It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I’m a big Kanye West fan. I knew the College dropout and Late registration when they came out, but he first truly struck a chord with me with the 808s and Heartbreaks album and since then I have been intrigued by his creative prowess and consistency in pushing the envelope in his craft.
A lot of people say Kanye has changed and they want him to go back to his old stuff and style. These are things people have been saying since he put out 808s. Last week I checked out a 20min video of a Kanye West interview from back in the day before ‘College dropout”…dropped. And I realized like I always suspected that Kanye hasn’t really changed, he has just become more Ye.
I grew up on self-help material and large parts of what I read and learn about today are ideas on life and how to live better and succeed better. A few days ago, Kay remarked to me how interesting it would be to interact with some of the greats at the time point just before they broke out, just to see where their mind was at. The interview with Ye was a time machine of sorts that helped us do that. This is what I learned.
- Sometimes what you love is slightly (or maybe even completely) off the path of what everyone else thinks is appropriate and safe for you. You have to make the decision to be serious about what you want and pursue it.
- There will be haters, naysayers, people who say it can’t be done or who just plain don’t believe in you. That’s fine, pursue your vision regardless, focus on perfecting your craft and soon it would be undeniable.
- Respect everyone equally. Nothing is promised and a lot can change very quickly in life, while you climbing that ladder, respect everyone and treat people well.
- Your work is your responsibility, be involved in every aspect, if something in your project doesn’t come out the way you wanted, that’s your fault.
- Nothing beats authenticity. Put your heart in your art.
- Take inspiration across disciplines, from movies, from art, from everywhere and have a strong creative vision.
- If you have a dream, go for it. You have to see it, believe it and just do it.
- The music is bigger than the media. Forget about the hype. Whatever you feel, whatever inspires you, go with that, and be true to that.
