George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People, And Jay-Z Doesn't Like Kanye West

NOTE -- ORIGINALLY WRITTEN LATE 2013/EARLY 2014

First, this will be condescending. Second, I did no research.

In order for this to work, we have to think objectively. Don't worry about who is a better rapper or artist for now. Just remember that Jay Z and Kanye West are two people.

Jay has gotta be one of the best businessmen/entrepreneurs/self-marketers of this generation. I think the most truthful bar he ever spit was the legendary (and apropos) one on "Diamonds Are Forever (Remix)": "I'm not a business man, I'm a business, man." There's countless examples proving this to be true. The only similar figure, really, is Puffy. And Puffy has always behaved like a complete asshole, and on a massive scale, so many times, that the overall populace doesn't fuck with Puff. We'll listen to your music, sure, watch the shows, but you, as a person? We don't like you. Jay on the other hand composes himself well. We like Jay because he behaves humbly. He tells us what we want to hear. He's a consummate entertainer. Kanye West is an artist. Kanye gives you whatever's in his heart or mind at any given moment, and he feels an urge to express this feeling, to get it out of his system, and once he does so he doesn't care if you like it or not. It's his, and he can stand by it. The lucky coincidence is that his expressions almost always strike a chord with the general public at large. Kanye thinks about Kanye, presents himself as Kanye, and the people love it. Jay thinks about what the people want, presents himself as such, and the people love it. Why did Kanye start rapping? He felt a passion for it. A calling. I'm sure Kanye himself would describe it as a divine purpose from God himself (and Kanye definitely thinks God is a man). Why did Jay start rapping? Because he was emulating others. He found it cool. Eventually, he thought, I can make money doing this! 

Kanye wants to express himself, Jay wants to win.

Now, why is it a given that these two love each other so much? Kanye obviously loves Jay. But love is a complex thing, and just because you have it for someone doesn't mean they have it for you. The fear that one's emotions are unshared is a large element of every non-blood-connected relationship. How has Jay ever showed love for Kanye? Kanye writes songs about Jay, calls him his big brother, calls Beyonce his sister -- you ever hear Hov talking that kind of shit? Well...actually, yeah... but not towards Kanye. To return to the "Diamonds Are Forever (Remix)", "Bleek could be one hit away his whole career/ Long as I'm alive he's a millionaire/ And even if I die he's in my will somewhere". Jay might love Bleek. Maybe he just wants us to think so. The truth is, nobody knows what the fuck Memphis Bleek is up to, which can be evidence that Jay is looking out for him or has ditched him, depending on how you look at it. I don't care enough about dude to look it up. That's not the point of all this. The point is this: Why would Jay shout out Bleek like that, but never give Ye that kinda love? 

Cuz Hov doesn't fuck with Ye. 

Kanye makes songs on his solo albums dedicated to Jay. Jay never did anything like that for Kanye. Jay gave ostensible love to Ye on Watch the Throne; but really, what choice did he have? Remember how Jay and R. Kelly's partnership fell apart due to feuding camps? Jay is a business, man. Kanye is his product. Jay walks the fine line, and he's on his Cirque de Soleil shit with that. He's a business, man, presenting himself as an artist. Since Kanye is his product, Jay does whatever it takes to make Kanye happy. That means saying things like "Run up on Yeezy the wrong way I might murk ya." The tours, the borrowing of the flow on "Hate", etc. But if Kanye were to suddenly lose his connection with the zeitgeist? (I know this is a behemoth if, but the hypothetical is important in this case.) How long before Kanye went the way of Beans? Cam'ron? Budden? And so on (Once again, the comparison to Puffy is at times uncanny; making it more ironic that Jay Electronica, Mr. Anti Industry, refused an offer with Puff to sign with Jay.) J. Cole is out here making songs about letting Nas down, when what he needs to worry about is letting Hov down -- Jay won't hesitate to cut that cord. This brings me to a rumor I both saw and believe (and hate myself for) about how Kanye is fuming over Beyonce's success with her most recent album. Which makes perfect sense. She saw what Kanye did with his last two albums, and took it to the next level. I know we're talking about “I Am A God” himself, “I am Walt Disney”, and so on, but even so, Kanye can't and doesn't actually believe he's on the same level, in terms of pop culture relevance, as Beyonce. He certainly believes he deserves to be. (Whether or not he's right is an entirely different discussion.) Kanye West and his music is/are controversial. Beyonce is the opposite of that. Beyonce performs at the Super Bowl. She's the true Thriller-era Michael Jackson of this generation. Everyone loves her music and dancing and we think she's just oh so beautiful. If you'll pardon the gender misplacement, she's not a business man, she's a business, man. She doesn't write her songs. Nor has she ever claimed to. She knows what the people want, and she provides it. She saw what happened when Kanye dropped "Runaway". America wanted to embrace that as the new Thriller, but he's said things that have offended the heartland, who make up a large portion of the people who buy music. They'll buy Beyonce's album as soon as they hear there's a Beyonce album to be bought. And they'll hear there's a Beyonce album to be bought because every radio DJ in the country will be talking about it, specifically how amazing the album and, indeed, Beyonce is/are.

Returning to the artist formerly known as the Louis Vuitton Don, many people -- but not everyone -- talked about Kanye's Yeezus promotion. Then the album itself dropped. It was more about the journey than the destination, the latter of which many people found to be unfulfilling (sort of more on that later). Beyonce saw that (so did Jay – actual more on that later), and realized that she could do one better. Bey (I can call her that; we're friends) realizes she's essentially Queen of America (which is particularly ironic considering Kanye's statements about Kim Kardashian vs Michelle Obama; if there was a national poll on who they talk about more, Beyonce or Michelle, who would win?). The people are gonna gobble her shit up. This is why she and Jay-Z are soulmates, if you believe in such a thing. If not, this is why they are an exceptional romantic match. I'd be willing to wager (because, of course, none of this is confirmable) that when the rumors of Kanye's frustration leaked, Jay and Bey erupted into laughter. They probably crash¹ on him behind closed doors. Jay might have even invoked his former label-mate's now-infamous U Mad taunt. To a person like Jay-Z, Kanye west is a brash idiot. He is constantly burning bridges by saying whatever he feels. Jay is calculated, patient, and thus has many inroads and connections because every decision he makes is precise. He started rapping because he could make money. He went with the trends, from mafioso shit to jiggy shit. He saw Tupac and Big die. He also saw their numbers and status SKY-ROCKET after this. Hov values his life. So what does he do? 

The next best thing: he retires. It means the same thing. 

We don't miss Tupac because we liked spending quality time and creating memories with him; we miss him because he'll never again put out new music. Retirement is just that. So, Jay retires, everyone eats it up, as he knew they would. He sells and sells and sells. His old shit sells like it just dropped yesterday; nostalgia has its moment in the wave of public consciousness. Then, when he comes back, how does he return? The answer comes in the form of a question (because the association was made, and I feel like it): Who doesn't like rap music? Old people, and people who consider themselves too mature for rap. (Of course rap is an art form, but the average Jay-Z fan – yes, I'm going there – doesn't know that) So, when Jay returns, at whom is he expressly targeting his music: Old people. Which is to say people over 30. Jay was struck with the image of a bunch of 80 year olds in a nursing home, clutching their walkers, their ears and noses like a train system of thin plastic tubes, colostomy bag eternally announcing its presence at their hip, thinking of their long lost love -- without whom life has felt so empty these past few years -- idly chanting “I love bitches/ Thug bitches/ Shy bitches, rough bitches/ Don't matter you my bitches”. It's an absurd image, which Jay recognized. Many others have recognized this as well, people who did not grow up with or got sick of hip-hop, and thus wrote off the genre completely. Jay tried to appeal to them with Kingdom Come. It sold, but nobody was going crazy over it. It inspired no mania. It sold well because it was his first album post-retirement, and America loves a comeback. So Jay realizes that the old people are gonna be old people, and the people who left won't come back. Stuck in their ways. The heartland people. Some of them like Jay, but not enough of them, and at this point, he has no way to reach them. With that, he knows he needs to get back on the good side of the hip-hop heads. To do that, he'll have to drop something like his first album. Because, at the end of the day, that's what all diehards want--something that sounds like the first album. But if he were to come back rapping about selling coke and fucking bitches, he'd ruin his current business affairs. You see, while he might not have been able to get the heartland to like hip-hop, he was able to convince them that he doesn't either. Quick scene:

EXECUTIVE: You're Jay-Z, right?

JAY: Yeah, Sean Carter.

EXECUTIVE: Right, Mr. Carter. I've heard your music.

JAY: Oh, yeah?

EXECUTIVE: Yes, I believe the song went something like "I'm a pimp in every sense of the word, bitch, bett"--

JAY: Let me stop you right there, Mr. Exec. Look, I was young, I saw a market, and I went for it. And you know what, it worked. And you know how I know that? Because I'm talking to you right now. Now, what's this about moving the Nets to Brooklyn?

It's that simple. Obviously I've painted with broad strokes, but the central thrust is pure.

Jay's task with his second album back from retirement is to satisfy both the foundational fan base and the new corporate partners. What does he do? Drops an album about coke and guns, but it's only a concept album -- he's just playing a character! See, Mr Exec, it's like a movie! You like The Godfather, right? The album had a bona fide anthem (“Roc Boys”), and Jay was back.

Who did he miss, for the most part, with American Gangster? The teeny-boppers. Who, by the way, also buy music (It's too soon to call whether or not they're a part of the heartland). So what's his next album? Blueprint 3. He knows the fan base will listen (and some will buy) because of the title (this is also why the media will hype it up). The music will sound exactly like what is hot at this moment. From this album there will be songs on the radio round the clock. Jay doesn't care that Kanye eats him on "Run This Town", just like he doesn't care that Em ate him on "Renegade"; they are both Jay-Z songs, and to talk about how badly Jay got demolished, you have to talk and think about Jay-Z.

As I said before, Jay walks a very fine line. He is at his most profitable when he is at his most relevant in the musical realm. This is why he'll never be the true King of America, to match Beyonce. No matter how much the heartland has come to accept Jay, they still don't wanna hear “Big Pimpin” at the Superbowl Half-Time Show. He accepts this, and so will still curse and brag about selling drugs, because that's what sells. If that becomes truly frowned upon, if that role ceases to be antiheroic, Hov will admonish it completely and silently, and will rap about legal pads and corporate brunches. Before long the American Gangster will be the American Psycho, just without the violence and subtext (Look, I'm sorry, I was going for the title connection).

Blueprint 3 was pure pop. Commercial nonsense. It was for the money. Shortly thereafter Eminem (an artist; when was the last time you saw someone rocking Shady gear?-- again, far too controversial to truly cross-over) dropped Recovery and bashed his recent albums. At that moment Jay realized it's okay to talk badly about BP3, and other cash-crop projects throughout his oeuvre. (The pattern here: Business man sees artist do something well. Artist is too polarizing to fully monetize it. Business man seeks to rectify situation. Or, Jay-Z is both a businessman and a business, man.) Jay's album sells and plays, but the critical world is not at all fond of what they've been given. Then, right on schedule, after being panned for the first time in his career, Kanye drops an album that all the critics lose their shit over.

Let's backtrack a bit. After getting out of a romantic relationship and his mother's death, Kanye records and releases 808's and Heartbreaks. As with many great artistic works, the album is first shat upon and then later recognized as excellent. But right after its release, people are saying Kanye is done. He's fallen off, his reign is over. Kanye hears and feels this and returns to his art with a chip on his shoulder, and eventually makes what is widely considered to be a modern classic of an album, and one of the best LP's hip-hop has yet produced, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. In the time between these two albums, Jay records and drops Blueprint 3. Obviously, Kanye was playing songs from MBDTF for Hov. And obviously, Hov realized the record was gonna be a monster. What does he do with this knowledge? First, he gets Kanye on "Run This Town", on which he knows Kanye, his product, will spazz, and delight the public. He probably even frames it as a favor to Kanye, making it seem like Jay was the one who makes everybody love Kanye again, which, through Kanye's eyes, only strengthens the ties between them. Then, he walks Kanye into asking him for some guest features (He probably just says, "Yo Ye, is it cool if I hop on this track right here?" as Kanye swoons) on MBDTF. Jay's verses on that critically acclaimed album are critically acclaimed. What's the next move? Another scene:

JAY: *calls Kanye*
KANYE: *sees caller ID* *giggles* Get it together, Ye. You're Yeezus, man. You can do
this. *answers nonchalantly* Hello?
JAY: Ay, little brother, wassup man?
KANYE: [*The smile in his voice is audible*] Aw, man, I'm jess chilling, you know.
JAY: I was just thinking the other day, man, you and me, we should record more
together. Don't ya think?
KANYE: *too quickly* Definitely!
JAY: Word, word. I'ma swing by the studio in a few so we can talk about it. Is that cool?
KANYE: Of course!
*They hang up. Kanye checks mirror*

So then Jay comes over, walks Kanye through the baby-steps until Kanye comes to the "epiphany" that they should do a collab album. Album is announced, people go nuts, anticipation is through the roof. This album is practically platinum before it's released. Wait a minute. Jay, while letting Kanye go through the draining, meticulous process of creating art which both he and the public will love, takes a mental note of that thought -- platinum before release...anticipation... Watch the Throne drops, and it doesn't matter if it's artistic or not. It's a solid fucking album. "Niggas In Paris" is banger of the year, "No Church In The Wild", featuring the shooting star Frank Ocean, of course, is the warm-up/let's-get-this-shit-started track of the year, then you have tracks to satisfy the purists ("The Joy", "Murder to Excellence", "Prime Time", "Otis"), and the radio people/heartland ("Who Gon Stop Me", "Why I Love You", and "Lift Off", which of course features Beyonce). Jay realizes, with the public reaction to Watch the Throne's announcement, that he has entered his wife's world. He has transcended the old people's resentment. He no longer needs to satisfy the base. He can just make party music. And he doesn't have to rap about coke and guns anymore. He can talk about how rich he is, which will make him more rich! Plus he can talk about how great Beyonce is -- because Beyonce is Queen of America! And he can talk about his kid -- everyone loves babies! That is Magna Carta Holy Grail.

Kanye and Jay are noticeably absent from each other's most recent albums, which are Yeezus and MCHG, respectively. Kanye does a unique promo run and then drops his album. Jay sees this, does a more corporate-friendly unique promo run, and then drops his album -- less than a month after Kanye. That's why Yeezus drops from the charts so heavily and quickly--Hov stomps out his flame. Would anybody do that to a person they LOVE? Rain on their artistic parade, their moment to shine? Of course not. Jay doesn't give a fuck about Kanye, but he'll let Kanye think he does as long as Kanye makes money. The day Kanye's public stock drops (if it ever does) is the day Yeezus is releasing struggle mixtapes on Datpiff. Jay doesn't like Ye.

***************************************************************************
Musical performers are to be respected, not loved. Jay respects Kanye for appealing to so many people; Kanye loves Jay. People don't always love you back. I feel bad for Kanye. Hov probably began as a father figure. That being said, neither of them give a shit about you or me. And yet, many of us love (or claim to, at least) certain artists. What good is love if it isn't reciprocated? It's either a) a ticket to heartbreak, or b) an exercise in delusion. Either way, fuck it. Respect the art, respect the business model, but don't take it personally. Because this isn't about you.

What's next for Kanye? Who knows – an artist does as an artist does. What's next for Hov? It doesn't matter. It's gonna sell either way. Another concept album or another pure pop, who cares. The best move for Hov to make would be to drop a true concept album. Let Timbo, Pharrell, Blaze (if he isn't playing videogames with Jay Electronica), and Rick Rubin make the beats, and rap a concept album. Like Prince Paul's A Prince Among Thieves, an artistic statement, but—say it with me—commercially viable. Look to The Wall, and Tommy. The songs will be independently playable but when viewed as a whole add up to some statement – any statement, probably about the power of art or something. Don't curse, don't objectify women, keep everything nice and tidy. But also use technical schemes for the heads. And make sure it's still catchy! This may seem like a tall order, but like I said before, Jay-Z is good at rapping. He's good at recognizing what people like and want. He can make that album. And if he does, he'll be able to ascend as King of America. The story writes itself. From the projects to the apple of America's eye (I've listened to "Shiny Suit Theory", relax). Pulled himself up by the bootstraps. Plus he's black, so the heartland can once again tell itself that even though slavery and systematic racism happened, and not more than 100 years ago, everything's cool now. Because our President is black. And so is our King.

One final scene:
JAY: *surfs internet* *sees this post* *chuckles* *reads* Ayo B!
BEYONCE: What?
JAY: Come read this shit!
BEYONCE: *walking over* What?
JAY: *laughing* Some guy on the internet. He figured it out! He got it right!
(Beat) BEYONCE: Okay... And?
JAY: *breaking into tears* And nobody gives a fuck! *throws up The Roc*

---

1 "Crash" is a term used when and where I grew up that is synonymous with "mock". There seems to be no trace of it on the internet, even though it was widespread in my small town. Somebody feel free to make something of this.^↩

Drake Is Frankenstein

Drake has just released his fourth official album, Views. Given the new standards of RIAA certifications, and how much online streams equate into album sales, he has sold roughly 850-thousand in the first week. This is before considering that the album has no physical release yet. This is a massive achievement for most artists. But at this point, Drake isn't most artists. He's going for Mount Rushmore. He wants to be in those discussions worldwide. Hov, Em, Pac, Michael Jackson. Even 50 was there, albeit briefly. He wants to have that kind of aura. In a way he does. But right now he's in the intermediate phase. That's where guys like Kanye and Nas are. So given these sales numbers, he's Ye and Nas status. Amazing, awe-inspiring, but still not top of the heap. To be top of the heap you must be the complete package. Drake is missing three key elements.

1 - His past. Many people still look at him funny because of the Wheelchair Jimmy shit. There are tons of folks out there who say "When I hear Drake the first thing I think about is Degrassi."

2 - His personality. What is Drake all about? Who is he as a person? What, in that regard, do the common people have to latch on to? With Jay you have the guy who came from nothing and made something out of himself. Eminem is similar but also from a white male -- which remains the majority in America -- perspective. Michael Jackson we related to because of his traumatic childhood, revealing that what many of us dreamed for wasn't actually a good thing. With Drake you have someone who lived that dream and it was a good thing, the guy who has gotten every break and opportunity, the guy who never has to struggle. There's a built in resentment that comes with the admiration of him. It's like Superman. He can beat up everyone, and he saves the day, but there's always that part of you that roots for Lex Luthor. Lex you can relate to. Lex is human. Superman is from another planet. So seems Drake.

3 - His vision. What does Drake want this stage for? Why is he chasing the money, the lifestyle; why does he create? This is the biggest piece Drake is missing. Intermediate guys have a vision, one that typically revolves around making the world a better place. Nas wants to teach the youth, Ye wants to inspire creative-minded people. Michael Jackson wanted to spread love. Em, for a time, wanted to motivate young white America's political apathy; now he wants to inspire struggling addicts. Jay wants to be a role model for the young black male, to illustrate a way out of poverty and deprivation into business mogul. What does Drake want? More money. More sex. More drugs. Pure nihilism. That's a difficult thing for the average human being to latch onto on a deep level. Most people want money to be happy, but they don't want happiness just for themselves. Drake seems to.

When you combine these three elements, it becomes clear why Drake is where he is in the pantheon. How can he change this?

One, by embracing his past. He's done this in flashes, but not enough, and he always does it to make it seem like his life was hard. Life is hard to everyone, but he's had it easy compared to others. He has to acknowledge how great he had it, and then show us how difficult it still was. This is similar to Eminem making us feel bad for a multi-platinum celebrity; Kanye does this as well, Jay has touched on it, etc.

Two, by becoming more transparent. We need to know who Drake actually is. At this point all signs seem to lead to a narcissist with something of a god complex. What about him makes him relatable? Why should we be empathetic.

Three, he needs to illustrate what he wants with everything he has and has been given. He needs to give us a glimpse of the big picture, the grand scheme.

Items Two and Three are problematic, because they imply that Drake has something beyond the narcissism, and that he wants something more than what he keeps getting. These two things are not given. Far from it. The fact is, we could be dealing with a product of our society, our own pop-cultural Frankenstein. In this analogy, we the listeners are Dr. Frankenstein, and Drake is our monster; his revenge upon us is that he never gives us anything more than what we asked for. What we asked for is the life and times of a charismatic, artistically talented, rich young man. We have all of that -- except for the man. And maybe we can never get it.