Austin Shockley

Last night Anjuli and I went to the Kanye West concert here in Austin. The performers were Lupe Fiasco, Matthew Santos (whom we got to meet), Jill Scott, Pharrell, Chad Hugo, the rest of N.E.R.D., Rihanna, and of course Kanye. I really want to talk about Kanye himself more than anything, but here’s my view about the rest of the concert:

• Lupe Fiasco and Matt Santos - Outstanding. They were first up and had amazing performance energy. Really genuine connection with the music. Really entertaining. Also the sound mix was great compared to other acts.
• N.E.R.D - I love Pharrell and Chad’s work as producers but never been a fan of N.E.R.D. and it will definitely stay that way. I felt like they were doing a bad job of playing music. Basically, it was just fucking loud and obnoxious. Not surprisingly, the performance was similar. We couldn’t even watch their whole set.
• Rihanna - Many people there seemed to eat her up. I didn’t. She has voice (you can take that however you want) but again I wasn’t sold on her connection with the music. I mean what can you really expect when the music is (for the most part) written by someone else? How much attachment can you really have to a product developed to be commercial? It doesn’t come through as much when you see her perform on TV, but I definitely saw it last night.

And then there was Kanye West.

I’ll admit that I am extremely biased because I am an enormous fan of his. Others will would probably scoff at the things I will say about him, but I simply don’t care. This is how I feel about this man:

One of the greatest.

Why would I say something so absurdly bold about an egotistical pop star? In a word.

Inspiration.

To me Kanye West embodies inspiration. I’ll admit that I may feel this way because I have a deep attachment to music… but if you think about it… that doesn’t matter at all. Music is just one of the vehicles that he uses to spread his gospel of inspiration.

Since the beginning of his career he has built himself on the premise of inspiration (as many artists before him have), but he has taken this idea to a level matched by very few if any at all. If you have heard Kanye West’s music, you know that it is related to himself about (I’d say) 80% of the time. Now…I don’t know Kanye West (yet!), but I’d venture to say that he would tell you that 100% all of his music is somehow related to himself. Many people look down on this as egocentric, but that is what makes him who he is.

He has publicly announced his intentions on becoming the #1 artist in the world, and in case you don’t know… he’s not just talking about a musical artist. He is announcing that he wants to be the #1 artist of all artists in the world. I personally view just about everything as an art form. Thus, a statement like this (while being utterly unqualifiable) is absolutely crazy… But that is what is so damn great about it…

How many people have announced to take on a challenge so bold? … as far as I know… no one.

But After seeing Kanye perform last night, I am a believer. I now have little doubt that he will be the number one artist in the world just as he dreams. In fact, he may already be there…

• Last night at the concert they handed out Kanyes book entitled “Thank You and You’re Welcome”. A 50 page, to-the-point insight of how Kanye thinks (certainly a source of success). I’ve just finished reading it and, to be honest, I didn’t understand all of what he was getting at… but I can’t wait to read it again and understand his ideas more deeply and really learn to apply them. It is clear that he is onto something great and I recommend this book to everyone. How many artists have done that?
• He’s been working on coming out with his fashion brand Pastelle for some time now. Based on the taste he displays on his blog and his music, I’d speculate that the line will lean toward a accessible yet high fashion variety. Trying to guess about Pastelle , is definitely a bad idea… but we’ll see. I have a feeling that it will make waves not just because he is already an international celebrity (although it will certainly help) but because he understands art in a way that very few people on this planet do. If it goes the way the rest of his career has… How many have done that?
• And the main reason I think he might already be the #1 artist in the world…

His greatest work of art is his life.

And he knows it.

and that is the sign of a brilliant artist.

I don’t think many people will see/understand what he has done until after he dies. It’ll probably be in the form of a movie or biography, or something vastly more creative, who knows. It’s just matter of time before he is honored for his contribution to the world.

As wild as he is, I believe Kanye is a good role model. Through his embraced flaws to his thoughts on life, people, and art; he sends his message of inspiration in a way I extremely admire.

For taking the time to read this lengthy “Thank you and you’re welcome”.

-Austin Shockley