Blog Post #2

First Post: http://cophilosophy.blogspot.com/2016/04/kanye-west-moder-day-philosopher.html

Courtney Pouncy

Dr. Oliver

PHIL 1030-006

29 April 2016

What is Kanye?

            Kanye West, arrogant rapper? Yeezus? Jesus? Why is this single man one of the most controversial characters of our generation? Is it because of his vulgar lyrics and even more vulgar song titles for example, Black Skinhead, New Slaves, and many more titles that have really caught the publics attention throughout the years. This man has been voicing his opinions since I can remember whether it be from who we thought should win album of the year in the VMAs to his opinion on George Bush, and even to his opinions on how we can make this world a better place.

            This man has been quoted saying that he’s the Walt Disney of our generation. He has also been quoted saying he’s a god, Steve Jobs, and many more random identities. Aside from his arrogance I believe that Kanye West has an actual place of his own in the world of philosophy. A quote that really stuck out to me by Kanye West was

“I think I do myself a disservice by comparing myself to Steve Jobs and Walt Disney and human beings that we've seen before. It should be more like Willy Wonka... and welcome to my chocolate factory.” – Kanye West

I know that this quote doesn’t really sound like much, but it shows that Kanye West sees himself as a different individual and it makes me think Who am I to discredit this man and say that he is not a philosopher. I am not going to sit here and compare him to Socrates, or Aristotle but if you look at the big picture Kanye West; the man, the rapper, the philanthropist has shown in many occasions that he makes an influence in the world today. I am not able to say that his influences are always in anyways positive, but he honestly brings awareness to many issues that you and I never think about.

            Kanye West’s life is shown to the public almost every single day on multiple platforms, and makes the most of every single appearance by saying what is exactly on his mind. In my personal opinion, Kanye West is a key example of a philosopher in todays world. He may be a jerk, (that’s a compliment) but you have to give him credit when credit is due. Whether people like it or not; this man influences the world on a daily basis and instead of following the status quo that was expected of him he chose to break down barriers and make his own rules. Like I previously said in the paragraphs before, Kanye West is no Socrates, or Aristotle, and he can’t even be compared to Marcus Aurelius but I’ll tell you what. Kanye West throughout his years may have picked up a lot of occupations; rapper, designer, philanthropist, father, husband and philosopher!