I wonder if he will storytell in all caps?

NashMcNash: I wonder if he will storytell in all caps?

he does seem like a shouter.


oddly enough, his voice sounded better when the autotuner was going out on SNL.

Wow, he's got a song called "Robocop."

Somehow I doubt it's actually about Robocop.

He's a farking retard. The only thing putting him on Storytellers does is reinforce his "I'm an artistic genius" thinking.

He's just another rapper. He's no better than MC Hammer...

Thank you Autotune[new target]

Kayne?

Beatle_Matt: He's a farking retard. The only thing putting him on Storytellers does is reinforce his "I'm an artistic genius" thinking.

He's just another rapper. He's no better than MC Hammer...

clearly you don't follow Hammer on twitter...becuase if you did you'd be saying that Kanye kicks farking ass...and somehow I doubt that's what you really think

His first VH1 storytellers (after Late Registration) was actually really good

He doesn't know how to sing - he never claimed to. He turns the autotune all the way up for digital effect. It's annoying just because it's annoying, and overly prevalent now in hip-hop, not because he's like a pop singer passing himself off as a talented vocalist.

You mean "How I learned to sing in autotune."

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Kanye West is one of the most brilliant producers in hip hop right now. As a producer in hip hop, you make beats and promote. Every rapper wants a Kanye beat and he promotes the shiat out of himself and his music all the way to the top of the charts.

His singing is not too impressive, but I have to admit that sounded better than most of the synthesized garbage that tries to perform live.

Love the beats, like the lyrics (if you don't take them too seriously), farking HATE the chauvinistic assclown attitude that he dumps on everyone.

pelzar: Kanye West is one of the most brilliant producers in hip hop right now. As a producer in hip hop, you make beats and promote. Every rapper wants a Kanye beat and he promotes the shiat out of himself and his music all the way to the top of the charts.

Man, I keep hearing people talking about his brilliance and I don't hear it. I just hear him nicking stuff Ninja Tune did years ago.

Danger Mouse, to my ears, seems to be the better producer today. Thievery Corporation and others as well although they cross a lot of genres.

You call it "promoting" but I think it's more like "whoring."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCOWuQOoIYk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK7Kp3-7BVI

As a producer, he does sample. That's the name of the game, though. Not trying to sound defensive on behalf of Kanye, but it does bother me when people say he is whoring out his music. It isn't like he made five beats and sells them to 100 artists. He makes a living making beats. The more beats he does, the more compensation he receives. He makes quality beats (although many times for not-so-quality artists).

I'm not one to judge musical talent based on album sales, but is pretty much an evident truth that Kanye West is the king of hip hop beats right now.

When you watch him in the booth, you can really see that he has a passion for what he does and wants to be great at it. He's just always been a rich kid with an elitist persona.

Singing ability doesn't care about black people.

pelzar: As a producer, he does sample. That's the name of the game, though. Not trying to sound defensive on behalf of Kanye, but it does bother me when people say he is whoring out his music. It isn't like he made five beats and sells them to 100 artists. He makes a living making beats. The more beats he does, the more compensation he receives. He makes quality beats (although many times for not-so-quality artists).

I'm not one to judge musical talent based on album sales, but is pretty much an evident truth that Kanye West is the king of hip hop beats right now.

Every single instance I see him on TV, he is whining about not getting an award, mugging face time every chance he gets. He's overstates his importance in music in every article I read. He was on Rolling Stone portrayed as Jesus. Dude is a flat out whore. He sucks more dick than Madonna to get his 15 minutes re-upped.

When someone says "making beats" I begin to feel nauseous. How the heck do you figure he's "king of the hip hop beats?" What's your criteria for this? His chart hits? Because if we're basing it off of sick ass crate diggin' skills, he's no where near a DJ Shadow (even since "Outsider") and he's not a patch on someone like Blockhead. If you put him up against a cat like Amon Tobin, he doesn't have one record that could compare production wise to shiat Tobin did almost 10 years ago.

pelzar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCOWuQOoIYk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK7Kp3-7BVI

As a producer, he does sample. That's the name of the game, though. Not trying to sound defensive on behalf of Kanye, but it does bother me when people say he is whoring out his music. It isn't like he made five beats and sells them to 100 artists. He makes a living making beats. The more beats he does, the more compensation he receives. He makes quality beats (although many times for not-so-quality artists).

I'm not one to judge musical talent based on album sales, but is pretty much an evident truth that Kanye West is the king of hip hop beats right now.

When you watch him in the booth, you can really see that he has a passion for what he does and wants to be great at it. He's just always been a rich kid with an elitist persona.

So he can program a drum machine and that makes him a genius?!?! You could apply the old monkey/typewriter adage to this situation and the monkeys would come up with a "fresh beat" a hell of a lot quicker than they'd write a story.

This guy sucks. Overrated.

Prince of Pluto: Wow, he's got a song called "Robocop."

Somehow I doubt it's actually about Robocop.

It samples from RoboCop, at least.

devilskware: So he can program a drum machine and that makes him a genius?!?! You could apply the old monkey/typewriter adage to this situation and the monkeys would come up with a "fresh beat" a hell of a lot quicker than they'd write a story.

He's not actually programming a drum machine. From one of the YouTube videos that pelzar posted he says he's working with a CD of beats that a friend compiled for him off of vinyl. That doesn't exactly take a whole lot of musical talent, although there is something to be said for having a good ear for a good break or riff. I just find it somewhat disconcerting that so much praise is given towards these producers who are building some of the most basic backing tracks for people to rap over. It's not anything a 12 year old couldn't do with a $30 software package and a crate of his dad's old jazz records.

I'm not saying he's good or bad; but I'm not impressed with what I hear. People toss around that term "genius" far too much when his name shows up. I've yet to hear the title be justified. I'm not saying he has to be John Coltrane, but when Derrick May programmed a drum machine it was pretty damn complex, and yeah, it was artistry and genius.

devilskware: So he can program a drum machine and that makes him a genius?!?! You could apply the old monkey/typewriter adage to this situation and the monkeys would come up with a "fresh beat" a hell of a lot quicker than they'd write a story.

You are clueless

Beats - The non-lyrical musical accompaniment to any rap/hip hop song.

In hip hop music, the term 'beat' has come to be defined as the entire instrumental, non-vocal portion of the song.

hooks4feet: Singing ability doesn't care about black people.

Michael Jackson?

..oh wait.

Glitchwerks: That doesn't exactly take a whole lot of musical talent, although there is something to be said for having a good ear for a good break or riff. I just find it somewhat disconcerting that so much praise is given towards these producers who are building some of the most basic backing tracks for people to rap over. It's not anything a 12 year old couldn't do with a $30 software package and a crate of his dad's old jazz records.


This is the same argument as "any 3 year old can do what Jackson Pollock did." It's patently untrue. This opinion is usually pushed forward by people who have only the shallowest understanding of what it takes to do what the artist is doing.

Derwood: Glitchwerks: That doesn't exactly take a whole lot of musical talent, although there is something to be said for having a good ear for a good break or riff. I just find it somewhat disconcerting that so much praise is given towards these producers who are building some of the most basic backing tracks for people to rap over. It's not anything a 12 year old couldn't do with a $30 software package and a crate of his dad's old jazz records.


This is the same argument as "any 3 year old can do what Jackson Pollock did." It's patently untrue. This opinion is usually pushed forward by people who have only the shallowest understanding of what it takes to do what the artist is doing.

Exactly. 3 year olds can't convince people their crap is worth millions. That's where the talent comes in.

Derwood: This is the same argument as "any 3 year old can do what Jackson Pollock did." It's patently untrue. This opinion is usually pushed forward by people who have only the shallowest understanding of what it takes to do what the artist is doing.

I agree, it's insulting to 3 year olds to compare their artwork to Pollock. I'll never understand why people claim Pollock is as talented as a three year old.

Derwood: This is the same argument as "any 3 year old can do what Jackson Pollock did." It's patently untrue. This opinion is usually pushed forward by people who have only the shallowest understanding of what it takes to do what the artist is doing.

Sorry, but I do know what he's doing in terms of production and I'm not impressed. Any other snarky response I may have had has already been handled by the posters above me, so I'll leave it at that.

LewDux: devilskware: So he can program a drum machine and that makes him a genius?!?! You could apply the old monkey/typewriter adage to this situation and the monkeys would come up with a "fresh beat" a hell of a lot quicker than they'd write a story.

You are clueless

Beats - The non-lyrical musical accompaniment to any rap/hip hop song.

In hip hop music, the term 'beat' has come to be defined as the entire instrumental, non-vocal portion of the song.

How clueless of me ... to think that beats means beats ... as in drumbeats. SO do they call keyboards beatboards?? There were some seriously badass beatboard riffs on that laffy taffy song.

Derwood: Glitchwerks: That doesn't exactly take a whole lot of musical talent, although there is something to be said for having a good ear for a good break or riff. I just find it somewhat disconcerting that so much praise is given towards these producers who are building some of the most basic backing tracks for people to rap over. It's not anything a 12 year old couldn't do with a $30 software package and a crate of his dad's old jazz records.


This is the same argument as "any 3 year old can do what Jackson Pollock did." It's patently untrue. This opinion is usually pushed forward by people who have only the shallowest understanding of what it takes to do what the artist is doing.

Yea I've only been playing for 17 years and doing home recording for 14 years. I program funky fresh beats into a drum machine all the time ... then I play real instruments over them. Sometimes I use a REAL drum set. My shallow, uneducated opinion is that this guy is overrated.

devilskware: Yea I've only been playing for 17 years and doing home recording for 14 years. I program funky fresh beats into a drum machine all the time ... then I play real instruments over them. Sometimes I use a REAL drum set. My shallow, uneducated opinion is that this guy is overrated.

I heard you guys sometimes play by licking your guitars. Don't you afraid to get a splinter?

devilskware: Derwood: Glitchwerks: That doesn't exactly take a whole lot of musical talent, although there is something to be said for having a good ear for a good break or riff. I just find it somewhat disconcerting that so much praise is given towards these producers who are building some of the most basic backing tracks for people to rap over. It's not anything a 12 year old couldn't do with a $30 software package and a crate of his dad's old jazz records.


This is the same argument as "any 3 year old can do what Jackson Pollock did." It's patently untrue. This opinion is usually pushed forward by people who have only the shallowest understanding of what it takes to do what the artist is doing.

Yea I've only been playing for 17 years and doing home recording for 14 years. I program funky fresh beats into a drum machine all the time ... then I play real instruments over them. Sometimes I use a REAL drum set. My shallow, uneducated opinion is that this guy is overrated.

How many platinum albums do you have? yes, yes, yes.....record sales aren't a direct indicator of ability, but he's doing something that an awful lot of people like

Derwood: How many platinum albums do you have? yes, yes, yes.....record sales aren't a direct indicator of ability, but he's doing something that an awful lot of people like

That argument isn't going to work either. Mainstream music markets are closed environments. New music doesn't enter radio rotation unless a major label is pushing the record. Simply put, there's absolutely no point of entry for anyone else no matter how good their record may be.

Play something enough and people are going to like it and will buy it. If you think Kanye's got some hooks to appeal to people, cool, but I can assure you if the playing field was level, Kanye would have been knocked out of the park along time ago.

I hear all these people calling him a "genius" and they own like a dozen CD's and always have the radio on HOT 111.99 WTFM in their car. In the kingdom of the blind, the one eyed man is king.