There are some general truths in life. They aren’t “laws” necessarily and they can’t be validated in an empirical sense. Yet and still, we just know them to be true. There’s an old science axiom that says not all things that matter can be measured and not all things that can be measured, matter.
Nevertheless, some things just are.
Along those lines, although we can’t quantitatively measure ‘crazy’ we know for a fact it exists and has a stranglehold on Kanye West.
Kanye West - musical genius…maybe. Superstar producer…absolutely. Mentally stable?
Not likely.
From the inexplicable awards program behavior over the years to his ongoing inability to peacefully coexist with the paparazzi…Kanye seems to be a few drumsticks short of a bucket of chicken.
Don’t take Mo’Kelly’s word for it…take Kanye's.
Last week in an interview, Kanye was quoted as follows…
"I realize that my place and position in history is that I will go down as the voice of this generation, of this decade, I will be the loudest voice," he said in an interview last Wednesday. "It's me settling into that position of just really accepting that it's one thing to say you want to do it and it's another thing to really end up being like Michael Jordan."
Really Kanye?
This would be the same Michael Jordan who was a 14-time all-star, 10-time all-NBA 1st team, 9-time all 
NBA Defensive team, 6 NBA championships, 6-time NBA Finals MVP, 5-time NBA MVP, 2 Olympic gold medals,1 NCAA championship, 1 NBA Defensive Player of the Year and a Partridge in a Pear Tree.
THAT “
Are you sure you didn’t mean Jordin Sparks or maybe the basketball player Adonis "Jordan? (right)"
But “Michael” Jordan arguably, arguably is without peer in the world of sports. Some could make a case for Bill Russell and his 11-rings. Others may mention Muhammad Ali. And we’ll see about Tiger Woods when all is said and done. Regardless,
Every single one, irrespective of sport or era;
Kanye West isn’t even in the discussion of the greatest rapper of the past 10 years, much less all-time. He’s not even in the discussion of the “greatest” producer of the past 10 years, much less all-time.
And in terms of CD sales?
Of the 181 top-selling artists of all time (i.e. those who have sold at least 50 million records) Kanye West is NOT one of them.
See HERE
Of those 181 (and likely more who presently have outsold West), the list includes names like:
The Spice Girls
Destiny's Child
New Kids on the Block
Jay-Z
Eminem
Mariah Carey
All, with the exception of NKOTB are generational contemporaries of West. In truth, West doesn’t even measure up to “Jordan” Knight of NKOTB, much less Michael “
That “Jordin”
Let’s be clear, Michael Jordan hits near the top of every statistical list in basketball that matters, not #182 or lower. It’s a bit disingenuous to call oneself the “voice of a generation” and you’re not even in the top 181 most popular voices in the first place. Take your meds as prescribed by your doctor Kanye.
Now that we’ve already established that Kanye’s not even NEAR becoming the top-selling hip-hop artist of the past 10 years and isn’t even close to being the biggest star in music, past or present, let’s continue to look at his comments through the prism of common sense. And what does it say about West’s “ voice,” given his music is not even known primarily for being “conscious” in nature?
What does it say?
It says you’re off your meds Kanye. Please take them as prescribed and do not miss any more doses.
Being “a voice of a generation” implies having said something meaningful, continuously and consistently over the course of that generation. Just doing so “on occasion” for 4+ CDs doesn’t satisfy that requirement. He (like Nas) is occasionally conscious, in the way that Shaquille O’Neal occasionally hits a free throw. With every shot (or Kanye West song), it could go either way. Might be conscious, might not be. Shaq might make a free throw, he might brick. It could go either way.
Nobody (in their right mind) would call Shaq a great free throw shooter and likely nobody is calling West the voice of this generation either…other than West.
"I realize that my place and position in history is that I will go down as the voice of this generation, of this decade, I will be the loudest voice.”
Having the biggest mouth doesn’t equate to the “loudest voice” either. They’re not the same thing. Take your meds Kanye.
Let’s look at this from another angle.
Despite Kanye’s ego which would have you believe he should have won EVERY award ever; to date West has won only 5 Grammy Awards. But…for the sake of argument, let’s just assume he’s “right” and we grant him another NINE gramophones for ego sake.
A Grammy total of 14 would STILL put him behind the following individuals:
George Solti 31
Quincy Jones 27
Pierre Boulez 25
Vladimir Horowitz 25
Stevie Wonder 22
Henry Mancini 20
U2 17
Ray Charles 17
Alison Krauss 17
Leonard Bernstein 16
Eric Clapton 16
Aretha Franklin 16
Vince Gill 16
Pat Metheny 16
Robert Shaw 16
Paul Simon/Art Garfunkel 16
Sting/Police 16
Yo-Yo Ma 15
Itzhak Perlman15
Al Schmitt 15
Chet Atkins 14
David Foster 14
James Mallinson 14
Jimmy Sturr 14
Voice of a generation? Jordan-esque? By what measure? Neither sales nor accolades, nor resume validate such a claim.
OK, so what about cultural impact?
Unequivocally Jay-Z and 50 Cent have had far more of a cultural impact than Kanye West. That too is not even up for debate. Kanye may have sold more CDs than Fiddy this last time out but from a cultural standpoint, Fiddy owns West in terms of overall sales, brand-awareness, business acumen and longevity. Jay-Z crushes Kanye in that respect too. Jay-Z is an icon. Kanye on the other hand is a “star” and there’s a world of difference in between the two.
Eddie Murphy, icon. Steve Harvey…star.
Sidney Poitier, icon. Terrence Howard, star.
See the difference? There’s nothing wrong with “only” being a star, except when you stop taking your meds. Martin Lawrence, he stopped taking his meds (or took too many) and ended up in his robe, slowdancing with a gun in the middle of an intersection. Terrence Howard stopped taking his meds and 
didn’t even realize he released a horrible music CD or had been released from Iron Man II.
Kanye, take your meds as prescribed by your doctor. 2 pills, every four hours, with food. Do not mix with alcohol or operate heavy machinery.
HISTORY decides one’s place within it; not the person in question. History will decide just how poorly President Bush will be remembered, not Bush. Historians will have the last word on where Kanye ranks in the pantheon of musical artistry, not Kanye. Slow your roll. Make history first, then let history do its thing. There’s an order here and Kanye’s way ahead of himself. He still hasn’t even made history yet.
In keeping with the underlying sports theme of this discussion, sports fans argue year-in and year-out as to who should be in the Hall of Fame in any respective sport.
For Mo’Kelly, it’s very simple. If you have to make an argument for someone to be inducted… then that’s the best argument as to why they shouldn’t be inducted at all. If you have to somehow convince Mo’Kelly that Kanye West is akin to Michael Jordan…then that’s the best argument as to why he isn’t. Kanye West is the latest in the string of talented, successful, inventive music minds. No more, no less.
But so was Teddy Riley (The ‘Kanye West’ of yesteryear)…and nobody was “crazy” enough to compare him to
History had the last word.
Take your meds as prescribed by your doctor Kanye and leave the ill-conceived statements of self-aggrandizement alone…please…once and for all.
RELATED: A Rhyme for Jay-Z
The Mo'Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant; published weekly at www.eurweb.com. It is meant to inform, infuse and incite meaningful discourse...as well as entertain. The Mo’Kelly Report is syndicated by Newstex and Blogburst. For more Mo’Kelly, http://www.mokellyreport.blogspot.com.
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33 comments:
[The voice of a little kid: YOU SO MEAN MO'KELLY! I'm telling]
LOL! No, you actually clowned Kanye using your music industry research skills. He really can't rebut to anything in this article.
OUCH for Kanye! I think that he's still grieving and all of this behavior is just part of that.
We all need to be humble. Kinda like you did when I asked why Omega hasn't put you on its list of notable members. But common sense is not common, so what can we do?
I think it comes down to ego. My writing "persona" emits ego but that's not who I am. And I would never, ever place what I do above anyone else. I simply try to be better at what I do each day. That's it.
I'm not into measuring myself against others or being recognized on the level of this person or that person. My body of work hopefully when all is said and done will speak on my behalf, not me.
I'm a firm believer that if you're really 'all that' you don't ever need to tell anyone. It will be readily apparent.
I remember a time when this player LaBradford Smith threw in 37 against Jordan and was talking 'ish after the game.
Jordan was contrite and said that he was at fault and took the blame. It was a home and home back to back set.
The next night Jordan without saying a braggadocios word threw in 37 IN THE FIRST HALF, just to prove his point.
He didn't talk about it...he just did it.
Kanye could learn from that.
As I look down the fairway...
It looks like...
I think it is...
Wait a minute...
OH MY GOD LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!!!
ANOTHER HOLE IN ONE!!!!
ROFLOL!!!! Shut em down MoKelly!!! Shut em DOOOOOWWWWNNNN!!!!
By the way Mo, don't sweat it. your writing is like Jordan on a train. "Your game's on track!" (Will Smith)
Even though this article have some valid points, I still have to express my opinion against what was said. First, Kanye have won a total of 10 grammy awards as an artist and a producer. In my personal opinion, I think Kanye is one of the most innovative artist and rappers in the past 10 years. Now we can all say that he have a very big ego but have accomplished alot since 2004 when he debut College Dropout. I wouldnt put him in the same aspect as Jordan as of right now but Jordan's basketball career spanned over a total of 14 years. Kanye have only released 3 albums with one on the way next week. Now Kanye may not have the same business savvy as Jay-Z or 50 Cent but he have earned more grammys then 50 and Jay combined. So from a musical standpoint, he is on the right track. 50's best selling albums were Get Rich or Die Trying and The Massacre. Since then, 50 have fell off. And given some more years, he MAY reach the status of an icon music wise. From a cultural standpoint, Kanye is more of a mainstream artist who have sold out tours all over the world. At the end of the day everybody have their own opinion but everybody that was mentioned in this article, been in the for years, Kanye is just getting started
Pudro...thanks for stopping by. First, I don't know where you got your information regarding Kanye's Grammys...but I got mine from NARAS...the Grammys themselves.
http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/Winners/Results.aspx?title=&winner=kanye%20west&year=0&genreID=0&hp=1
So your whole argument about "total Grammys" lacks any and all merit.
Verify what you're saying. I did.
Also, you end with the phrase that Kanye is "just getting started."
So are O.J. Mayo and Derrick Rose. Should either be comparing themselves to Jordan? They're "just getting started" and have game too.
Hell, should Dwyane Wade even compare himself to Jordan...and Wade's got a ring!
You admit he doesn't have the business savvy, your Grammy information is incorrect and you admit he's "just getting started."
You're doing more to prove my point than yours.
11/18/08 1:38 PM
Pudro,
I stand corrected, he has 10 Grammys... (it didn't pull up all of them the first time I did the search).
But in the piece I "gave" him 14 (still an extra 4). So it's still moot.
My grammy information is correct. I dont know what site you check but I checked the official grammy website that proves me right showing he have won 10 grammys.
www.grammy.com please check it out
Even with you giving him an extra 4, 10 grammys is impressive for a person who's career have been a little over 4 years. The list of grammy winners you provided above have been around for decades and he's already at the half way mark.
In your response to him just getting started, there were people who was comparing early Jordan to the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, and Julius "Dr. J" Erving and Im sure that several people disagreed to that as well but in later years he is now known as one of the greatest athletes of all time in the likes of the legends. Like I said before, Kanye is arrogant but he do have some merit and proof behind some of the things he say
In your response to him just getting started, there were people who was comparing early Jordan to the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, and Julius "Dr. J" Erving
__________
Categorically untrue. Jordan didn't even win his first ring until his 7th season. And even so, JORDAN wasn't making the comparisons.
THAT is a key difference too.
And by the way...Chamberlain averaged 50 pts for a whole season...there wasn't any real Jordan comparison to be made early in his career...not sure what "people" you're talking about.
6 championships later...then you can start making comparisons.
He was just a scorer his first 6 seasons. His 6 championships made him great.
It's the main reason why Karl Malone (who has Jordan beat by 6 thousand points) is not as highly regarded.
And, you can't arbitrarily extrapolate that what Kanye has done now means he'll continue to do.
It doesn't work that way. If it did, Michael Jackson would still be winning Grammys.
Fans move on. Jay-Z is not as hot as he was. NOBODY is. That's how the business works.
And a point I DIDN'T put in that I should is that those like Jay-Z and such were making music before the PROLIFERATION OF THE MANY RAP GRAMMY CATEGORIES.
There were fewer categories available to be winners in...so you're again not really telling the whole story.
Quincy Jones has 27 Grammys, most of which won prior to 1985...everybody cools off.
And if Kanye wins 10 more, he's STILL not in the top 5...
He's STILL not in the "Jordan" conversation. Don't tell me that his career is more impressive than Babyface. Don't tell me his career is more or even CLOSE to being as impressive as Quincy Jones.
The first rap Grammy wasn't even given out until 1989 - ONE category.
There are now FIVE.
It wasn't until 1999 that a Rap CD ever won a general category Grammy (i.e. Best Album, Song, New Artist, Record of Year) and that was Lauryn Hill...a mostly R&B act.
So the idea of Hip-Hop and Grammys is a relatively new thing, 2000 and on.
But what do I know, I only worked there until 1997.
That's like in the NBA talking about the best shot blocker and forgetting to acknowledge that they only kept the stats since like 1971...or in football they only started recording sacks in the 70s.
We can only speculate how many artists like Jay-Z would have won if there were as many categories in the mid-90s or that the Grammys weren't keeping hip hop from winning general category Grammys.
I was WORKING there when they finally decided to open it up. Hip hop wasn't even CONSIDERED.
That's like telling me Babe Ruth is the greatest baseball player when Blacks weren't even allowed to compete back then. So be clear on "Grammys" and what it means now relative to 10 years ago.
To keep the sports analogies going...the Grammy "expansion" has diluted the value, not increased it.
If they had 5 Super Bowls a year, winning one probably wouldn't mean as much.
If the Olympics were every year, winning a gold medal probably wouldn't mean as much.
So winning multiple grammys during years when there are actually MULTIPLE categories should be looked upon accordingly.
Tell ALL the story.
So in response to it taking Jordan 7 seasons to be considered as great, we can both agree that it takes time to achieve such status. You mention that Jay-Z was making music before the many rap grammy categories but out of Jay Z's 6 grammys, only one of them was for best rap album. All three of Kanye's album have won best rap album and have been nominated for album of the year which is huge for any artist regardless of what genre of music and that's not including his nominations for song of year. In todays digital age, can anyone name at least 10 RAP artist that can easily go platinum. As of right now, Kanye is hot and he still have alot left in him and he's very versatile.
Prior to rap even being recognize as a catagory, there were several catagories for R&B, Pop, Country, etc.. Does that discredit the artists who win these MULTIPLE catagories like Stevie Wonder. Being honored as a grammy nominee is a highlight for any artist. And youre not nominated by your fans but by your peers in the music industry. When rap was introduced to the world, people didnt think it would last long but now its a multi billion dollar industry which is recognzed all over the world. Of course they have to provide more catagories for it
Pudro...I never, never denied that Kanye was talented. I gave him such props in the piece.
But by no means has he earned any "Jordan" comparison and that's the point.
The very fact that you acknowledge Kanye being nominated for Album of the Year is pointing to the points I was making...the CHANGE in the Grammy process. hip-Hop wasn't even CONSIDERED during the height of Jay-Z's career.
If there were only one rap Grammy category during the height of Kanye's career, I wonder how your argument right now would look.
Nobody said he's not talented. Nobody's said he's not extremely successful or even a future hip-hop legend.
Jordan-esque? C'mon...not even close on his best day.
Jodan-esque means ALL-TIME greats irrespective of era or sport.
So to make the argument that Kanye is a hip-hop legend in the making is not enough.
Jimmy Sturr is a polka legend and has more Grammys than Kanye...
Does that make him Jordan-esque?
Nope.
When rap was introduced to the world, people didnt think it would last long but now its a multi billion dollar industry which is recognzed all over the world. Of course they have to provide more catagories for it
____________________
This is where you don't know your history. You missed the part where I said I worked at the Grammys.
Hip-Hop has been a world leader in sales since the late 80s. It was THE GRAMMYS who thought it was a fad. THE GRAMMYS didn't want more categories, but in terms of sales, it was already as big as country, bigger than R&B.
That was late 80s/early 90s. It was thanks to Hammer, Will Smith et al.
Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'em sold like 14 million copies if I'm not mistaken.
The Grammys were late.
Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em was the #1 album of 1990 and spent 21 weeks at number 1.
Meaning, Rap was "pop music" since 1990. It took NINE years for the Grammys to recognize the obvious. The rest of the world already knew as hip-hop in recorded form had already been around since 1979...
An 11-year fad? Uh...not likely.
All im saying is that Im not comparing Kanye in the likes of Jordan but in years to come, he could be. Plus Jay-Z was in the prime of his career when there were multiple categories for rap. The majority of grammy's that Kanye have is for Best Rap Album and Best Rap Solo Performance which was a category during Jay-Z's prime. THe majority of Jay-Z's grammy's are from colaborations for projects that was not his own. Jay-z is already a hip hop legend and Kanye is a legend in the making. Besides album sales between the two in which Jay-Z only became multi-platinum and a household name after his 3rd album Hard Knock Life, how can you really compare the two. Now this can bring up a whole new discussion. Both of them are very good at what they do and I am a TRUE Jay-Z fan but when it comes to the versatility and music side of things, I think its a fair race.
I've been watching the debate and I just want to make sure I'm getting this.
Mo:
You're saying that Kanye is good, but not great. And that it is not up to Kanye to decide Kanye's greatness, but history. Also, Kanye is disillusioned to compare himself to Michael Jordan because Kanye has not done anything that "the people" would consider to be great. Correct?
I do agree on your point Mo that Kanye West is not the voice of this generation, much less the hip-hop culture itself. This then raises a question. Who is the voice of this generation, this decade??
Purdo:
You're saying that Kanye should be consider to be great because unlike other artists, he has accomplished a lot in 4 years. More than other hip-hop artists have in the career span. Granted 10 Grammys in 4 years is impressive. However, to stay with the athletic analogies, that would be like calling Michael Jordan great had he won only 3 championships in his first 3 years in the NBA. Superstar player? Yes! Great? No. I agree with Mo. You cannot extrapolate that Kanye West is a legend in the making. We thought and hoped that Teddy Riley was going to be a legend until GUY took a piece and chose not to stay together, Blackstreet blacked out, and Wreckx-n-Effect became a wreck.
I believe I am going to stand with Mo on this one. Kanye West is innovative and his sound is unique. Without question, you can hear something on the radio and know that it is something Kanye West would create! Superstar hip-hop artist? Yes! Great? At the moment...no.
If you have to make an argument as to why someone is great, then are they truly great?? Without question or hesitation, Michael Jordan is the best ever, whose only mistake was taking a year off to play baseball. It is quite possible that Jordan could have won 6 or 7 straight titles! I digress.
Mo, two things though. I believe Lance Armstrong has Michael Jordan beat for one reason. Lance Armstrong won the Tour De France, cycling's most difficult and grueling annual race 7 straight times! This is with the modifications the organizers put in place annually to make the race more difficult! The second thing is, how is Eddie Murphy an icon and Steve Harvey only a star?? Hasn't Steve Harvey been more consistent in his career as a comedian than Eddie Murphy?
Xhale...you're pretty much on the mark.
And generally a "generation" is considered about 30 years.
So to talk in terms of Kanye ONLY in the past 10 years and disregard this fact is a bit odd.
There are hundreds of Hall of Fame basketball players...
Only ONE Jordan.
Kanye arguably will be Hip-Hop Hall of Fame when he's done.
But put it this way...Bill Walton is a Hall of Famer, he's no Michael Jordan.
To clarify everything that Ive been saying, Im not saying that Kanye is great or even a legend right now but who is to say that he is not on the correct path to be considered a legend. How can you consider anyone to be a legend until their career is over. Putting aside the sport analogies and talking strictly music, what qualifies an artist to be great. Now to some Kanye's cockiness may overshadow his talent but I think he is on the right path. There's always going to be some comparison to the new guy and the legend.. ie Micheal Jordan vs. Lebron or Kobe. You can never compare but have a blueprint of what makes a legend and from there you do it from your own aspect.
Pudro...what it comes down to is WHO is making the comparisons.
It's one thing to say, "I'd like to see how far I can take this thing and maybe one day be considered one of the immortals."
It's another to put yourself on the same path ALREADY as THE IMMORTAL.
If you or I want to start making those comparisons...that's one thing.
When HE does it...that's something else. And when HE does it...he's opened himself up to that criticism and is begging for it.
Also
gen⋅er⋅a⋅tion
/ˌdʒɛnəˈreɪʃən/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [jen-uh-rey-shuhn] Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. the entire body of individuals born and living at about the same time: the postwar generation.
2. the term of years, roughly 30 among human beings, accepted as the average period between the birth of parents and the birth of their offspring.
So for Kanye to talk about any "generation" we're talking about a 30 year period.
In terms of Hip-Hop...that means he can be compared to ANYONE who has EVER been in Hip-Hop.
He's not in the Michael Jordan class of Hip-Hoppers, he just isn't.
If we can agree he'll never go down as one of the best lyricists or emcees...to me, he's already removed himself from consideration...EVER.
How can you be "the voice of a generation" and you're not even in the conversation of the best ever in your own artform?
Honestly?
Another sports analogy...
You can't become BCS champion if you don't win your conference.
Kanye can't even win his conference.
In terms of what makes an artist great? Granted, purely subjective...but advancing the artform in ways it never has been.
Creative in ways it never has been done and building an audience that has never been reached.
That's my litmus test.
Kanye most either samples or borrows hooks from old R&B songs.
That's neither inventive or imaginative. He's not reached the extremes of audiences that even someone like MC Hammer did.
MC Hammer, like him or not changed Hip-Hop forever and brought the suburbs into it. The reason why hip-hop artists can become multi-platinum is all because of MC Hammer...period.
Hammer changed the game. Kanye hasn't changed the game. It is what it is. He's "different" in his style, but he didn't categorically change the game.
People STILL are trying to match the success of Hammer's second album. It is the yardstick.
In fact, Hammer arguably changed the game with sampling.
To sample or use interpolations in 2008 is not inventive. And that's a big part of Kanye's "musical" contribution...reworking old music.
"Good Life?" - PYT (Michael Jackson).
It's hard to call someone a voice of a generation if there biggest hits are mostly because of someone else.
But that's a whole 'nutha discussion.
I know we are all stuck on these sports analogies and getting very technical but lets talk music and what was actually said in my opinion by Kanye. When Kanye said this generation, Im pretty sure he wasnt talking 30 years but with within this decade in which he stated. Now as far as music, Im not going to compare Jay-Z, Kanye or any other influential artist of the present time to someone as great as Stevie Wonder. But all of these individuals have made their mark in history. To me it seems like Kanye was not saying he IS the voice of this generation but he is preparing himself to be as great as a Stevie Wonder or in comparison to Michael Jordan instead of just talking about it
When Kanye said this generation, Im pretty sure he wasnt talking 30 years but with within this decade in which he stated. Now as far as music, Im not going to compare Jay-Z, Kanye or any other influential artist of the present time to someone as great as Stevie Wonder.
_______________
Well that's Kanye's bad. He said generation, he said Michael Jordan. Those references are very specific.
A generation is 30 years...it just is. To invoke the name of Michael Jordan, you're talking "all-time."
It just is.
We can go back and forth in terms of what he "meant" but what he said is what he said.
I'm going off of what he said and what shouldn't be open for argument is the definition of a generation or the reputation of Michael Jordan.
Maybe he should have said the best of the past 10 years and wants to go down in history like Steve Nash then.
That would've been a more apt comparison.
I keep sports in the discussion because Kanye made the connection, not me.
At the end of the day everybody have their own opinion. Even though you may believe that Kanye will never be in your list as one of the best lyricists of all time, that is your opinion. I have had discussion with people that believe 2pac or even Notorious BIG was one of the best lyricist. Kanye is an innovative producer. Sampling been around for years but Kanye was the first person to perfect it by slowing down the song and adding live instrumentation to it. Mc Hammer's biggest hit was sampled from Rick James Superfreak. Kanye was doing this back in the late 90's before he was even considered as a rapper. And I have to disagree on him not being able to reach the extremes of audiences. Anytime youre able to sell out venues in multiple countries across seas then youre doing something right
So since we're being technical, would you consider MC Hammer in comparison to Michael Jordan. Plus MC Hammer was no way near a lyricist plus his record sales for his second album been smashed by Outkast Love Below/Speakerbox which became one the BEST sellng hip hop album of all time
Im sorry the best hip hop album of all time... Period
I would consider Hammer to be a below-average lyricist but probably one of the most important figures in hip-hop because he was the first big crossover artist.
If you're going to mention Kanye selling out huge venues, a lot of that thanks goes to Hammer.
70% of hip-hop is bought by non-African Americans...a lot of that is thanks to Hammer.
As an artist...Hammer is marginal. As a figure in the advancing the story of Hip-Hop...a most important one.
whI thought Will Smith was one of the first crossover artist in which he was multi platinum in the late 80's and also received the first grammy for rap or even Run DMC who achieved multi platinum status in the 80's and also the first rap group that went crossover with a little song cld "Walk This Way" with a group named Aerosmith. I admit that MC Hammer was the first rap artist to be certified diamond which did set the standard though
I did mention Will Smith earlier...I'm not pushing him aside. I'm saying Hammer changed the game.
Of course Run DMC and Will Smith had a hand in that, it wasn't only Hammer. I'm just saying that Hammer kicked the door open and that rap was "pop" music long before the Grammys decided to finally get on board.
My former Pastor had a saying: 'If you have to tell people you're something...that usually means you're not.'
Obviously, Kanye has not yet learned the art of 'being'.
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