot about Andre 3000 in high Black Masculinity video, you should check it out :)
I was thinking the same thing.
They didn't create that, though. Plenty of rappers were doing that before Outkast. Scarface, LL, Mos Def, Common, Talib, Tribe and De La all paved the way for the Outkast's, and those who follow that mold.
@@IkePhillipRuffin Other than Tribe and LL Cool J, the other artists you mentioned were contemporaries of Outkast. I think East Coast “conscious” rap had this sort of self awareness and vulnerability well before Southern Rap. Outkast was definitely trailblazing those topics and themes as far as the South was concerned
It was tribe and dela that started this wave
FD, I’m 15 minutes in and already feeling so emotional. I’m Black woman, was in middle school when Dropout dropped and I’ll never forget how I felt the first time I heard Thru the Wire. Kanye’s music saved my life later on in college, hell 2 if my tattoos are bars of his. But damn if he hasn’t been making me sick these last few years. Thank you for taking the time to make this with respect and heart. Sometimes it feels like no one gets why I ever was a fan to begin with let alone now… it’s so so comforting to hear this from a Black man’s perspective. Already shared this with friends 🙌🏽
This video is incredible. Kanye was a big hero to me and my brother growing up, as a black creative and reshaping the way I viewed Hip-Hop and my own self. Seeing a strong video on this platform addressing this complicated relationship a lot of us have with him is refreshing. Amazing work as always.
luv your vids too bro 🤝
I have always known Kanye was bipolar, being bipolar myself I could see him struggling with the same struggles I do. It saddens me that instead of learning to cope healthily with his issues, he instead dived head first into the mania and depression and found solace in ego. Bipolar is a disease that requires constant self awareness to keep in check and instead of developing those skills to stay level, he embraced the grandiose delusions that come with bipolar and completely lost his true sense of self. I hate that the people who have provided him the validation and comfort he craves are manipulative far right personalities and so he has thrown his lot in with them.
Bot.
@@deathjab4161 painfully ironic.
@@Lestatgroupie what?
40:38 okay as a queer person I had no idea that this had happened. I'm highly critical of modern Kanye for obvious reasons, but I've always respected him immensely as an artist and as a public figure. I actually met him once and he was nothing but kind to me. I had no idea he went to bat for gay people back then. I remember how homophobic that time period was and it's incredible that he spoke up. I often talk about the difference between goodness and greatness. Kanye flirts with both, he's a complicated person. He has both my respect and my condemnation. I think the world is inarguably better for him being in it.
Didn't know either. Based.
@@nathanjasper512 very much so
I was thinking the EXACT same thing. It really didn't surprise me, but it made me happy to see. I've always loved older Kanye, but that made me respect him even more. As a gay man, I've always loved hip hop, but felt odd about it's relationship with who I am. To see a rapper of his caliber, at that time, say something like that just kind of blows my mind.
Oh you nailed it. "I often talk about the difference between goodness and greatness. Kanye flirts with both." *Chef's kiss*
Sway still ain't got the answers 😂😂😂
Kanye is the true definition of someone who needed help, but was ignored for profit. Also I think blackness and our culture's relationship with mental health forever play a role in this predicament. Will never doubt Kanye's abilities to create powerful and influential music. He also (from an outside looking in perspective) seems very lost and troubled and lately I believe it has had an affect on his music, the industry, and the culture for better or worse. Interested to see this video later today and see the future of Kanye.
It's so sad to see how as he lost people that actually knew him, his mom, older friends, his first fiance, and started being surrounded by yes men, clowns and people who want to exploit his talent, he has become unhinged and probably untethered to reality, and when you don't have people who challenge you, call you out on your bs and hear them because you love them and they love you back, and we add the factor of mental health, we get this picture of a very troubled and I still believe the very talented man.
We're as good as our closest friends, mentors and pillars can help us become.
He is well aware of his condition he said he takes medication for it.
Genuinely it feels one of the reasons people still stick by is because recent Kanye...I mean, to me, feels like something is just wrong. Rather than someone who just genuinely has bad views, opinions, etc... I'm not going to try and diagnose him of course. And mental health, among other things, is not excuse to get away from anything.
But as you point out, the seemingly failure of those around him to support him in the right ways and the predatory environment of the entertainment industry, I can undersrand why its hard to just write him off (especially given all the context to his history given in this video)
I don't know. It's hard. I get people walking away. But it's clearly not a simple issue.
did you help your self today before talking about helping a made man, an adult that does what he wants 🤣🤣🤣 y’all are sad thinking people are lost because they didn’t stick to the idea you have of them.
Not only ignored, the issues he needed help with were exploited FOR profit and our entertainment. It's sickening. Kanye is aware of this, I'm sure. I feel like he's addressed it but he gets gaslit as crazy cuz yea, he is "crazy" in a lot of ways because of trauma and mental illness, but he also gets called crazy when he highlights how manipulative the industry is about it.
I'll be honest, I'm a white dude who has always been perplexed by the love of Kanye and when I wonder why people still gave a shit about him, I definitely wasn't asking in bad faith, I just straight up didn't understand it. He always seemed like an egomaniac shit hustler to me.
This was an enlightening video on why there was such a love for him, and I really appreciate your channel and how it helps me evolve my perspective by better being able to understand yours.
It's kinda like the downfall of MJ the sad part is Kanye brought it on himself whereas Michael..
Oh wait.. no he brang it in himself also
No its more like O.J
No wait
Man...the psychological toll of kayfabe is real! As a lifelong black nerd, I still remember black AND white kids saying that Paul Wall was "blacker" than me because I didn't portray a 'hood' persona...that shit was infuriating and hurtful.
I think you're right. I'm a white dude and I'm seeing Kanye wearing polo shirts and sweaters and I'm like, wait this is approachable. We have shit in common. The themes of his music were rad. And made for great basement party tracks.
Hey, we out here. Deep breaths man. You ARE alright just the way you are. That insecurity that people use against you is their own insecurity of not being able to put things in categories.
I hated that. Like damn, I gotta be constricted to the box of blackness and stepping out nullifies my skin color and experiences? Aight then
we are all survivors and are so used to going it alone. we need a support group, lol. i love who i am and i had to fight out of the trenches during my developmental years.
Man those type of comments used to kill me too. You just feel alienated because the one people you think would have your back, turn their backs on you just because you're not a "specific type of black". That shit cuts deep man
I miss the old Kanye, straight from the 'Go Kanye
Chop up the soul Kanye, set on his goals Kanye
I hate the new Kanye, the bad mood Kanye
The always rude Kanye, spaz in the news Kanye
I miss the sweet Kanye, chop up the beats Kanye
I gotta to say at that time I'd like to meet Kanye
See I invented Kanye, it wasn't any Kanyes
And now I look and look around and there's so many Kanyes
I used to love Kanye, I used to love Kanye
I even had the pink polo, I thought I was Kanye
What if Kanye made a song about Kanye
Called "I Miss The Old Kanye, " man that would be so Kanye
That's all it was Kanye, we still love Kanye
And I love you like Kanye loves Kanye
I love this because it shows that Kanye is aware of the issues and he has the desire in him to reconnect with what has been lost to the circus of fame. It's bittersweet but I think a lot of us relate to him, we miss our old selves before the world broke us.
Such an underrated and clever look at oneself
@@shrimpscampin I agree, but on the other hand it sort of seems like satire of the other ppl who say this stuff about kanye
@@gm6393 It's definitely that too but the self awareness is pretty evident IMO
Where is that rhyme from ?
Watching this during his whole “white lives matter” debacle and it hurts. Everyday I wear either the graduation bear or the 808s heart on the steel chain on my neck because that’s how much Kanye’s music and persona until about 2013 mean to me. But I’m strongly considering just putting those pieces away because the man who’s art and whole persona touched me to my core is now everything that he once stood against. Ever since the trump situation it’s been so hard to defend him, as someone who has my own mental health issues I could sympathize with what he’s going through, but at this point it’s beyond just mental health. Yes it’s much of what got him to this point stems from these issues, but he has changed so much and it truly is a toxic relationship I have with this man as a figure in my life
yo ma man I hope it gets better for you
🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
(oh my goodness, this is a paragraph i am….so. sorry.)
my dad had kanye playing a lot when we were in the car together. so when i was in high school and up until last year, i wanted to delve deeper into his sound and get a real feel for the music now that i’m older. i really enjoyed learning about his creative process and watching video essays about his work. i started to build some respect for him because i’m a creative person too, but don’t have a huge amount of drive like kanye did. he was inspiring to me and i was hoping his “outbursts” and…”dramatic moments” were behind him and he was gonna be just fine. or at least the best he could. but it’s gotten so conflicting and upsetting to watch him go back to making negative statements and doing huge “stunts.” especially after learning about some of his past and finding out that his mom passed, i started to relate to him more than i thought i would. my dad passed when i was young and it was the lowest few years of my life. much like kanye’s mom, we were attached at the hip and he let me be my truest self around him. i’m still trying to keep it moving after struggles with my own mental health. so learning about my own grief and mental health really made me realize that kanye must’ve really been struggling, but change with his mental health needs to happen for the better. not all treatment works the same for everyone, but he should at least be exploring his options for treatment. wether it’s medication that works for his brain chemistry or talking to a therapist. at this point anything would be a step in the right direction for him and it could turn into something even more beneficial. he could focus his energy and attitude on music and other projects rather than spewing negativity like he is right now. if kanye can keep that positive change in his life, it would be amazing. because let’s face it. no one who appreciates him wants to see him like this. :(
hope ur doing well after all the shit that just went down with Alex jones
Why are y’all so fixated on having some kind of figure to idolize?
Stop being sheep and live your life the way you wanna live it stop letting celebrity figures change your perspective just because they are growing and you aren’t 💀
Kanye is ahead of his time always someday y’all will come around and actually listen to what he’s tryin to say
man i never was really invested in kanye, never listened to any of his albums entirely, and this was just packed full of relevations. that ending, him losing two important black women, made me tear up a bit because as a gen z black kid, i only know the part 2 kanye. the foreshadowing of what's to come is so much more tragic with this new perspective of what he was. I totally feel represented by this part 1 kanye, as just a middle class black kid who doesn't live up to the kayfabe of rappers, and completly understand that respect & admiration you have for him. gonna go listen to his first 3 albums now
I grew up in the same era as Fiq. I was a sophmore in High school rather than college. Fiq does a brilliant job laying out how much of an underdog he was. We were all hoping he would get the attention he deserved because rappers were promoted so cliche at the time. Part of Kanye's downfall is the fact he was doubted and overlooked for such a long time. So when he went off the deep end it seemed hard to stop because he looked at as the same doubt. I've been off the Kanye train since St. Pablo but Fiq did a great job explaining why our generation elevated him for so long. When we heard his mom died, we all felt a way.
all his albums up through yeezus are pretty fantastic
im a old zoomer and witnessed the face to heel transition. I became a big Kanye fan a little before graduation and witnessed all of the heel moments live like the Katrina and Taylor incident live on tv, shit even obama called him a jackass. Like kanye was public enemy number 1 & almost killed himself due to the hate. I still fw him despite all of the crap because i believe he is redeemable.
When those albums came out, my sons were in elementary school. All three of them say ye impacted their lives. They go hard for ye to their friends!
Could I ask how old you are? I know online that’s often a loaded question but I really am curious just for reference, appreciate your post
I’m curious how you feel about OutKast, especially Andre. He definitely broke the mole on the typical hyper masculine rapper. The more they stepped away from the stereotype the more successful they became. They were the precursor to Kanye.
I looooooooove Outkast (Andre is my man crush everyday 😅). I want to see a video about them too, Source Awards and all
Andre was definitely the prototype (lmao) for the non-hyper-masculine rapper but Kanye took that image and sorta made it more accessible/desirable. Like, there weren't any kids my age that were trying to wear green jockey outfits but everyone had a pink polo.
That's exactly why I came to comments. Andre 3000 was different and mainstream before kanye became hot 🔥
I love Outkast so much! I saw them at my college
@@mowkikowski I agree with you but keep in mind Andre didn't start that way he evolved into the more eccentric outfits after dating Erykah Badu. But your point so remains valid
I've slept on this guy for far too long. Every video is a banger
I know righttt!!
"Even if you looks like Steve Urkel and talked like Calton Banks, they expect that deep down you're 50 Cent"
I felt that and I was a black metal/goth kid back in the late 90s/early 00s
Heavy metal is the ultimate kayfabe genre.
“Too many Urkels on your team that’s why your Wins-low”
@@EpicWin1337 oh for sure. I havent been to a metal show in a few years but my favorite thing back then was getting tickets to a death metal show, putting on my favorite Death or Atheist sleeveless shirt, cut-off black jeans, tying a bandana around my long ass hair, and moshing with a bunch of other dudes dressed the same exact way. I'm like the least violent person ever, I get mad if I accidently step on a bug and never been in a fight. But I love music about death, terror, and destruction... and moshing is a blast. It's all a performance
so was I so that hit home and hit deep
This seems tough. On one hand you keep rooting for this person because of how they shaped you and what their art means to you and the culture, but on the other hand they are advocating for hurtful policies that affect your community. This seems similar to what has been going on with J. K. Rowling. It's not something easy to address and I really appreciate all the nuance and thought that you put in your analysis. As someone who isn't black nor american I learn a lot from your videos and I enjoy your perspective very much. I'll be waiting for part two!
Yeah i think theres a lot of similarity with Rowling. I plan to touch on it in part 2. But yest it's tough.
@@FDSignifire You finna do a video on J.K. Rowling, too, or you gonna leave that for somebody else?
@@geocyo8835 if you haven't you should check Trans youtuber Natalie Wynn's (Contrapoints) video on JK Rowling. Since JK goes after trans people mostly. Any F.D. video on this subject would be pretty great though.
@@geocyo8835 others got that one covered. I may touch on it but I'm not big Harry Potter fan nor trams. Contrapoints did a great vid on it.
This is one of the hardest parts about art. Lots of it comes from flawed people who are not as inspiring as their artform.
47:50 Even in Shakespeare, it's a Black character making the Yo Mama joke: In the play Titus Andronicus, the white Empress of Rome, married to the white Emperor, has just given birth to a child fathered by her Black secret lover, Aaron. One of her sons angrily calls out Aaron: "Villain, thou hast undone our mother!", to which Aaron replies: "Villain, I have done thy mother!"
Wanted to say I really appreciate this insight into somebody I've only ever known for his weird public persona. I'm a 43 y/o white guy who's deeply into rock and metal, so for me he's Kim's Kardashian's crazy (ex)husband and only heard his music through Goldigger at a party or something.
It's always revealing to see how completely insulated you can be from movements in society that are hugely influential to others.
Keep up the good work.
Thanks for viewing it that way. I’m deep into classic 60s/70s rock but love Kanye and it has me fuming sometimes when people who generally have good taste in music start shitting on Kanye without knowing anything about him when he’s the closest thing to the David Bowie of rap
Such an interesting perspective to not have been impacted by his first two albums, being 43 (around my age), but I also can think of many examples where I've been insulated af. (After getting my post-graduate degree, it literally felt like I was coming out from under a rock, like "What's everybody been up to?"😅)
I'm similar as a late-30s mainly rock and metal fan with not much hip-hop knowledge. The thing about Kanye was, the way that people would talk about him (mainly I'm talking about other people like me who aren't hip hop fans and only knew him through his crazy behaviour), I could tell there was just something not quite right about it. The level of vitriol directed towards him when (and I'm not defending him) there are surely other people in a similar position who've behaved much worse, it just seemed disproportionate to me. I could quite put my finger on it and it seemed too simplistic to say 'it must be because he's black', so I've always just kept quiet about it. I'm interested in seeing a take on it from someone who actually knows about the context and can give a bit more insight.
@@aliquidcow I think it had a lot to do with people who straight up don't respect Hip Hop hearing Kanye say he's the biggest musical genius of all time. IE, 'I don't even think you're very talented, but you're making millions of dollars and getting adoration from millions of people and you think you're such hot shit.'
Like if you were passionate about, say, movie making and M. Night Shyamalan kept getting huge Appearances and truckloads of cash saying he's the best director who ever lived.
@@cosmo7779 facts
thank you so much for this video and all of your work. I'm black + nigerian and have a brother who fell down the conservative pipeline and has mental health issues (our whole family has mental health issues) that he is not getting help with. it hurts me because we used to be so, so close, and he was such a funny, emotional, and understanding person. but his illness and conservatism has driven us apart, especially with me being nonbinary trans man. he has always been a big kanye fan and reminds me of kanye a lot. the trajectory of his life has a lot of parallels with kanye so this was a very emotional watch.
i feel like I've left this comment before so sorry if this is redundant! but your videos are so important on this youtube space because I feel like a lot of black (cis/het) men are struggling to find an outlet for their emotions about racism and masculinity, and are often not comfortable discussing that with black people of marginalized genders. this can push them further into toxic behavior or even into the arms of white conservatism. so your work, speaking to them from a black cishet perspective, is so valuable in reaching them and I'm so glad you make videos. i hope other progressive black men also gain platforms on youtube and join you in this! if you have any recommendations please lmk 💜
You are so knowledgeable, articulate, and real. I stumbled upon your channel by chance as a random white woman and I just want to thank you for all of the profound insights you share. Insights that I’m not personally aware of because of the differences in our life experiences. I’m always here to learn and grow and now I’m about to subscribe to your channel because listening to you has made me think in ways that I haven’t before, but definitely should. I just really appreciate you and want you to know that you’re really great at what you do! Thank you for being you, Sir.
I've only heard the hits, but my favorite line of his was from testify, "back when they thought pink polos would hurt the roc" he's straight up saying your masculinity is so fragile that it gets obliterated if you wear the wrong color
Which was certainly true at the time. Kanye did\said so many things that were deemed 'uncool' or taboo
that’s touch the sky! but i love that line too
I had to stop watching halfway to pull my husband over, restart the video and watch it together. I really think this is one of your best essays. The parallels between wrestling and the performance of Black masculinity is so fcking MASTERFUL, I cannot find any other word to describe it.
Bravo. Bravo. Please consider writing this as well because it should absolutely be something people can read. It is so brilliant.
I've never been into hip hop or wrestling at all, but you're such a passionate and thoughtful speaker it's easy to enjoy 55 minutes hearing you talk about it, and I can't wait to watch Part 2!
This was a masterpiece. I can't wait for part 2.
The use of wrestling terminology as the framework was so helpful to understanding the arc Kanye has evolved through. This was really illuminating as a younger person that didn’t see much of his early years in real time. Thank you for sharing and doing what you do!
I'm a hard of hearing person, and just wanted to thank you for your skills in diction, and the pace at which you speak. It's truly enjoyable. Thank you 💜
I’d love written captions as well (as opposed to the automatic captions)
"Streetlights" is my favorite Kanye song.
I was actually having a conversation with my husband and roommate the other day about Kanye and I couldn't get them to understand why I care about him so much. My life has only ever been knowing others with, and having myself, neurodivergence and mental illness. I don't need to know him personally to know he's struggling. I don't need to know how deep his problems go to hope there is help for him somewhere. And I don't need to like who he's being to want to see him get and be better. It's like reading the origin story of a super villain; what brought them to this point doesn't excuse their actions, but pretending that morality is a switch that, once turned to "evil", can never be turned back to "good", is not only dooming others to same fate, it's cursing them to it. It's not a spectacle, it's not funny or pathetic, it's Kanye West, a real person whose life matters.
Streetlights is so beautiful. It plays in my head anytime I'm in a cab late at night
His 2015 live performance is somehow even better.
That song brings me to an emotional place that not much else can. Beautiful record
His music made and still makes me feel like I belong and I’m not alone. Even with all of the stuff that’s come since, nothing will change the influence his stuff had on me
As someone with a father with schizoaffective disorder (basically schizophrenia + bipolar disorder to put simply), I see a ton of my dad in Kanye West behavior. It’s heart breaking seeing someone so grounded turn into someone so disconnected from reality.
I just hope someday, Kanye will realize that he can be genius without being manic, and that getting help is not weakness.
EDIT: Kanye indeed evolve the taste of Hip-hop fans, I was a teenager when his 4 first album came out, graduation was very formative, it gave confidence that I be a black man and like "white" music, I could be a black man and not look gangsta, I could be black man and deviate from fitting into my stereotype. Nowadays, I just want Kanye to be well.
I remember when I worked at Foot Locker back in the day (pre-Graduation to Yeezus era), me and my friend would often spend our entire shifts talking about Kanye and what his art meant to us. Like straight up 6 hours of philosophizing and debating about his music catalogue, fashion, interviews, everything. As artsy, backpack-wearing black kids, we felt like he really repped for us.
I haven't listened to anything he's put out in the last 4 or 5 years because it's honestly hard to witness the transformation he's gone thru. The switch from old Kanye to new Kanye also coincided with my own transition into real-deal adulthood and leaving my hometown, so it really feels like what his new vibe represents is a point-of-no-return type situation. For me personally his transformation carries with it the baggage of losing my own youthful innocence, so it's extra painful to witness.
That's interesting. You should listen to Ye and life of Pablo. You'd be glad you did
@@emilitious7886 i actually liked most of TLOP. maybe i'll check out Ye one day
Same here! From meant so much to cringey and suss. I haven't even pressed play on this video bc I don't wanna cry over my brother.
P.S.: I've tried to go back and play the old shit many times (cuz they were bangers, with soul) but, like you said, it hit a little different now.
@@pysq8 I get emotional listening to the graduation… at first I’m happy like “I remember this feeling” then it’s sadness that this person no longer exists. 😔
@@labelsandlife yeah man, it's that "you had to be there" type feeling... When it came out, he reminded of MJ as a young adult, just happy to do his thang... Never conceived how much like older MJ he'd be (seen as).
The music industry is so tough on creative humans.
I initially peeped your vids due to a recommendation from Adam Millard - this video in particular - and as a black dude myself, I am so glad I checked you out. Looking forward to binging your older content for a bit.
I hope this isn't weird but I wish I had a male figure like you in my life. You are doing the work and as a fellow black male you inspire me. 😭 youre a touchstone in this youtube game.
This is the purest comment on the internet
As a black man that grew up in a predominantly white community, this channel has been helping me understand my blackness more. I wished I had someone like this man in my life as a kid, but also just grateful these videos exist.
This is so kind! I hope he sees this!!
🥺 Man, this is why it's important to have people like him speaking on this platform.
There is a program called Big Brothers in a lot of cities that has good mentors. Also it's ok if u find a wht male mentor. My dad is wht tbh (I'm mixed) & he was a male figure to my brothers friends & a lot of kids on our block who did not have dads at the house
Your videos are so eye- opening to the black male perspective and I can't thank you enough. I feel like I really don't know black men like I thought I did.
I never listened to Kanye, but I’m actually sad seeing the love lost. You made me go and look through his albums. Good work!
As someone who only really met the 2016 on Kanye as a young teen it is an absolutely surreal experience watching this. I feel....I don't even know what. This is just an experience.
Same here. The old clips of Kanye are...eye opening on their own. But this is incredibly interesting and thought provoking.
This is really fascinating and helpful. I'm a white woman born in 1997, had no idea who Kanye was until 2009ish with "Stronger." This really helps me understand how damn revolutionary he was and why people still check for him and hope to see him return to his former self.
Hello, white woman born in 1997. I am a Mexican man born in 1997, and I also first heard of Kanye when "Stronger" came out and I heard it in a movie somewhere. It was just refreshing and cool to see someone write that they had the same experience as me. I wish you well
I was in 3rd grade when "Through the Wire" came out and it really made me feel something that I hadn't gotten from music before. It made me cry! My family was usually poor so we often didn't have cable, but we did have it around 2003. What a great time to have experienced MTV before they stopped playing videos. Songs I remember from this time were Freek-A-Leek - Petey Pablo, Yeah! - Usher, Right Thurr - Chingy, Tipsy - J-Kwon. Kanye was just very different than everyone but super talented and I resonated with that. Young men started wearing pastel/neon colors and polos. Also the shutter shades were BIG later on. I hit puberty around this time too, so it was good to have a counter to the common portrayal of black men in media at the time. My parents just never gave me any advice on dating or relationships, so in a way I did start to think that the black male dating pool would consist of people like the ones I saw in the rap videos. (Also have to shoutout Outkast's Stankonia and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below for being positive influences) Kayfabe is a great way to explain a rapper's persona, but it wasn't something I completely understood as a child and I was very into wrestling lol. Just didn't know how to apply it to other media because the rappers I saw didn't represent any black men I knew until I connected them to people like Kanye or Lupe Fiasco. When I saw the video for "All Falls Down", it was notable to me how Kanye was following the woman, showed affection (lacking in my home) and was making the decision to let her go even though it was hard. He was supporting her and not controlling her. At least that was my kid interpretation. This is when I started getting sent to church, and it was a different message about relationship roles than from what I got from evangelicalism. I even nicknamed my tiny hatchback Alexis when I came up. Also what happen to Stacey Dash? A crying shame.
I can't explain how painful it is to see him spiral like this after his mother died. My mom died tragically a few years ago and my brother hasn't handled it well at all. When talking to my dad about Kanye's behavior, he said something like "Everybody's mother dies, when is he going to get over it?" Note my father's mother died when he was a baby. Our black men are hurting and I'm not completely sure if they always know why. I love all your videos! I really want to understand black men's perspectives as a black woman, but black men are not the easiest people to get to be vulnerable or open to talking. These help me understand the men in my life a lot.
❤️❤️❤️❤️
“We are in a toxic relationship with kanye” … and now my mind is a little more open about this topic. I’m listening
This video is a phenomenal contribution to Black art, hip-hop, and culture. I am so grateful for this and you.
One caveat that people don’t mention often is that his conversion to Christianity is probably an attempt to reconnect with his mother(she was religious).
As far as Kanye’s mental health issues, we can attribute that to the death of his mother as well as the nature of his profession.
As far as his character, he has not changed, he always played the contrarian. In the past, he was loved for openly stating “Bush doesn’t like black people” and interrupting Taylor Swift to say Beyoncé had a better song.
Now that popular culture has tilted a little left, to remain a contrarian he must shift right. By wearing a maga hat he isn’t betraying the old Kanye, he is protecting his sense of identity.
Thats an insightful observation
@@FDSignifire I’m wishing your channel much success man. Keep going!
@Mark Matsiko I have often wondered: What if Beyoncé had publicly agreed? Was Beyoncé protecting her sense of identity or Kayfabe within the music industry at that time (let Swift have her moment)? If some blk people especially in the US admired Kanye for saying that Bush didn’t like blk people, wasn’t Kanye just saying what many regardless of race felt at that time re. album of the year going to Taylor Swift? Later, even when Adele won album of the year over Beyoncé’s Lemonade album, Adele had to concede herself at the 59th Grammy’s that she couldn’t possibly accept the award - Beyoncé looking on sitting front row and centre…I guess it’s not what Kanye says but the way he says things
True i can not cap
@@jeancrown5524 It's really of no consequence whether the wider community agreed with Kanye or not, it wasn't going to change the fact that Taylor won the award. Ppl often gloss over Beyoncé's actual embarrassment regarding that moment which is why her actions were perfect. No one who is truly content wants to be uplifted at the expense of another person and those kinds of antics often bring extra unwarranted and negative backlash to the one uplifted.
I used to bash my brother about still watching wrestling until he told me wrestling to him is like soap operas to me. It’s a story line with characters that comes on consistently & while watching there are characters you love and ones you hate. After this explanation I never gave him crap about watching wrestling again.
This is amazing, thank you so much for this.
I really think his mother's death affected him in more than one way. He really did love her.
I think many people don't realize how his mom's death dramatically changed Kanye as a person
Beautiful video, learned a lot. Well done 👏
Wow wow wow fancy seeing you here Jake 🙂.
Your video was great too Soulr!
Your intro, stellar. But imagine being a young black woman who connected to Kanye and how we feel with the switch. He left us a long time ago. My ex bf told me that my disappointment in Kanye felt personal and it very much was. Not much hip hop is a safe harbor for women thus Kanye was so refreshing
Okay I finally got to finish this and Imma let you finish...but....what about Andre 3000??? He was definitely not in the gangsta rap category and was pretty flamboyant, but maybe he was TOO different to Kanye...
Nvm
I just answered my own question.
Andre had far less of a broad impact. He had been out since the mid 90s and the culture still looked like what it did by the time Kanye came. After kanye you see a complete paradigm shift throughout hip hop.
And I would agree that Andre was a bit too much in his expression, but the irony is Andre's masculinity was never jn question while Kanye's was... there's something there. Another video for another time.
@@FDSignifire Pleeeaaaaasssee but I also recall 3000 rapping about how people were asking him if the was gay. I can't remember the song but it's maybe on ATLiens
That happened but that was pretty light. 3 stacks got the same pass prince got. There's some black men who's sex appeal is so heavy that no level of toxic masculinity is gonna affect them lol. There's also an element to Kanye like forcing himself into a group that didn't really want him vs Kast always being in their own space.
Can we get this video?
Man I mad that I ain't see a preview yet but I really can't wait fi dis 😭😩 as a music producer myself, Ye has had an indelible impact on me (yes even his post-Kardash era) but lawd how the mighty have fallen.
Update: Only Fiq could create a glowing laudation of someone who's villified in pop culture at the moment - all to tear him apart in the second part 🥴 eagerly awaiting the follow-up. Amazing show
Man, watching this after the "i like Hitler" ordeal really brings the point across
This is so well done. You’re always killing it.
God, dude, you are a breath of fresh air in the UA-cam space. Shout out to you, man.
I thought my mom would enjoy this video because she likes pop culture analysis and such, also I thought that the wrestling analogy was very cool and accessible. Anyway I was watching this with my mom on the TV and then my little brother starts watching with us and now they're both super into your stuff, we ended up watching at least 3 hours of your videos. The two of them are still watching but I'm going to bed since its almost midnight, anyway thanks so much for your perspective on so many things I anticipate great success for you and your channel.
Hard to quit Kanye. He’s a bold and authentic black man in a “stay in your lane” industry. He’s self aware and unapologetic.
This sentiment exactly.
facts.
He's the G.O.A.T
How's this statement ring these days?
@@reddjack340 Didn’t age too well lol
I love how you explained Kanye’s public history here AND included your own experience to enhance your points about the culture. Very engaging and im excited for part 2!
I’ve been on a binge of your videos lately and from your social to hip hop content is A1!
Kanye always struck me as being himself, especially when I was younger. Late Registration was the first thing I bought with my first paycheck. His music and persona gave me extra fuel (not the only thing) for feeling comfortable in my own skin and liking what I like. That may or may not have been the message of Kanye but it had an impact on my life that still has me buying his albums and checking his socials from time to time.
Im a black woman and thank you for explaining to me why I can’t let go of Old Kanye, It’s kinda sick,I literally damn near ignore most of the dumb stuff he does because “Old Kanye” is in there somewhere and I love him😭😭😭 Come back Kanye!!!! I literally have a religious experience when “Two words “ , “ Crack Music” “Bring Me Down” and “Diamonds from Sierra Leon” 🤦🏾♀️ Intense pain can and will change you sometimes, not always for the better. I didn’t understand until I lost my Mom 2 years ago.
How are you doing now? :S
It's a bit like Ashoka and to a lesser degree, Obi-Wan(prior to the final episode of Kenobi season 1) with Darth Vader - they knew who Anakin Skywalker is/was and find it hard to give up.
Sometimes at work I just scream "may all your pain be champagne...yayaaaaaa" and people look at me like a crazy person. I always try to have a balanced approach to things. It's okay to say "damn Kanye is an anti-semite" while also understanding what he did for music and his fans, and I always try to remember he most likely has pretty severe bipolar with possible psychosis as well. If I met Kanye today I would still treat him like any other person and try to ask him about music and himself. But I'm a strange person and have the ability to talk to people calmly even if they've done horrible things. I still want to try to understand who they are and why they do what they do.
The old Kanye is the real Kanye. The new one is a parody of himself.
Not enough people talk about Two Words, that song is amazing
the thing that's so great about Late Registration is that it's such a singular album regardless of the historical context. as someone who grew up in the mid-2010s and was constantly hearing artists like Drake, Travis Scott, Migos, and Big Sean (no hate to any of those guys btw), Late Registration absolutely blew my mind because its sound is still so unique and fundamentally different from any hip-hop or music in general that I had ever heard. The mark of a truly great album is that it still sounds new and groundbreaking a full decade after its release. maybe my favorite album of all time
Maaaaaann.... I was avoiding this one for a while because I wasn't ready for the emotional roller coaster. I was fine accepting and writing off today's Kanye for all of his problematic behavior, but... It just... It REALLY HURTS to see your role model back in his Hay Day and knowing that he became broken, twisted, and never coming back.
But thank you Fiq the Signifier for making this video. It means a lot to me and I'm sure I'll be watching it at least 20 more times in the future
Less than ten minutes in and I find myself agreeing with this new perspective presented to me. That is to say, Rick Ross is 100% kayfabe in rap music. So is Drake. So is Cardi B.
Who does Drake pretend to be? He's a sensitive guy who sings about girls he's simping over. That's not kayfabe lol
Its kind of wild that Kanye established the idea of a rapper who chooses to express himself "out of the traditional rapper persona" but Drake made that into his own kayfabe in ways.
@@rudrakshmalik7202 what do you mean?
@@anonuniversal364 I think Drake uses his sensitivity as a trope because it's largely disconnected from his actual life/experiences.
@@anonuniversal364 i think rudrash meant that while kanye was made as famous as he is due to his lack of his persona, his open authenticity and sensitivity, drake seems to use a seemingly manufactured authenticity and sensitivity as his persona.
I genuinely love when people bring awareness to bipolar disorder. Thanks for this deep dive.
It’s sad to see how young and brilliant and full of hope and gratitude and joy he used to be. Compared to the egotistical, man weighed down by the things that he’s been through and his inability to heal from trauma. His first record was like fresh ass lemonade on a hot day. Now, his music sounds like a heavy coat on a hot day.
His music is still amazing. Sunday service is beautiful & im an atheist. The framing effect, ideological biases and hive mind are imo why people are saying he fell off. The Gospel Ye is currently producing is magnificent and the hip hop even tho not at the level it once was is still better than the vast majority of whats been released nowadays.
his music is still great.
I bet you have some trauma to heal from yourself
You’re trippin
@@epictubegamer facts
Having been involved in the black metal scene for about 25 years, the kayfabe concept feels very applicable to this subculture as well. Spectacle fueling expectations fueling spectacle.
I'm a diehard sludge/doom/stoner metal kind of guy, could never get into black metal or death metal or anything like that, specifically because of this. Not that there's not artifice in plenty of the stuff i like, but it's nowhere to the absurd and extreme degree that "extreme metal" takes it.
Yeah.
Yeah
@Nate Higgers
Nope, the concept is perfectly applicable to the Norwegian scene as well.
I found this video very informative. As Jewish kid from Brooklyn, this changed my opinion and understanding of the nature of people's relationship and attachment to Kanye. I can see this from a more compassionate, less dismissive, point of view now.
Will See YE at the next bar mitzvah😂
I love how you balance the emotions and connection to Kanye's art with the acknowledgement of the person he's become.
The wrestling analogy is so perfect!! I just can’t say more.
As someone who doesn't even know much about the history and culture surrounding music I listen to often, this breakdown of Kayne's contributions to hip hop is both incredibly informative and moving. It encouraged me to finally check out Kanye's music.
God I've been having such a hard time explaining to people that when I say "I miss the old Kanye" it's more than just a meme. This absolutely nails my feelings exactly. Thank you man!
chop up the soul kanye
@@blade7506 MBDTF is a classic. Im a sucker for the chopped up chipmunk soul samples tho.
As a member of the weird space between millennials and gen z, your series is really answering to an interesting question that I've had for a long time. Kanye's rise is in a space of my formative years where I didn't understand the significance of what he was to the culture, and I really only remember what he's done in recent years. Looking forward to all of your future work!
One of the best scholars of Danish hip hop culture (and scholars in Denmark on hip hop culture in general) is Peter "PTA" Trier Aagaard, who stylises himself as a "hiphop, wrestling, and Simpsons expert". You’re definitely not the first nor only one to have drawn parallels between these scenes. Great video! I’ll go watch part 2 now. :)
I have always liked Kanye. I thought it was because College Dropout was the first album I heard and played over and over. But you brought up so many things he did and how they empowered me without me realizing it until now.
No matter what he does, Kanye will always have a place in my heart.
Very glad you highlighted Kanye's comments in the early 2000's on homophobia. As a bi-racial gay man who was in his early 20's at the time, that moment was very powerful.
But wait... isn't he homophobic as well?
@@moonflower6607 What are some instances of him being homophobic?
didn't he use the slang term "blonde dyke" once in one of his songs?
@@moonflower6607 stfu, it rhymed with Klondike
I think he used the same term in other songs too. He also said the F slur in his verse on Grammy Family.
What a great video. I can totally see why so many people were trying to carefully and gently reason with Kanye when he went off the deep end a few years ago.
The interview where he denounces homophobia was a powerful moment.
Ok so I loved the video! I knew you would come with it!! I feel the same way about Lauryn Hill that y’all do about Kanye. I’m like “I know you’re still in there LAURYN!!! Tell us what to do to free you from your prison!!” 😭 😭 😭
I have this same type of video planned for her, andre 3000, Obama, Dave Chapelle, etc so stay tuned
@@FDSignifire haha!! I love it! I remember Charlemagne *insert eyeroll cuz Charlemagne 🤦🏽♀️* anyway…I remember Charlemagne saying “y’all still out here caping for Lauryn Hill off that one album”. I’m like YES!!!…Charlemagne…did you LISTEN to that album?? It’s literally golden. I’m from Newark, NJ #brickcity and I’m here to tell you it’s so hard to make Newark, New Jersey sound cool but she did it with “New Jerusalem”! She made a rap song with the hook “how you gonna win when you ain’t right within?”. She made positivity and self-respect COOL. The song ZION! The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill 🎵 Are you kidding?? We ride FOREVER!!
Ok but back to Kanye, I feel like it is worth it to mention that while there are supporters like you that are still holding out for Kanye’s reversal….he also attracts men that engage in misogynoir AND his ally-ship with Trump brought him new Trumpster followers and supporters as well. So not all his ride or die followers are trying to get him to turn back time. And also…it’s sometimes hard for me to believe that this all comes from a place of only mental health and pain of loss. A lot of times it feels like what we see happen to a lot of black celebs. They make it to the top and then start thinking like and aligning themselves with the mindsets of the oppressors.
Lastly, Lupe Fiasco 💜 hes my favorite rapper and he was also a part of the new age rap movement along with Kanye. He also fell into nonsense as well 🤦🏽♀️
@@FDSignifire yes. please.
@@FDSignifire Yes!!!
@@FDSignifire please!!!! Those will be sooo amazing!!!
This and your Tyson vid really prove you have a gift for these deep dives, for presenting the lives of these people in the context of their time and their relationship to their fans (with a nice touch of personal perspective).
I'm also a sucker for anytime someone incorporates wrestling into a vid like this.
For most of my highschool life, I heard people talk about the genius of Kanye, of how important he was, and I just didn't get it at all. In my mind, I thought, "But it's just music, how can it be THAT good?" Then, in college, I heard my first ever Kanye song and I got it. Honestly, I'm mostly just commenting to boost engagement with your phenomenal video, but I just wanna thank you for laying this out in such a significant, meaningful, and digestible way. I'll never truly *get* what Kanye means to so many people, especially as a middle class white boy, but your videos on him have given me an understanding of the culture he created, of the impact he had, and it's given me empathy for the man himself. So thank you, keep on making amazing videos, I know we all appreciate you.
This is like 'behind the music' with added depth and a person touch.
Cis het white dude here. I often talk about missing old Kanye. South Side, The Food, all of Late Registration... He was so good and I want him to be mentally well
I'm a 28 yt woman and I have bipolar disorder. I have a little more understanding for Kanye but I avoid watching his episodes. It filled me with an odd sadness and frustration. Now that I have stayed medicated and episode free for years I'm starting to feel like myself again. I want the young and brilliant Kanye back. I feel like his art is different and amazing and maybe this was a necessary process for his art to be put through but now I just want happiness, safety, and stability. He evolved into a God complex and now he needs to evolve back into a man. I think I subconsciously felt the sadness of losing the bright and hopeful Kanye that was so good for the black community. I think I felt the frustration of being able to stay medicated and healthy (which is hands down the easiest way to live) and seeing him fail to thrive personally. I hope he gets away from all the bad influences that brainwash him when he's vulnerable. I hope he gets trust in medicine that saved my life. I hope he gets his family (maybe not marriage) back. He deserves it and he has so much more to say that needs to be said by a respectable version of himself.
So I've been letting this sink in for a day now and I just have to say...even beyond the quality of the research, your insights, and gaining an appreciation for Pro Wrestling I never expected I think the thing I appreciate most about this video and your channel in general is just what a fantastic storyteller you are. The way you introduce themes that work in tandem with the narrative you create, growing and paying off with the central concepts you're relating is just a pleasure to watch and satisfying as hell. Even channels I watch that are explicitly about storytelling don't do this as well as you do. Well done!
idk how you keep doing 1-hour videos dropping so much knowledge and insight every time. he doesn’t miss folks
Max! Where you been? Are you back?
@@FDSignifire i’ve been watching! i just moved in july and have been having a bit of a rough patch since then so it’s been hard to work on my own stuff. hoping to finish something in the next month-ish, honestly you’ve been a big motivator for me knowing you’re blowing up now and still putting out consistent, innovative new stuff. so happy you’re finally getting that recognition! thanks for not forgetting about me 😂
5:20 As an outsider looking in, the more I hear about professional wrestling the more I, too, get annoyed at the “but it’s not real” argument, because as you said, that doesn’t seem to be what it’s about.
This was such a thoughtful and thorough dive into the development of Kanye, his influence on the genre and how he brought a completely underrepresented aspect of blackness, as well as black masculinity, to the forefront of the culture. THANK YOU!
I’m a big wrestling fan so I love how that made its way into the telling of the story. I understood all of that so well from years of watching and I’m glad you broke it down for the people that may not be into wrestling like that. I’m really happy your channel landed on my feed a few weeks ago. Awesome stuff man, thank you.
Wow. Just stumbled on this channel and just finished watched the Lauryn Hill video. Loving it! So dope to get some academic, nerdy analysis on hip hop icons and culture. Subscribed!
Hip hop legends video coming in April
I never liked how the media always highlighted kanye's flaws as something amusing to be tittled at. Obviously the man has spiraled and I would love to see him work on himself and be better, instead of using his faith as a crutch, but it's important to remember that Kanye is not just his flaws no matter how they may overshadow him in our perception.
There is still a goodness in him and I don't mean just potentially but actively in the present moment , the media tends to shine a light on the worst of our heroes.
To use another artist as as example, Dababy deserved every bit of flack for his homophobic and hurtful comments but in the process we myopically looked past the reality that he's also a loving father, a friend, a human being who is more then just "problematic or unproblematic." Humanity becomes ignored in the lens of public opinion .
Man, I'm not black nor american and I don't even listen to rap, but this 55 minute video kept me hooked from begining to end.
It's mesmerizing how a single person had so much impact on a whole society, and Signifier's eloquence and how he contextualizes the history with his own personal feelings made me glimpse at the real importance of a figure like Kanye. Great video
Same
Same
Bruh..sorry for the second comment, but you really just opened my eyes with the kayfabe concept; thank you once again ✊🏾🖤
Not being aware of this has destroyed way too many folks lives smh
Another video knocked out of the park, man. So well done, so well thought out and well organized. I was one of the young white males in the 90s that bought into the kayfabe of West Coast Hip Hop. Thank you for once again putting words to thoughts and feelings that I’ve felt but not articulated. As usual, I learned a ton. Thank you. I really appreciate your videos.
This legit made me cry, the attachment I have for what Kanye did is still a big part of me