Before I begin, let me just say that I am a Kanye West fan. I’ve been riding with him since day one, because his passion for music and his ability to sonically create statement pieces has always been a thing of beauty. So when the mainstream media collectively turned their back on him following the Taylor Swift debacle, I didn’t blink … not even once. I mean sure, I was disappointed in his childish behavior, but that didn’t change the fact that West was still one of the most talented artists of our generation.
Well, after some time off to let the Taylor wounds heal, West has returned promoting a few things: a new look (suits), a new toy (Twitter) and a new message (suicide.)
Unfortunately, the last part was not a typo. Kanye West is now promoting suicide through his music. For West to be considered such a progressive artist, the manner in which he promotes suicide in his first single “Power” is downright egregious.
Let’s take a closer look at the lyrics, so you can see what I mean.
As the song begins, West sticks his middle finger up to critics, in a manner that we’ve all become accustomed to.
“I’m livin’ in the 21st century
Doin’ something mean to it
Do it better than anybody you ever seen do it
Screams from the haters, got a nice ring to it
I guess every superhero need his theme music
No one man should have all that power
The clock’s tickin’, I just count the hours
Stop trippin’, I’m trippin’ off the power”
Typical West, right? Yes, that’s what I thought too. From the onset, it was my belief that West would use the negative energy that was mounted against him, and fight back against his critics. That in itself would exhibit real power. The underlying message could be that no matter how many obstacles are standing in your way, never give up, because ultimately you have the power to accomplish anything that you set your mind to. That’s the kind of message that I could one day share with my kids and their kids.
And West was almost there until the last lines of his song.
“Now this would be a beautiful death
Jumpin’ out the window
Lettin’ everything go
Lettin’ everything go
You got the power to let power go”
With the blink of an eye, West decided to relinquish his power by choosing suicide as the route, and I have a huge problem with that. Under no circumstance should we ever be promoting suicide as a viable option. There’s no power in that; only cowardice. And for West to suggest to his legions of fans that jumping out of a window would somehow be a beautiful death … well, that’s just downright irresponsible, and someone needs to call him out for this “powerless” suggestion. –dewayne rogers
