
Kanye West On Creativity - tom_ilsinszki
http://www.kanyewest.com/2010/03/02/creativity
======
wallflower
When I meet someone at a party or a random event, I find that I hit it off
most with those who genuinely want to create things with love, passion, and
stubbornness and share them with people. Even if they are amateurish.

I ride the train every day and I see so many people just consuming content. Be
it whatever they do on their Blackberry or iPhone or book or the local paper.
I always smile when I see someone crocheting on the train.

We are a _consumer_ society. I think, most of us, as developers and designers
are especially privileged in the sense that we can bring form to thoughts -
bring them into actuality.

To create is to be happier. Yes, it's good to watch the occasional TV show -
but if you're just sitting there consuming content all day, it's a net trade
deficit for you in the long run.

Thank you for posting Kanye West's heartfelt paen on creativity and the
impermanence of life.

EDIT:

If you have not ever seen this, Ira Glass of This American Life on 'making
stuff even when you know it sucks'. The power of persistence.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hidvElQ0xE>

Related:

[http://www.unlikelysalsero.com/2007/08/magic-of-time-last-
on...](http://www.unlikelysalsero.com/2007/08/magic-of-time-last-one-
standing.html)

~~~
roc
> _We are a consumer society._

I don't think it's quite that bleak. The trick is that we only create in a
small handful of arenas. So most of what we have in common with one another,
most of what we do, is consume other people's productions.

But that guy passively consuming on the train might have a woodshop at home
and could be reading about woodcraft and fueling his passion even as he
consumes.

That guy on the blackberry could be exchanging recipes to further his own.

And who knows what might be going through the mind of the guy reading the
paper. Perhaps you've just caught him during his 'offline, recharge' time.
Where he steps back to broaden his awareness to stimulate new ideas.

Frankly, you have to take a pessimistic, judgmental (borderline-misanthropic)
view of anyone not actively creating at any given moment to decide that most
people do nothing but consume.

I'm sure the stereotypical mindless consumers exist. But I know that even
creative people go through phases of their life that are like that.

But that's how it is with passion. If you don't have it, there's no sense
trying to force a craft.

~~~
wallflower
Thanks for your comments.

I don't think it is a bad thing that we may be a consumer society.

And you are correct in that observing people passively on the train without
asking them about themselves is a biased filter.

In my biased worldview, I do believe strongly that most people are happier
consuming content vs the pain and joy of producing original content (for
example, the creative army behind a hit series like 'Big Love'). Personally, I
am happiest when I am making something (whether it be a homemade crappy non-
Hallmark but sentimental birthday card or some Cocoa code for an upcoming
iPhone app). And it is very, very easy for my addictive personality to sit on
the couch and surf on the iPhone until the battery low warning.

On a tangent, is why I believe Facebook/Twitter/et al. are positive - they
allow people to share bits of their interests/lives.

Note: A few of the best conversations I have ever had have been with random
strangers (non-regulars) on the train/airplane about their lives

------
maxklein
What's impressive about Kanye is that when he reached the peak of the
particular art form he was in (his music), he was willing to start on a whole
new art form, where it was sure that he would initially have to go through a
pain process.

That's what we all have to do. Not just keep repeating the same shit in
slightly different forms, but go somewhere else and do something new.

You can't know what you don't know till you've been somewhere you haven't ever
been.

~~~
andrewcooke
hi - i don't know much about the guy, except that he's a rap artist. what's
the new art form?

~~~
sachinag
He, essentially, wrote and performed a bunch of love songs and ballads on 808s
and Heartbreak. Sure, they're Auto-Tuned out of their gourds, but they're
heartfelt love songs, all about a girl who left him. On some, he's angry at
her, and on some, he's doing his standard "I'm awesome" thing.

But, as you can imagine, most rappers don't do a concept album all about the
girl who broke his heart.

~~~
mrtron
The additional point that maxklein made was this was coming off one of the
best softcore, pop rap albums of all time. It sold something like a million in
a week, and then was huge worldwide.

He could have made another album like Graduation and sold 10 times the records
808 did. If you want to gain some respect for Kanye, go download the
Graduation album and listen to it start to finish. Not only is it great, but
it is very introspective and self-critical.

~~~
sachinag
Absolutely - the dude's not the best rapper, but he's easily the best lyricist
of this generation.

~~~
starkfist
indeed

 _How could you be so Dr. Evil_

 _You're bringing out a side of me that I don't know_

 _I decided we weren't gonna speak so why we up 3 a.m. on the phone_

 _Why does she be so mad at me for, homie I don't know she's hot and cold_

 _I won't stop, won't mess my groove up cause I already know how this thing
goes,_

 _You run and tell your friends that you're leavin' me_

 _They say that they don't see what you see in me_

 _You wait a couple months then you gon' see,_

 _You'll never find nobody better than me_

It's pure poetry. Never matched or surpassed. He's truly the Bob Dylan of our
times.

~~~
ibsulon
No. Bob Dylan is _still_ the Bob Dylan of our times. Go listen to Modern Times
or Love and Theft again. In the genre, I'll still put Common above Kanye in
lyrics, and so would Jay-Z. How about The Roots?

Kayne, as a producer, does great work. His lyrics are usually good. (I'm not a
fan of Misogynist hits like Kanye's Workout Plan or Golddigger, but hey.) But
Bob Dylan?

~~~
starkfist
Well, I was being sarcastic. I grew up with the rhymesayers and think Kanye's
lyrics are a joke. I'd rather listen to Little Wayne, at least he's not
pretending to be deep.

~~~
swivelmaster
They're hit or miss. I don't think the quoted line is particularly good, but
some of his lyrics are very clever, or very introspective, or very funny, or
all three at the same time.

~~~
starkfist
His beats are better than his rhymes. I generally like his albums when they
first come out, but I don't feel they have much staying power.

------
pclark
Kanye West found a way to prevent his content being made readable, even via
readability.

~~~
revorad
Gimp to the rescue!

<http://hrishimittal.com/kanye_west_on_creativity.jpg>

~~~
michael_dorfman
Not enough for me, I'm afraid. I suppose someone could run it through OCR and
put it into a normal paragraph form, but I'm not convinced it's worth the
bother.

------
jdietrich
Yo Kanye, I'm really happy for you and imma let you finish, but I think Ken
Robinson had the best creativity essay of all time. OF ALL TIME!

------
redstar504
I'm on the plane listening to the college dropout. It brings back so many
memories. When we made it I had all 6 parents, 4 grandparents and my mom and
dad. Now I have my dad and my grandfather.

Music is so nostalgic. Every song I listen to brings me back to when I first
played them for my mom, when I first played from for Dame, when I first played
them Jay, when I first played them for Kweli, when I first played them for my
niggas back in Chi, when the album first came out, when I first called Ebro
from Hot 97 and begged him to play through the wire, when DJ Pharris blew me
up in the Chi.

We used to be the niggas rocking polo shirts, Louie back packs, paper denim
jeans, and exclusive Adidas from Sporty LA. We were the underdogs. I never
feel like I'm not the underdog. I never felt completely comfortable. I'm
tormented by the need to create. With the loss of McQueen I feel like we lost
one of those faces of modern creativity's Mount Rushmore.

There were times that the only thing that kept me on this earth was the need
and responsibility to create. Maybe McQueen felt his job was done because his
last collection was the greatest of the decade. We are all so hurt. I know
we're selfish because he brought us so much joy and inspiration.

I know how it feels when the night demons come. We can't let them control our
hands and feet. Sometimes when it hurts so bad we have to just lay in the bed.
Just lay in bed and don't move please, I know how it feels. I wish McQueen
could have just been still. Don't let the psychiatrists give you their drugs
because it slows down your wings. Society and public opinion can beat the
wings off of angels. When god sees they can't take it anymore he brings them
back home.

During this new album process sometimes I turn the music up and drink and cry.
When something sounds so amazing and ground breaking I'm reminded of why I
live. I drink the pain of now 2 generations and breathe our melodies and
messages. The music keeps us alive.

I was blessed with the opportunity to bring my and others dreams to life. It's
like performing magic or something. It's surreal. We bring the unrealistic to
reality. “Go hard, go hard, go hard” echoes in my dreams. When I wake up and
brush my teeth and look in the mirror it's like I see Michael and my mom and
Malcolm. Who's that African in the background mom? Oh he created the original
layouts for the pyramids but was written out the history books and his MTV
award was given to “aliens”.

There's no such thing as fact anymore, only opinion. The closest thing we have
to fact is “common opinion”. Everything is an opinion. The way you dress is an
expression of your opinion. Your religious beliefs are your opinion. The music
you turn up loud is your opinion. For most people it's easier to just agree.
For me the hardest thing is to 'just' agree and that is what sparks
creativity, the feeling that something can be better, the feeling that
something's missing. The feeling that something's needed.

~~~
charlesju
I really like this line, "I never feel like I'm not the underdog. I never felt
completely comfortable. I'm tormented by the need to create." Regardless of
your personal feelings for Kanye that should resonate with every entrepreneur
in the room.

------
overgard
I liked the last paragraph of that:

"For me the hardest thing is to 'just' agree and that is what sparks
creativity, the feeling that something can be better, the feeling that
something's missing, the feeling that something's needed."

I like the idea that creativity isn't just about creating something in a void
-- it's about having a strong viewpoint and the taste to know how things
should be.

------
wmeredith
I'm sorry, but Mr. West is such an insufferable ass that I can't bring myself
to read this.

~~~
david927
So was Picasso. If you can't separate the artist from the art, you won't enjoy
much.

This essay actually betrays a vulnerability; it reveals a Heiligenstadt
Testament-like calling. I, for one, am impressed.

~~~
tungstenfurnace
He does seem vulnerable, even tortured. Does this go hand in hand with great
creativity?

~~~
david927
I think it does. If you look at the lives of a lot of artists (and a lot of
scientists throughout history!), it seems that a great many of them had
miserable lives because of this tortured search for "something that could be
better, something missing, something needed."

There's an old legend where I live, in the Czech Republic, of a fire bird. The
hero sees the bird and his horse tells him, "If we turn around right now,
you'll have a nice life, a quiet, happy life... but if you capture that bird,
you'll cry and you'll suffer, and your life will be an amazing adventure." The
horse begs him to chose the former, but of course, the hero's journey is the
latter.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firebird_%28Slavic_folklore%29>

------
nlanier
I quite enjoyed that and I'm not afraid to admit it.

------
kerringtonx
I've always liked the crafts of those who are perceived socially to be flawed
in some manner. Michael Jackson, Kanye West, and now Tiger Woods to name a
few. Even with their problems, I'm still drawn to them solely because their
art is inspiring and creative.

What he wrote is interesting. He reminds me of the music industry's Andy
Warhol.

------
holdenc
Surprised to see this on hacker news. Alot of Kanye is unbearable, and this is
not one of his best works. But his best songs I believe are pure art.

------
CoachRufus87
though some may just not like the guy (for whatever reason), you can't deny
the level of creativity that this dude possesses. his concert was the first i
ever attended back in 05 in Dallas & every single hip-hop concert i've
attended since (about 15 thus far) has paled in comparison (in terms of just
sheer originality)

~~~
TheSOB88
What about other concerts?

------
tibbon
Since this is HN I should point out a lack of any alt tag or longdesc. Stevie
Wonder will not be reading this.

~~~
petercooper
_Stevie Wonder will not be reading this._

Do you seriously think Stevie Wonder sits around reading Kanye West's site?
:-)

~~~
orblivion
Well hopefully he reads hacker news, because redstar504 transcribed it above.

------
betageek
Nobody, even Kanye himself, would disagree the guy is a bit of a dick
sometimes, but it's nice to see someone that wears his (he)art on his sleeve
and strives for the best.

He's the Steve Jobs of Hip Hop.

~~~
pclark
I disagree. Jay-Z, Tupac or Notorious BIG are the "Steve Jobs" (eg:
consistently raising the bar) of Hip Hop

~~~
sueders100
I don't feel Steve Jobs is notable solely because he 'consistently raises the
bar', but his approach to creation. Jay-z admitted in his lyrics where he says
"I wanna rhyme like Common Sense, but i did five Mil, I ain't been rhymin'
like Common since" that he prefers to be more profitable rather than to
fulfill his desire to rap about what he wants to. Biggie doesn't have a
catalog(2 studio albums) large enough to really say that he consistently
raises the bar. Also both Biggie and Tupac came from an era that produced
Naughty by Nature, A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, The Wu-Tang Clan and many
others. It's a bit much they raised the bar when there were others around
pushing hip hop at least as far. But I digress, the ways in which you can draw
similarities to Kanye and Steve Jobs is that they prize aesthetics, are known
for creating what they see as ideal, a disdain for compromise, going against
the grain and being extremely successful at what they do. So I think Kanye is
far more analogous to Steve Jobs than anyone else in hip hop.

~~~
pclark
well explained. :)

------
cmelbye
Best comment below the post:

 _i know your not gonna name your album this but this would be cool if you
named it “IMA LET YOU FINISH”_

------
nazgulnarsil
what exactly is impressive about kanye west vs every other pop "artist"? does
anyone have any examples?

~~~
jriddycuz
He's probably the only male in the hip-hop world that makes music with a lot
of personal, emotional content. Also he has a pretty good ear for hooks, and
is widely regarded as a good producer. Not a big fan myself, but I think
that's basically why he's well liked.

Then again, maybe it's the shutter shades.

~~~
zoba
I think Eminem covers a lot of his own, personal issues. Eminem does hooks
well too...

~~~
jriddycuz
Perhaps I shouldn't have said "only". But Eminem presents himself as a
gangsta, and while he does cover a lot of his own issues, he doesn't strike me
as particularly introspective. I'm not necessarily preferring one guy over the
other here--I'd much rather listen to OutKast or Mos Def than either Eminem or
Kanye--but I think Kanye's merger of the traditional content of a lot of
singer-songwriters with hip-hop is what makes him stand out.

------
pluc
Oh. Looks like Kanye's attempting a little heartfelt PR stunt to make people
believe he actually has a responsibility to create. Fair attempt, but his
actions say the exact opposite: that he's doing it all for himself, the fame
and recognition. I, for one, don't believe this jackass.

~~~
petercooper
I don't think they're mutually exclusive. Where does this urge and feeling of
a responsibility to create come from? Preservation of the ego, legacy, a
feeling of importance.. all things that fame and recognition fuel.

It's a bit like economic motivation in capitalism. If someone's greed for
money leads to them doing great things to make money (hiring people and
redistributing wealth in the process) then that "greed" is considered good,
from a capitalist point of view.

In the same way, Kanye routinely admits he has a massive ego, and I think that
if that ego and pride leads to him doing some great work (even if he says some
stupid shit from to time) then it's worth it. It's not like he's running
drugs, touching kids, screwing taxpayers out of money, or whatever.. being an
ass and jumping on stages is a small inconvenience for what he brings to the
world.

~~~
pluc
Maybe you're right - but he still comes across as a self-absorbed jerk, and
that's his own doing.

------
nickpp
Who the f- is Kanye West?!

~~~
Willie_Dynamite
Are you under the impression that you look sophisticated and cultured when you
pretend to not know who he is?

~~~
kevinh
No, he's making fun of Kanye's response to Colbert's attempt to have his
Christmas album beat Kanye's music on iTunes.

[http://www.rollingstone.com/blogs/smokingsection/2008/12/ste...](http://www.rollingstone.com/blogs/smokingsection/2008/12/stephen-
colbert-declares-war-o.php)

------
detcader
"We used to be the niggas rocking polo shirts, Louie back packs, paper denim
jeans, and exclusive Adidas from Sporty LA. We were the underdogs."

I laughed.

If those "niggas" are the underdogs, what should we call the "niggas" dying in
Haiti?

~~~
zackattack
Congratulations on being unable to pick up context!

------
NIL8
I can't believe this is on HN. Leave this stuff to Yahoo or one of the other
pop-news aggregates. Come on Paul, a little more filtering please.

~~~
mcantor
<http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html>

On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes
more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the
answer might be: _anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity._

What is creativity? Where does it come from?

------
antidaily
Sounds like he's studying Scientology.

------
scrame
i hate kanye west.

------
hackermom
the mere headline makes me giggle a bit. oh, the irony.

