In recent weeks, the unveiling of Kanye
West’s Bound 2 video has sparked much controversy, on the surface; the video is
nothing but a sordid misrepresentation of the feminine form. The trashy
soft-core pornography is typical of the stereotypical rap video, which is
demeaning to women as a whole, while being overly infused with references to
the rappers genitals and their subsequently above average sizes. However, after
reading Hari Sethi’s analytical article of the video, and his interpretations
of what the self acclaimed genius had meant to impart on his audience, I came
to the conclusion that perhaps I had been too rash in my judgement of the video,
and I like many others, because of my preconceptions, may have instantly missed the point of Kanye’s Bound 2 video.
In the article, Hari Sethi discusses
Kanye’s previous works, the motif and the artist’s continual attempts to
challenge stereotypes, and create a society in which people are not labelled
because of their skin colour. By contextualising the video and the rap itself,
Hari Sethi attempts to defend the rapper’s intentions creating a reason behind
what is for all intents and purposes, a meaningless and half hearted attempt to
generate an income by once again sexualising music.
Kanye West (free spoken as he is) has never
struck me as a particularly influence artist, his mannerisms suggest a shallow,
self centred, uneducated individual, who futilely attempts to imitate the
lifestyle of respected rapper Jay-Z. In his quest for recognition, the
frivolous artist has ventured as far as proclaiming himself as God in his
crudely entitled musical composition ‘I am God’. Hari Sethi argues that the
rapper is in fact working to change the image of Jesus – ‘the most culturally
recognisable white figure in the world’- reconciling the image of Jesus, with a
black man. The two are classically juxtaposed; Jesus is almost world widely
recognised as a chaste icon of purity, atypically black rappers are associated
with leading lavish debauched lifestyles and being some of society’s most
prominent transgressors. Sethi would argue that Kanye integrates the image of
Jesus with that of the rapper in order to spearhead a change in the way rappers
are universally viewed. However, I still believe that Kanye’s actions are
purely blasphemous, and he is attempting to generate enmity among the religious
population in order to stir up discussions so that he stays relevant and well
know- a tactic utilized by many an artist, Lady Gaga in particular.
After reading the article by Hari Sethi, I
came to the conclusion that Kanye was (as I had previously thought) an
egotistical narcissistic iconoclast who strives to cause controversy in order
to stay relevant. If he is indeed (as Hari Sethi so vehemently believes)
attempting to change the image of the black in today’s society, then he is
undoubtedly failing to convey his point and is rather strongly reinforcing the
age old stereotypes.
The article by Hari Sethi: http://sabotagetimes.com/music/why-everybody-has-missed-the-point-of-kanyes-bound-2-video
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