Introduction

Kanye West is probably one of the most egotistical guys of our generation and he's not afraid to admit it. The rapper comes up with the craziest of quotes that are sometimes so silly, they make you laugh. He's a self-proclaimed genius and he even goes as far to call himself "God" He even believes he's got what it takes to become the future president of America. Some people say that he has the right to be egotistical because he is so talented but has he gone too far?

By doing research and finding credible sources such as books and online sources we will be able to investigate this ongoing argument.

808s & Heartbreaks

Kanye West God & Monster
By Mark Beaumont

Many people have mixed feelings about this album during the peak of Kanye West's career. Some people think he went soft. The mainstream loved this album and it was played all the time. Others highly questioned his amount auto-tuned that he used in this album. According to Kanye West this is one of his most important albums, despite all of the controversy. The truth is, Kanye was going through a very rough time, but many people didn't know this. His mother had died as a result of so many post-operative factors from her plastic surgery that she had at the age of 60. Kanye felt as though he was part to blame because he was the reason that she could afford this. His mom was one of his most influential human beings in his life, he had plenty of songs dedicated to her and about her before this album. To say the least, he was in pain and that is what forced him to change up his style of music for this album. This is an example how Kanye really does relate his music to his life and he even has his life events effect the way his music becomes.

I chose this part of the book to talk about because he's speaking out the same we he does in public, but this time through his music. He proved that he's not afraid to speak up like when he said "George Bush doesn't care about black people" on television. Now he's proving that he's not afraid to change his style of music because of the way his heart feels: broken.

The Story of How Kanye West Became Famous Will Make You Appreciate Him More

http://mic.com/articles/114856/the-story-of-how-kanye-became-famous-will-make-you-appreciate-him-even-more#.BqngL3y9Z

If you're struggling to find a reason to like Kanye west, this is an article for you to read. This article uses a form of pathos by describing Kanye's unique route to get into the music industry.

Unlike most rappers, Kanye West didn't really grow up in the "ghetto" in fact, his mother was an English professor. He actually went to college for musics on a scholarship but then once his scholarship was up, his family wasn't able to afford it anymore. This is when he went to his mother's college and eventually dropped out after one semester. After he dropped out he worked as a telemarketer during the day and stayed up making beats until 4 A.M. some nights. He ended up getting known by an underground producer and then eventually made it up to producing for Jay-Z and Rockefeller records. This was impressive on its own that Kanye West could make it to the big leagues just from producing beats. This is why Jay-Z was so hesitant to sign Kanye as an artist, because Kanye didn't have any rap albums out at all. Kanye was persistent, though and Jay-Z eventually signed him. After a big car crash Kanye finally decide to take on the task of writing, and not what most rappers rap about, he rapped about life. He came out with a song called "Through the Wire" which was about the car crash, then he dropped the album "The College Dropout" which was a huge hit.

The way Kanye made it is very unique and impressive, that on its own should give you a reason to like him, its like cheering for the underdog. It was hard for Jay-Z to sign him because he wasn't "hard" or "thug" like these other rappers, he was more educated and a little bit preppy.

Kanye has some strong words and explains the title of his album which are posted on Tom Barnes article on mic: "The name of my album is called The College Dropout," Kanye told MTV two years before it debuted. "All that's saying is make your own decisions. Don't let society tell you, 'This is what you have to do.' Society told me, 'Man, don't move from Chicago.' People told me to stay in school, this music is this, this music is that."

I chose this article because I wanted to show some contrast on why people do like Kanye. Some also question how credible Kanye is but this article easily explains how talented this man is by his ability to rise through the ranks of the rap industry. A quote from the wise rhetor at the end of the article is this "Kanye may talk big game. That's because he's playing one."

Fan Sues Kanye West, Tidal Over Rapper's New Album

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2016/04/19/fan-sues-kanye-west-tidal-over-rapper-new-album/ 

Relating to the blog post Why Kanye Acts That Way, Kanye's actions are often out of passion. Kanye told the public that his album was going to only be available to stream on the music service company called Tidal. Kanye did this because he is a partial owner and Jay-Z runs the company, so he wanted to give the struggling company a boost by sacrificing to put his album out for only this music streaming site. Kanye West was right, it worked, the site gained 2 million new subscribers within the first 10 days of the albums release.

"My album will never never be on Apple. And it will never be for sale... You can only get it on Tidal."

The problem with saying things like this, is that you have to hold your own on it. Although, it has not been released on iTunes, it has been released on Spotify. Now he has a fan that is suing him that could be for as much as $84 million dollars. The fans lawyers believe that there is no reason that the fan should lose this case. Out of all the ridiculous statements that Kanye has tried to make, for example the post that Carly talked about with Kanye West running for president, this one is not very far-fetched. The problem is, this time it was a rare occasion that he wasn't able to follow through with his statement. 

I used this article about Tidal, because it is a piece that is very relevant right now and it relates to many of the past articles that we have talked about. It is another action to add to Kanye's collection of in a sense ruining his public image.

Kanye as a Dad

Carly Morris

http://www.eonline.com/news/451798/kanye-west-dishes-about-being-a-good-father-to-baby-nori-on-kris-jenner-s-talk-show


In June of 2013, Kanye and Kim Kardashian welcomed their new daughter, North. In an article on E Online about Kanye being featured on Kris Jenner's talk show, they talk about how much Kanye has changed since he became a dad. Kanye speaks about the pressure he already has being a new dad and on top of that he had paparazzi yelling at his infront of his daughter. He says that being a dad in the limelight is "really intense." He also reconsiders some of his previous decisions such as taking the mic from Taylor Swift. He says that he wouldn't want some guy taking the mic from his daughter and if he had a daughter at that time he never would have done it. Kanye then acknowledges that some of his incidents were a result of his mother's death in 2007. In the end we have to remember that Kanye is also a person who has to take on things that normal people have to such as being a dad. He claims that "having a family has changed him" so I guess we can only wait and see how much he will actually change.

I chose to write about Kanye being a dad because I think this article did a good job describing Kanye as a normal human being. I think that is important for the audience to remember that because he is automatically associated with all the negative things he has done. I also think it is also interesting to show the audience that he is "changing." I want to include different perspectives into this blog so the audience can get a fuller understanding to why Kanye does what he does. 

Kanye at the MTV Europe Awards

William Xiong

http://www.mtv.com/news/1544794/kanye-admits-to-having-had-a-sippy-sippy-or-two-before-ema-rant/

This article was published by Gil Kaufman on November 3, 2006

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qbg9XZ2vbw4  <-- Watch the video here



At MTV Europe Awards in 2006 Kanye West's "Touch the Sky" was nominated for Best Music Video along with Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy", OK Go's "A Million Ways, Pinks "Stupid Girls" and Justice vs. Simian's "We Are Your Friends". In the end, it was Justice vs. Simian's "We Are Your Friends" that took home the award. As they were middle of their speech Kanye interrupted and took over. Along with the cursing he addressed that his video costed one millions dollars to make and should have won. To back up his reasoning's even more he stated that Pamela Anderson was in the video and that he had jumped over canyons and sh*t. Kanye admitted that he hasn't watched their music video either. And because he didn't win the award he said that the MTV Europe Awards has lost credibility.

There's a few things wrong with with his argument of not winning. First of all he thinks that since his video costed one million dollars to make that he should have won the award. It's not the money that makes the best video, its the content. Second, he says that the show loses credibility since he lost. To win an award you have to be chosen by viewers and fans. It is not the show that loses credibility, it just happened to be that there were more viewers and fans that thought "We Are Your Friends" was a better music video. Not the show itself. Lastly Kanye states that his video was better even though he admits that he hasn't even watched their video. How egotistic is that?

Kanye's ego has led him to think that he can speak with little or no logic. His ego has led himself to look like a fool. To Kanye it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks or what they say because in his mind he always thinks he is right.

This article is relates and connects to the Taylor swift article because they both are events that displays his ego on television. I choose this article because it was another example that addresses Kanye's ego. The main reasoning of this choosing this article is to give the viewers of the blog information of what Kanye's ego is like. This information on this article will help the viewers of the blog determine whether Kanye's ego has gone to far or not.

Most Important Artist of All Time

Carly morris

http://www.electronicbeats.net/yeezus-christ-alrighty-5-reasons-why-kanye-west-is-one-of-the-most-important-artists-of-our-time/

Does Kanye have the right to have a big ego? According James Ormiston, a writer for Electronic Beats, Kanye is one of the most important artist of all time. He claims that the risk taking artist has made a second career by "stirring up controversy, and flexing his ego." He also says that most artist would be ruined if they tried to pull of some of the stunts Kanye has, but yet he is still striving. Ormiston backs up his statement by revealing some facts such as "He's changed the way we listen to pop music." He talks about how Kanye has used several sounds to make his music that has also influenced many other artist. He also says that "He's larger than life, in an endearingly human way." Ormiston says that Kanye's growing list of outrages and self aggrandizing stunts is what makes Kanye so endearing. People are able to relate to his rants because most people have been in a place where they too are outraged and would love to say some of the things Kanye has.  He says that "Kanye is a character, but we still see ourselves in him." James Ormiston believes that Kanye is one of the most important artist of all time even will all the stunts he has pulled off. He ends will saying that in the end "Kanye is doing it for Kanye."

I chose this source because it gave a different perspective on Kanye compared to the other post which have a mostly negative tone towards him. I want to make the audience know a different side to Kanye and make their own opinion about if Kanye has the right to have a large ego. 

Kanye for President

Carly Morris 

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/white-house-thinks-kanye-west-presidential-bid-2020/story?id=33439774

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-obama-weighs-kanye-west-2020-presidential-bid/story?id=34392332

At the 2015 VMAs Kanye West received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.. With that he gave a very interesting acceptance speech that caught a lot of people off guard. Kanye announced that he was going to run for president in 2020. Many people had reactions from  this announcement including the white house. In an article posted by ABC News and written by Arlette Saenz, Saenz talks about how people in the white house are poking fun at Kanye's news such as White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest who says he is “looking forward to seeing what slogan he chooses to embroider on his campaign hat.” In a different ABC News Article by Devin Dwyer, he talks about how Obama is chiming in on Kanye's presidential bid. Obama jokingly gave advice to Kanye such as "you have to spend some time dealing with some strange characters who act like they're on a reality TV show. You gotta be cool with that." And ending with his final comment "Do you really think this country's going to elect a black guy from the South Side of Chicago with a funny name to be president of the U.S.? That’s crazy. Cray." This left the crowd laughing because Obama is also from Chicago. All in all, Kanye's presidential announcement resulted in several reactions such as Obama's.  If Kanye is serious about running, could he do it? 

This article is another example of how Kanye has possibly gone too far. This shows the audience that even the white house has something to say about Kanye West. I chose these two articles because they are from a well known source and they both do a good job describing what happened. This event also relates to the history Kanye has at award shows such as the previous post about Taylor Swift. 

I AM THE GREAT KANYE WEST, HELP ME OUT MARK!

William Xiong

http://abc7.com/entertainment/kanye-west-asks-mark-zuckerberg-to-invest-$1-billion-in-his-ideas/1201178/

This article was written by ABC7.com staff and published February 15th of 2016

The article addresses that Kanye has tweeted at the founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg to invest 1 billion dollars to his ideas shortly after announcing that he was 53 million dollars in debt. He also made it clear that he was the "greatest living artist and greatest artist of all time". 

Later Kanye yet again calls out Zuckerberg by tweeting "All you dudes in San Fran play rap music in your homes but never help the real artists..." and "World, please tweet, Facetime, Facebook, Instagram, whatever you gotta do to get Mark to support me...".

Obviously Kanye needs money. But to interpret this on a deeper level. As we all know Kanye is known for his great music along with his enormous ego. As if you didn't think his ego could get any bigger he calls out Zuckeberg. Kanye has developed an ego so large that he thinks he has so much power. Because he thinks hes the greatest living artist and greatest artist of all time Kanye now thinks others with power will come help him whenever he needs as if he is king of the world.

I choose this article because it is another example that displays his ego and having this article in the blog will help the viewers shape of what they think about Kanye and his ego. This article connects to the blog post about Kanye and Twitter and also the blog post about the Grammys because this event happened on twitter. 

Even his own friend thinks he has gone mad

William Xiong

http://www.bet.com/news/music/2016/02/13/did-kanye-west-finally-go-too-far-.html

This source is an article published by Evelyn Diaz on February 13th of 2016.



The article addresses a tweet made by RHYMEFEST also known as Chee Smith, a co-writer of Kanye who had helped him write songs such as "New Slaves" and "Jesus Walks". Recently the two split and when others questioned to RHYMEFEST why he wasn't on Kanye's alblum heres what he stated.

@lord_cornwall to @RHYMEFEST:
@RHYMEFEST plz start back writing Kanye lyrics
Rhymefest's response: nah his mind and spirit aren't right

@JakeChatty to @RHYMEFEST
I wish @RHYMEFEST was co-writer of #KanyeWest 's Twitter & media statements. Worked with the music, should work with the other stuff, right?
Rhymefest's response: my brother needs help, in the form of counseling. Spiritual & mental. He should step away from the public & yesmen & heal

@OGoGoooh to @RHYMEFEST
@RHYMEFEST @lord_cornwall You wrote Jesus Walk, you could help him man, you're a wise man
Rhymefest's response: I love my brother. I pray for his health not our entertainment.

Overall this article about Kanye's ex co-writer gives a outlook on Kanye that is different from what we usually see because this is a person who actually knows Kanye on a personal level. This article addresses that not only is Kanyes ego real outside of the media but also that his ego is starting to effect and draw away others such as one of his closest friends.

I choose this source because it gives insight that is different from what the world thinks of Kanye's ego. This article was about what one of his closest friends thought about him. This article connects to the post about Kanye and Twitter and the post about the Grammys because this was an event that happened on twitter. The information given about his ego in this article will help the viewers of the blog determine whether Kanye and his ego has gone too far or not.

Kanye Threats to boycott the Grammys

William Xiong

http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/kanye-west-threatens-boycott-grammy-7374173

This is another source that gets you thinking if Kanye has gone too far yet again.

This article was published by Claire Rutter and Rebecca Merriman on Febuary 15th, the day of Kanyes tweet.

This is a 2016 article that talks about how Kanye threatened to boycott the Grammys if he did not win Album of the year. On February 14th (two days before the Grammys) Kanye posted a tweet saying "Im practicing my Grammy Speech. I'm not going to the Grammys unless they promise me Album of the Year!!!" The ironic thing was that Kanye wasn't even nominated for the award. 

You have to give in the fact that this album also was released one day before The Grammys. The 58th Grammys award show had only recognized music between Oct 2014-September 2015 therefore Kanye's album was six months too late. Because Kanye has such a huge ego he seems to thinks he is entitled for winning any award he can find. Because he thinks he's so great he thinks the Grammys might consider to change their time frame to adjust to his needs. Kanye seems to be challenging something bigger than himself. It seems to him that he's the only one making good music in this world as if the entire industry revolves around him.

This article relates/connects to the post "Kanye and Twitter" and the post "Even his own friend thinks hes gone mad" because they are all events which Kanye show what his ego is like on social media. I choose this article for the blog because it was another example where Kanye displays his egotistic figure. The main reasoning of choosing this article is to help the viewers determine/conclude whether Kanye and his ego has gone too far or not. 

Kanye and Twitter

Carly Morris 

http://www.people.com/article/kanye-west-what-happens-when-he-tweets

http://www.vox.com/2016/1/27/10854122/kanye-west-wiz-khalifa-twitter-explained

Would Twitter be the same without Kanye West? 

According to People Magazine, people cannot get enough of Kanye's tweets. His Twitter account just hit 20 million followers who get the world talking. This graph shows the growing number of tweets that involve Kanye just after one of his tweet storms. 

Kanye is known for being quick to react especially on Twitter. Throughout the years, West has been involved in several Twitter fights such as his rant against former rapper, Wiz Khalifa for the disagreement on the title of Kanye's newest album. In a Vox Culture article, Caroline Framke helps explain the bizarre feud between the two artist. The tweet that started the fight was a misunderstood tweet by Wiz which included the abbreviation KK which Kanye thought stood for his wife, Kim Kardashian, which was not the case. The misunderstood tweet led Kanye on a thirty tweet rant saying absurd things such as he owns Khalifa and Amber's child and creating the new hashtag #Wizwearscoolpants. The part that got the crowd laughing was once Kanye realized that "KK" did not stand for Kim Kardashian he tweeted "Ima take these down cause it’s all about positive energy blessings blessings positive energy blessings."Clearly his petty Twitter rant was not about positive energy and all. Framke goes on to say that there is no way in explaining Kanye West's Twitter rant but it might have something to do with his huge ego, hot temper, and his personal history. 

 I chose to write about this source because Kanye is well known for using Twitter ruthlessly and this article illustrates some of these incidents. I think that this post will help the audience determine the question we asked in the introduction, "has Kanye gone too far?" Also, it is another example of an incident Kanye has constructed along with the other incidents he has caused that are featured in this blog. 

Natural-Born Show off

Elliot Cudak

http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic/?verb=sr&csi=138620&sr=HEADLINE(Natural+born+show-off)%2BAND%2BDATE%2BIS%2B2005 

In this article we are able to look back on a rising Kanye West and we can see where his roots of being a show off stem from. Everybody knows that Kanye West is a show off but many of us don't know where he got it from or how he is so good at it. Dorian Lynskey is able to explain all of this through an interview that she had with the cockiest man in the rap game. 

"There's nothing I really wanted to do in life that I wasn't able to get good at. That's my skill. I'm not really specifically talented at anything except for the ability to learn. That's what I do. That's what I'm here for."

I ask him to tell me one thing he's bad at. Nine seconds tick away while he searches for an answer. "Come on, man! That's the hardest question anyone's asked me."

Kanye has always been able to show off through his knowledge, his mother has said that she saw signs of this since he was in Kindergarten. This is a huge reason for his success. This is also a sign of how he can be viewed as a show-off, often smart people can be viewed as show-offs through envy of people that don't know as much.

Kanye says "I'm the closest that hip-hop is getting to God. In some situations I'm like a ghetto Pope." 

The reason why this quote is significant is because earlier in the article he basically contradicts the second half of the quote. Saying that it is hard for him to fit in with other rappers because he comes from a more preppy background, raised by a mother who was a professor at a University. This consistent contradiction is a sign of how he intends to show off, it's not an accident. In his lyrics he mentions how "things we buy to cover up what's inside", yet you can always find him sporting a large blinged out jesus-piece necklace. 

Why Kanye Acts That Way

Elliot Cudak

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/10/why-kanye-west-acts-that-way/280506/

Kanye West is more often than not, portrayed as the bad guy in media. Many people wonder if he knows what he's doing or what is going through his mind to make all these outrageous remarks and careless acts in public. This article published by The Atlantic is discussed between James Hamblin and Spencer Kornhaber, where they try to make sense of Kanye West's altercation he had with Jimmy Kimmel in 2013.
Kanye West is mocked during a Jimmy Kimmel skit where they create a parody of an interview Kanye recently had and they replace him with an 11 year old, attempting to stab at Kanye's child-like behavior in the interview and the media overall. This didn't sit well with Kanye at all as he went on a twitter rampage towards Jimmy Kimmel saying things along the lines of I thought we were friends, man. He later goes on Kimmel's show to back up his points, make amends with Jimmy, although he spoke his feelings to him first he didn't just come on the show to apologize and make himself look good. In the article, Hamblin and Kornhaber make sense of Kanye's actions and explain how his profound opinions on certain topics make him look bad towards the media.

“Soon as they like you, make ‘em unlike you.” In this Kimmel interview, he’s clearly not trying to be liked, but he is trying to be heard. “Most people just bow down to TV or these cameras,” he says. “I could care less about these cameras.” 

Similar to his lyrics, Kanye isn't afraid to voice his opinions on sensitive topics. This is a form of pathos because it can make us offended by some of the things he speaks out on, but nonetheless he has his voice heard and we are forced to listen and take into account that he might be right.

The reason I chose this article was to show how Kanye doesn't play around, nor does he care about his public image at all when he feel as though someone has wronged him. This is a very important trait that Kanye has because many of the times he has acted out like what Will talked about Kanye at the Grammy's with Taylor Swift, it is because of his passion for making sure his voice is heard. Like most of us Kanye always thinks his opinion is right, but unlike most of us, he will act out in every way to make sure what he thinks is right, becomes right.

Kanye Knows Exactly What He's Doing

Carly Morris 

http://flavorwire.com/397479/if-youre-laughing-at-kanye-west-the-jokes-on-you

The way Kanye West is portrayed in the media is an ongoing study in the conflict between perception and reality. In a 2013 Flavorwire article by Tom Hawking discusses the fact that Kanye knows exactly what he is doing. Hawking says that Kanye is just buying into the stereotypes that come with being a successful artist. Hawking agrees that West is indeed egotistical, but definitely not stupid. He uses the example of the cover of Rolling Stone where Kanye is featured wearing a crown of thorns as a result of people criticizing him for his large ego. Kanye's persona is just a reflection of expectations that has evolved throughout the years. Hawking says that "Kanye's attitude has defined his career and without it he might not be one of the most famous rappers without it." People are intrigued by what he does and the incidents he has caused such as his Twitter rants or when he interrupted Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards. These things get him the attention he is looking for. Hawking reminds us that we will never know the real Kanye, but if you are talking about how "crazy" Kanye is, "you're doing exactly what he wants you to do." 

I chose this article to show the audience why Kanye is the way he is. It also relates to the other post because it gives reason to his actions such as the Taylor Swift incident and his Twitter rants and explains that Kanye knows what he is doing. This article gives a better understanding to who Kanye is and why his ego is important to his career. It also gives a different perspective that will make the audience think about Kanye's actions in a different way. 

Kanye ridiculously rude reaction to Taylor winning Best Female Video

William Xiong

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/kanye-west-storms-the-vmas-stage-during-taylor-swifts-speech-20090913

Kanye West storms the VMAs stage during Taylor Swift's Speech
This article was published by Daniel Kreps on September 13, 2009

At 2009 VMAs, Taylor beat Beyonce in the category off Best Female Video. A few moments after Taylor gets into her speech Kanye gets on stage and interrupts her "Yo Taylor, I'm really happy for you but Beyonce had one of the bests videos of all time. One of the best videos of all time" Before you know it Taylor's time had run out and MTV cut to a video of Eminem and Tracy Morgan.

According to Radio City Kanye was kicked out after this insulting act.

Later Kanye wrote an apology on his blog 

"I'm sooooo sorry to taylor swift and her fans and her mom. I spoke to her mother right after and she said the same thing my mother would've said. She is very talented! I like the lyrics about being a cheerleader and she's in the bleachers! i'm in the wrong for going on stage and taking away from her moment!. beyonce's video was the best of this decade! I'm sorry to my fans if I let you guys down! I'm sorry to my friends at mtv. I will apologize to taylor 2mrw. welcome to the real world! everybody wanna booooo me but i'm a fan of real pop culture! No disrespect but we watchin' the show at the crib right now cause ... well you know! i'm still happy for taylor! Boooyaaawwww! you are very very talented! I gave my awards to outkast when they deserved it over me... that's what it is!! i'm not crazy yall, i'm just real. Sorry for that! I really feel bad for taylor and i'm sincerely sorry! Much respect!!"

Being known as a talented artist seems to be a good enough reason for Kanye to have such huge ego he possesses. But does being a great artist give you the right to treat others badly? Yes, at least according from Kanye's actions.

I choose this article because not only did it show what a egotistic person Kanye is, but it also was one of Kanye's most memorable moments. I find it ironic wow Kanye most memorable moment had to do with his ego. That just proves that his ego plays a big part of this life. This article connects to the blog post about the MTV Europe Music Awards because they are both are events that happened on TV and had to do with his ego. The main reasoning of choosing this article is to provide information on Kanye's ego to help the viewers of this blog determine whether Kanye and his ego has gone too far or not.

Conclusion

Through our research we have found that Kanye West is a man that is unstoppable. No matter how much we discuss if he has the right to be so egotistical and so narcissistic, he'll keep on doing the same things as well as not care what we are talking about. What the public needs to understand is that Kanye will always be Kanye. We should never be hurt, offended, question Kanye's credibility or look down upon him because of a certain public action that he made seem controversial. For their have been too many events like this to be surprised about anymore. Kanye will continue to be the musical and self-promoting genius that he already is and we will continue to be utterly entertained by his outrageous actions, as well as admire his one of a kind music.