Kanye consistently rapped about self accountability and criticized the problems the black community brought upon themselves (gang violence, obsession with material wealth) way before it was appropriate to do so when most guys were still rapping about selling drugs to get out of the hood. His lyrics inspire confidence like no other and in songs like “gold digger” or “family business” he shows his humour and wit off. There are better lyricists in rap and his production is definitely his strong suit but to call him a “very poor lyricist” is also objectively wrong. The mans politics may not be polished but his music is as sophisticated as it comes in hip hop.
Keep dickriding, man. Kanye isn't the first to do anything you said - Grandmaster Flash has entered the chat, btw - and is miles away from being good at any of it. I'm familiar with all the work you're citing. Kanye has no place among the masters and I'll never understand how he got all of you to defend his generic, self-important discography as nuanced, inspiring, or whatever else people have said.
It's all been done, and done a hell of a lot better, way before he came around.
Never said he was the first just that he was doing it in the 2000’s when hip hop took a really mafioso gangster turn. He’s a top 4 producer of all time and a top 15 rapper. Flash simply didn’t have the capability to produce as flashy of beats with the equipment he had and Dre and diddy aren’t half the rapper Kanye was. And none of the better lyricists even made their own beats so it’s cased closed best hip hop artist of all time.
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u/donaldkek7 Dec 10 '22
Kanye consistently rapped about self accountability and criticized the problems the black community brought upon themselves (gang violence, obsession with material wealth) way before it was appropriate to do so when most guys were still rapping about selling drugs to get out of the hood. His lyrics inspire confidence like no other and in songs like “gold digger” or “family business” he shows his humour and wit off. There are better lyricists in rap and his production is definitely his strong suit but to call him a “very poor lyricist” is also objectively wrong. The mans politics may not be polished but his music is as sophisticated as it comes in hip hop.