This article was written by Ray F., an Essex County, NJ Middle School Student.
The following article is a part of a new series, “Listening to Youth Voices in the New Year.” Each Sunday, articles written by Essex County Middle School students will be published, each week relating to a new topic. You can learn more about this series here.
“No one man should have all that power. The clock's ticking I just count the hour. Stop tripping I’m tripping of the power. Till then, F*** that the world’s ours” - Kanye West.
Five letters. Only five letters define someone's ability to control others, through any peaceful as well as violent means. Hitler used those five letters. Ghandi used those five letters. Osama Bin Laden used those five letters. Martin Luther King Jr. used those five letters. And in the midst of it all, Kanye West uses those five letters. Kanye West is an idol for most kids my age. He's famous, a fashion icon, and rich. Almost none of these kids, though, care to look past Kanye’s fame. His stances and conceptions on everything around him are simply ignored by youth, clouded by his stardom. Although I still do respect Kanye, I think it's logical I give him more than one look. My message could possibly reach other kids as well and teach them not to idolize only Kanye, but reconsider the fame of other celebrities.
Kanye West has more recognition than most politicians. Twitter is a popular social media app, racking 300 million monthly users, where anyone is free to express their opinion at any time. Hillary Clinton- ex secretary of New York, two time presidential candidate, and first lady- has 15 million less followers on Twitter than West. When Clinton announced her run for presidency, she received 105,780 likes, though when Kanye West announced “Mcdonald's is my favorite brand,” he received 221,075 likes. Hillary was beat out by a fast food remark. As well as Hillary, Kanye has left a bloodbath of politicians in his dust. Many say that politicians have the most power in this world. They speak for their countries, and without them, the world would be in chaos. Kanye West has beaten them to their own popularity game. In the 2012 election, Obama/Biden had 65,915,795 votes, while in its first 10 days of unfinished release, Kanye’s album The Life Of Pablo had received 250 million streams. Not only did Kanye receive more recognition than the potential first female president, but more than the first African American president to serve two terms.
In addition, Kanye speaks his mind, and most of the time, it can be for the worse. Similar to our president Donald Trump, West has no muzzle. At the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Taylor Swift - pop singer- won the Best Female Video Award. Midway through her acceptance speech, Kanye hopped onto the stage and remarked that “Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time!” Following boos and cheering, he promptly left once his message was delivered to millions watching. Promptly after, Kanye recieved backlash from around the globe, and it would go down as one of his most notable outbursts. Additionally during one of the worst hurricanes to ever hit the United States - Hurricane Katrina- Kanye partook in a live stream. He and his co-host were mourning the event and discussing important matters when Kanye blurted “George Bush hates black people.” What followed were truly appalled faces of those who also partook in staffing the broadcast, and everyone watching. These events took place at venues where he was in an environment where he shouldn't say these things, and even though he was invited to both, he had acted out as if he was a party crasher- someone going to an event with the intent of ruining it or acting rudely. Kanye is allowed to say whatever he wants, whenever he pleases.
Furthermore, Kanye uses his songs to express himself and his opinion. One of his most popular songs even refers to how much power he has. In the song Power, he says, “No one man should have all that power. The clock's ticking I just count the hour. Stop tripping I’m tripping of the power. Till then, F*** that the world’s ours.” Throughout the song, he expresses that he “is the man,” and his ego narrates the whole song. In the song, he speaks highly of himself, and tells people he is better than everyone around him. He has many songs to define himself. In the song “Famous”, he calls out Taylor Swift, and rants to the world about the world. He tells the listener, “He made [Taylor Swift] famous”, and the women he’s interacted with are “mad they still nameless.” The song is rude and offensive to everyone he's ever had something to do with. In a good amount of songs, Kanye has at least one controversial lyric embedded in it. Instead of meandering around, pleasing to say what he wants, he expresses it in song to his many, many fans who listen and hang onto his every word.
Kanye West is a popular celebrity who mistreats the great amount of power he has amassed. He has more fans than most politicians, and can lead his large audience to listen to what he says while breaking boundaries and really speaking his mind. He is “the 21st century man,” he embodies the figure of a tyrant or dictator, just one person drifting along a sea of followers and “haters.” He can be compared to everyone on the top of the hierarchy in social class, and is on the top. He is the definition of controversial, and has been the spark of social wars and opinions. Without his voice, he is nothing, and with it, his empire gets bigger and bigger. Considering all these points, Kanye West has had one of the most influential voices of the 21st century. Rather than abuse his power, Kanye should use it in a positive political space or try to help an oppressed group, as most celebrities do. Some root for West, some don't, but all in all, West should use his power in a constructive way to help.