Yeezus: Kanye West's Messiah Complex

Back when Kanye first came out I believed he was going to be the savior of Hip-Hop. The absence of Biggie and Tupac had created a vacuum in which EVERY rapper poorly imitated what they thought Thug Life was. Very little was original, inspired or innovative. Even the so-called "beefs" of that era felt contrived.

Kanye was not only a breath of fresh air-he was oxygen.

He made great groundbreaking music, that was grounded in reality and relatable to the average listener who wasn't  a gangster,drug dealer or pimp. He was candid in who he was and was not. He allowed us to are his vulnerability. He shared his dreams and aspirations with us. We saw his humanity and even spiritually through songs like "Through the Wire" and "Jesus Walks". Kanye showed us who he really was. 

And we recognized him and loved him because he was us.

Even when he  declared that “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people” at the most inappropriate moment possible, we forgave him because, truth be told, we all felt the same way. 

We rooted for his success as we would our own. Little did we know the monster it would unleash.

Now that he's "got his money right" , Kanye has proclaimed himself as a god but has been best described by President Obama as simply "a jackass".

All of the qualities that made him so relatable and by extension- likable before are gone.  He's totally ostracized the fans that believed in him and contributed to his success seven to eight years ago when he was first starting out.

He's now a "nigga in Paris" and looks down his nose at those who aren't on his level and can't relate. I'm willing to bet that before his fame and success, Kanye like the majority of his fans probably didn't even own a passport.

Now, even the titles of his albums show how recklessly his ego has grown and how unrelatable he's become.

College Dropout, his first album had the introspective track "Jesus Walks". That album was for and by the everyman. Who doesn't know a talented, smart college dropout if they're not one themselves? "All Falls Down", another track off that same album examined self-consciousness, insecurity and materialism that plagues the black community, including Kanye, himself.

Fast forward to the album Mr. West dropped last week titled "Yezzus" a play on the name Jesus, the Christian faith’s savior. My guess, Kanye has anointed himself that as evidenced by

a track off the album called "I Am a God" in which he repeatedly declares he is a god and demands that someone (presumably the listener) hurries up with his “damn massage, damn menage, fetching his Porsche out the damn garage and (of course being a nigga in Paris) the French restaurants.

.

Over the progression of his career, Kanye has proven to be less the savior of Hip-Hop that I pegged him for initially but just  another souled out sell out who broke the number one rule of Hip-Hop; "Don't believe the your own hype!" (Or, don't get high on your own supply.)

The reviews of album are mixed and range from people declaring it the best or the worst album he’s made so far.

I know there will be those who insist that by writing this I’m hating on Kanye and that may be true, but not in the sense of jealousy.

I hate who he’s become.

I hate that he lost his way. 

I hate that his pride has grown so unchecked that it's obvious he doesn't put on the effort that he used to making music.

I hate that he stopped making real music that most people can relate to.

For as the saying goes; real recognize real. 

Mr. West no longer is familiar.