I think words are one of our lowest forms of communication. Music, sound, food, dancing are nonverbal forms of communication. We get so wrapped up into words. We got to make things that are speechless. We have to make things that leave people speechless. We have to make things to the level where no one can say anything.
— Kanye West
I didn’t think it was possible to love Kanye — in what he means as a public figure — more, but somehow his GQ cover interview did just that. (link)
There’s a lot to unpack, and I’m not going to cover all of it. But I do want to work through my core belief around Kanye’s pureness of “unfiltered creation”.
What do we think of when we think of Kanye West?
George Bush doesn’t care about black people. His MAGA hat. Him standing on top of a table in the Apple store. His proclamation of being both Jobs and Walt Disney.
All these come to mind as Kanye, potentially more than any other artist, has the gift of demanding attention for his ~acts~. It’s a self generated gravity. Where every act radiates with a force that pulls us back. Even if we hate him for it.
Everything I’ve ever done has been an art piece, because I’m an artist.
Any action. Any word. Anything. Even this conversation right now.
— Kanye
Beyond any other description you could ascribe to Kanye, the word I continually comes back to is “creator”. He simply exists to create.
The music birthed Yeezy. The music combined with Yeezy birthed Sunday Service and a renewal of faith. The combination of these things birthed his new project in Cody, Wyoming.
And there is a privilege to this as well. That he can choose to construct the reality of his projects — both off of the fame of himself & despite the consequences one may have thought to result from certain actions.
Throughout the entire piece we see the constructed reality of Kanye. If he parks one way when entering a new venue. His car is magically turned around, pointed to his next location by his team. There is no, inconvenience. Nothing saying, at this point, “no, you cannot do this Mr. West.”
The only thing that falters Kanye’s ambition is how much he registers the vocal critique of certain audiences. And as long as he compartmentalizes that critique, he opens his psyche up to whatever he believes he can construct — with the help of others he appreciates. The rarity of this, as a black man, cannot be overlooked. We cannot strip away the complexities that identity brings when we discuss Kanye and everything he does and represents.
This reminds me of a moment I had while walking around Clinton Hill last year. I was walking behind a black mother and her young son. The mother was on a phone call with someone, and had just hung up. She then looked down to her son and expressed the very harsh reality that was tied to that phone call. I chuckled, thinking of the fact that many black parents don’t hide realities from their children. That that particular luxury does not exist for them.
But then I started thinking about what this forced maturity does to the mind. Does to that child’s imagination of what their life might look like. Already burdened down with realities well beyond their years. I thought about my own childhood. Growing up in the Poconos, my parents affording me whatever reality I wanted to construct for myself. And the result of me being the only black kid in many arenas of my life until I got to college.
Kanye has restructured his reality to not be blocked by the impositions others might try to throw at him.
You don’t want me to rap, only produce? Too bad
You don’t want me to make clothes, only rap? Too bad
You don’t want me to start my own center for new living, only make clothes? Too bad
You know what it is? Farming. Farming ideas. Planting seeds. Fashion Week and the internet is the soil. This is the seed. If I don’t show, then I never plant the seed. But the thing is, people say, “This is Kanye West, and we love the huge trees that you have given us. We want to come to your garden to see your trees.” And when they come, they just see dirt.
— Kanye
I’ve written a lot about the difference between process and residual. Process is the visible nature of planting seeds in the soil. Residual is enjoying the trees, the grove if you’re lucky.
Kanye is a master of visible process.
Recording “Through The Wire” with a jaw that was wired shut. Updating The Life of Pablo (his best album) multiple times across platforms after release. Scratching entire works, leaking them, and then recording a new album within a couple weeks and making that the official work. Recording on his iPhone. Making album art on the way to the live show.
And now we get to see it on another scale in Cody, Wyoming.
Will this center become the new Black Mountain College? (h/t Nikita for sharing this wave)
Perhaps more importantly — what does this location tell us about where the new edges of cultural experimentation might be headed? Do we need an exodus in order to bring new creations, new thoughts, new forms… that’ll breathe new life to our cities?
In an increasingly dematerializing world, I don’t think we fully understand the ramifications to the psyche due to the continual abstraction of what we produce. This is probably why remote work never sat well with me… if what I produce (software) is already abstracted, please give me physicality with those I’m producing with.
I simply find it very attractive to think about living in a place like Cody, in order to pull back and test what new consumption may inspire new production.
A lot of people are celebrities because they’re vibrating at such a high energy. They’re just stars. I felt that me and James always had that connection. That first time I talked to him, I was literally screaming at the top of my lungs about how important it was for us to work together.
— Kanye
I wrote months ago that all creation is spiritual. From which there was nothing, there is now something. To feel, consume, meld as part of ourselves. In the most beautiful times — extend.
The visible process of Kanye elevates so much discussion around expression and production. And we wrestle… publicly over the nature of his actions.
Let me state clearly — that I do believe that there are gaps in Kanye’s overall logic. That some of his support is misguided, and is hurtful to other causes. And he’s allowed to do all of these things in his God given autonomy.
But most importantly what I have taken away — from both my fandom and observations — are a few core principles that apply to every creator.
Chase people you find talented with exceptional fervor, and force them to collaborate with you
Now that you have these people, bring them together, isolate them — and push. The Mac team would go to Hawaii. MBDTF was recorded in Hawaii. Eternal went to Beacon — there is clarity in getting away together
Publish and record everything. People don’t remember most L’s. Your big moments outshine them. — both of these are refining as the creator
Take, combine, & reform from everything you consume and are attracted to
Don’t try to look too far in too the future — you can paralyze yourself
I don’t do edits really, so excuse typos and things that don’t make sense.
Thanks so much for giving me your attention. I hope it was worth it, if not… unsubscribing will not hurt my feelings, and will give you back time you literally cannot have back.
Much love.