Wake up, Mr. West!

Many times, I'll find myself going to the web for a specific purpose, and spending about 20 minutes browsing around from link to link. I can't stop myself. My productivity level is not very high, unless I force myself to focus. And, how often do I actually focus? Not that often. So, instead of doing what I needed to do this Sunday afternoon, I found myself on AOL Black Voices, checking out some great interviews with Kanye West. While promoting his latest album, Late Registration, Kanye reveals why he is one of the most prolific entertainers
addressing issues of race and class, today. In these brief interviews he talks about winning a Stella Award for "Jesus Walks", performing at Live 8 and changing the name of his song"Diamonds are Forever" to "Diamonds from Sierra Leone".

I say the interviews are great because Kanye appears very sincere as he highlights much of the controversial issues of his album and responds to the critiques he's received about his outrageous personality. He says that the media expects everyone to adhere to two oppossite sides of a spectrum, to be either shy or loud; Kanye labels this a gray section. He responds,

"But only dogs see in black and white and gray, we're human beings, we see
incolor. So since this is color, I decided to be bright red."

On a political vibe, in Late Registration Kanye calls out the presidents of past and present's treatment of Black people. Touching on issues of poverty, AIDs, drugs in our communities, and overt government projects designed to maim Black achievements, Late Registration serves as an eloquent fusion of political criticism and musical talent. With lines such as, "And I know the goverment administered AIDS" in "Heard 'Em Say", and "How they stop the Black panthers?/ Ronald Reagan cooked up an answer" in "Crack Music", one almost gets the feeling that the fragile roots of hip hop's inception might still be alive. Is it possible that have room for artists who use rap as a means of expressing the need for progressive change and sharp world analyses? Prematurely, I was ready to give Kanye kudos for standing by his beliefs and choosing to speak about himself in a way that is very different from many rappers of this time.

But, the reality is that actions speak louder the words, and Kanye's heartfelt pleas for more support of Black empowerment, coupled with his fervent critiques of our political leaders, resonate as self-righteous bullshit as I watch him continue to reify reductive notions of gender, Black women's sexuality, and povery in third world nations. For example, Kanye's video for "Gold Digger" left me confused with its constant sexual imageries. Where's the new perspective?, I thought. Looks like the same old videos that Ludacris and Nelly put out. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" seemed promising in its frank commentary of the relationship between the diamond and drugs trade: "Over there/they die from what we buy from drugs", that is until Kanye informs us that he won't be giving his diamonds back, that'd be like asking him to give up the game. Excuse me?!? Didn't we just establish that our entertainment comes at the price of our kinfolk's death? Am I the ridiculous one for expecting Kanye to accompany his very intelligent song with a inspirational stance that would emphasize the seriousness of the horrific rape of Black Africans for this superfluous, materialistic gem?

Well, with the lack of discussion surrounding Kanye's hypocritical actions, it would appear that we've reached that plateau of consciousness in hip hop, where artists are revered for publicly pointing out a problem, while they simultaneously plan to party it up at the album premiere the same night.

Point blank, I'm tired of psuedo-conscious rappers. They're annoying. Don't give me a great beat, powerful words, and then follow it up with actions that directly contradict your messages. If that's your M.O., just align forces with Bush rather than critique him. What is Kanye doing to encourage Black youth to forgo diamonds for education, or support Black women instead of demeaning them? I've yet to see that video.