It profoundly disappoints me to be writing this, but it’s finally time to make the call. Despite being a groundbreaking, influential, and truly unique artist, Kanye West is only a shell of his formerly talented self. With upsetting beliefs and even more upsetting music, West has created a caricature of a man-child rather than a renowned artist. Many of his fans, including his wife, have ceased supporting him and are refraining from listening to his music. However, for those who have yet to discover this decline in popularity or those who have less time on their hands to be deep-diving into this decaying decadence, there are a few reasons why Kanye has failed so miserably.
His most current blunders, which have proved to be a powerful reason for his decreasing support, are one significant factor. West has been posting erratically on social media app X, formerly known as Twitter, sharing his opinions in rather unconventional ways. He’s made many anti-Semitic remarks recently, claiming his identity as a Nazi and saying he was previously “too woke.” Although these messages have now been deleted, with his ban from the website, Kanye West’s broadcast is clear. Along with his barrage of tweets, Kanye has also released a plain white shirt with a swastika logo on it on his official brand, Yeezy. It truly is painful to see someone who altered fashion so fantastically over the past decade move towards something in poor taste and outright bigotry. His advertisement at the Super Bowl, which endorsed this website, was filmed on his phone and seemed poorly prepared. This is shocking considering the millions of dollars it took to broadcast this video. The artist is trying to garner some attention because, to many, all publicity is good publicity. However, this method of obtaining it is sloppy and unprofessional and is more likely to harm his career than help it for the next few years that he has even an ounce of relevance. Despite this, he continues to try to fight for attention in his public appearances.
Momentarily, Kanye West created lots of noise in his appearance at the Grammys award show with his now ex-wife, Bianca Censori. Her outfit, or rather, her lack of one, was shocking, controversial, and meant to create attention. This was less of a move towards female empowerment or out of the love of his wife. Still, it showed West’s disregard for Censori, and the uncomfortable expressions and tense conversations between them on the red carpet only seemed to prove that. Since then, the two have decided to divorce, with Censori making the final decision. Although some believed this event was out of her free will, Censori explained that she had enough of him. This publicity stunt has now resulted in West losing one of the most devoted supporters he had left, and with the way he’s been moving forward, he may have none by the end. One of his major pitfalls recently has been within his recent releases.
Not even his music can save him now. Since the release of Donda in 2021, no tracks have been particularly good or memorable. According to a student at Quartz Hill, Trent Stewart agrees that West’s music has kept him out of quarrels and online discussions due to his impressive talents in the music industry. This standpoint taken by fans was understandable in the past, with celebrity scandals or arguments brushed off by the media and the public. However, his music lacks the appeal it did previously, preventing Kanye from having something to lean on. Stewart continues, explaining that Kanye West’s recent actions and the lifeless music he has released have crossed a line, and the long-time fan is reluctant to continue supporting him. Unfortunately, this may be the fate for many of West’s listeners. Kanye’s music has been terrible both on the charts and in the minds of his fans, who have barely even touched his recent album VULTURES.
This artist is now barely releasing music, which has been considered lackluster or unlistenable by his fans. Many try to claim to separate the art from the artist, meaning that despite his beliefs and actions, what he has created transcends that limitation and deserves to be appreciated. Nonetheless, what West has developed recently is nothing short of failure. This historic artist, which everyone has grown to recognize and even admire, may be lost due to his erratic and self-obsessed behavior. He may be past the point of no return, and it is difficult to witness this as a previous fan. Hopefully, one day, West can come back as a stronger artist and a stronger man, but for the time being, it may be in everyone’s best interest to move on and not feed into his unhealthy behaviors.
