Kanye West, best known for his impact on the rap community, has released some of the most critically acclaimed albums in hip-hop history, such as: “Graduation,” “Life of Pablo,” “Ye” and “The College Dropout.” With the recent release of “Vultures 2,” his influence on current culture raises some concerns; Many would consider the quality of his current music to be on a decline.
We interviewed a couple of students to get their perspectives on the change in Kanye West’s music throughout the years. “I think his music has changed, the ideas are different and he sounds like he doesn’t care anymore. He’s just bland these days. He has also had mental issues as well as substance abuse. His controversial opinions are a lot more relevant and his old music is incredible, his new music is mid. He has had a massive downfall” says Jonathan D. 26.
With his controversial opinions becoming widely known, he has gained a bad reputation with the public. Kanye West has been very open about his struggles with bipolar disorder and substance addictions. Many consider these factors the main contributors to his downfall.
Dade C. ’27, a fan of Kanye West, says, “I definitely think his music has changed through his controversial opinions, they reflect the deterioration of him as a person, I do still enjoy his music, I find the older stuff more creative with the samples. His music could improve drastically by utilizing more samples and using less autotune. Undoubtedly, his music style has changed and it has gotten worse.”
Brooks A. ’27 says, “I liked his earlier albums; they felt more like his style. I still like the beat in his songs, but the overall lyrics and flow have gotten generally worse. Now, Kanye just talks with autotune on. I’m not a fan of Kanye’s music, but I still enjoyed earlier albums he made like ‘Graduation’ and ‘Life of Pablo’; now, most of the time I don’t bother checking his new releases. I understand he has bipolar which most likely explains his downfall.”
Kanye West has seen a downfall, unmatched by anyone else before him; an artist with 24 Grammys and 75 nominations. He was on top of the hip-hop world with fans ecstatic over his releases. Now, many fans barely even bother to look at new music. For now, all we can do is wonder if Kanye will return to his old sound.