Controversial, creative, narcissistic, but most importantly one of the most impactful artists to ever exist. Kanye West spent what seemed like most of 2018 engaged in angry twitter rant after rant, becoming the laughing stock in the eyes of many, however everyone still seems to forget how wonderful of an artist he is, and the underlying fact that he is a true reflection of authentic American individualism.

Today anything you post online or even say in public can be seen by millions in a near instant. This pressure of public reception puts a veil over what you really want to say, and practically censors you from sharing your beliefs and ideas to others, however Kanye sees past this. His brutish and senseless tweets may seem random and pointless at face value, but Kanye drives to bravely broadcast his mind to the world, not caring about what others think and not allowing to have his thoughts become tainted by the antagonistic opinions of others. This stubborn approach to social media may be hated by many since it seems that Kanye is apathetic to others, but I contend the idea that his unique presence on twitter preserves his inner thoughts and are a beautiful example of a genuine individual.

In terms of music, this individualistic and uncaring attitude is directly translated into Kanye’s most iconic and critically acclaimed albums such as The College Dropout, and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. In both of these masterpieces, Kanye experiments and tries something different when compared to the surrounding music. Whether it be revitalizing soul music with the countless amounts of samples or creating long lasting stadium chants, Kanye’s ability to test the waters with original and outlandish sounds is celebrated by many, so why isn’t his social and political viewpoints of the world celebrated?

Politics is an extremely touchy topic in today’s world and causes a massive divide within the United States. Kanye, however as mentioned previously, emphasizes self-thought and to never follow a crowd for fear of being ridiculed. A prime example of this would be Kanye’s involvement with the Republican party and his infamous love for the ‘Make America Great Again’ hat. This notorious red hat perfectly symbolizes Kanye’s strive for individualism, where he preaches for everyone to advocate their true thoughts and to not be swayed by the pressure of others. Whether Kanye chose the right or left, doesn’t really matter (despite what you want him to side with). What seems to matter to Kanye is pointing out the evils behind a herd mentality as they suppress the individualism that Kanye holds so highly. Kanye uses his power platform to spread self-thought as seen with his massive social media presence.

The United States was founded off of individual based thoughts, the ideas of true democracy and being able to voice opinions without being ridiculed or censored. Kanye speaks the words he believes to be true, whether you find his political stances to fall in line with yours or on the other side of the spectrum. Kanye shines above most of his haters due to the fact that he is brave enough to share his controversial but important ideas, and displays why it is so important to be an individual in today’s atmosphere.

Editorial By Logan Williams