Posted on 23 August 2010.
Kanye West has received much attention this past year, what with his interruption of Taylor Swift’s award acceptance at the 2009 MTV VMAs. However, that attention has not been nearly as immense as that surrounding is new 2010 album, Good Ass Job. Taking advantage of technology is said to be West’s smartest move in the music industry yet.
A recent member of Twitter, it seems as if West has been utilizing this new social network non-stop to deliver updates on music promotions and details on his album. Other artists have also been informing followers of their collaboration on this new album through Twitter. One of the most exciting tweets was delivered recently by West himself. Fans will be able to enjoy free music on a consistent basis until Christmas.
He will start releasing his music starting this Friday, August 27, 2010. West said that although “It may be my song it may be a new Jay [Z] song etc…” he promises to release a song every week for the rest of this year. While fans love this, it has no doubt caused some concern to be raised at the two artist’s record labels.
While much is still a mystery about this album, fans do know that Good Ass Job will be the end to West’s college series of albums. Through Twitter, Big Sean has confirmed his appearance on this soon-to-be-released album. It is speculated that other artists who have done past collaborations with West will also appear on the album as well. Such rumored names include Common and Mos Def. Fans will be happy to hear that it is also rumored that newer artists might also appear, including top Billboard 200 artist Drake, and Kid Cudi.
A major supposed change to the expected album is that West is to leave Auto-Tune out of the spotlight and that his songs will focus more on the sound that he brings to his music. Don’t be too sad that Auto-Tune will not be the main attraction as was with Heartbreak, it is sure to make exciting appearances on some songs on the album.
While the track list for Good Ass Job has already been leaked, some speculate as to whether this alleged “leak” is a tactic by West himself to further give hype to an album that already seems far from debt for eager fans. Either way the leak only increased attention to West and his album.
West has also seemed to increase wait time for fans yearning for his album. Originally scheduled for release on September 14th, West announced from Korea that the album will now be released “sometime in November.” However, what is interesting in his excitement of his new album his is transformation back to the fans. On Twitter he posts that his energy will be delivered fully to educate fans of the many new horizons available for hip-hop music.
West relates to Eminem in that they have both apparently transformed themselves to better people and better musicians. The quest West hopes to take from this album out is to deliver truth of his life and his perception of life. The fans, according to West, deserve this and merit the opportunity to learn of all that is out there for this genre.
West opens up a variety of doors for hip-hop with this album, including the addition of rock-and-roll to the genre. The integration of various music techniques, West, originally a rapper, has pushed the boundaries of hip-hop like no other musician before him. Breaking out all Auto-Tuned songs, including 808s and Heartbreak, in 2008, West is going to push the limits further with this album. With other artists taking lead, it begs the question, what is hip-hop today?
Originating in the South Bronx in the 1970s hip-hop emerged as a new (hip) and cool way to integrate rhythmic beats with dance (hop). Later, rap was introduced into the mix to create what is generally considered the first type of hip-hop shaped in America. While initially being a medium of reducing violence in urban society, hip-hop was later associated with the an increased rate of violence in the 1990s with the theme of rapping about violence, drugs, and sex. Sadly, this has becoming the paramount style of hip-hop known to most of American society today.
However, a new wave of hip-hop has recently been introduced to society and has opened up the eyes of many fans not only in the U.S. but around the world. With the integration of different styles of music in hip-hop, as done by Lil’ Wayne using rock-and-roll in Prom Queen, artists now have a sense of pride in experimenting with music and being more real in their lyrics. This past summer alone fans were introduced to the truth of the life of Eminem, spoken by known other than the artist himself.
In Not Afraid, Eminem reveals the truth behind his failed past album Relapse, and the mistakes he’s made in his life. He looks forward to being a better man and promises that to his fans and his daughter. There is much inspiration and motivation in this song, so much so that it is being used in other setting, including the classroom, to teach students about admitting faults and mistakes and looking for ways to better oneself after accepting the consequences of your actions.
Kaye West is another artist key to the transformation of hip-hop back to its original state of truth. The first of this was seen is his promise to deliver free songs to fans, calling this feat “Good Fridays.” Whether or not fans believe West to deliver truth, the face of hip-hop is changing. It is now geared to changing the stereotypical perception of society from thinking of hip-hop as fueling violence to thinking of the genre as a mechanism for positive change in society.
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Notorious for using ALL CAPS when upset, West had several tweets related to the incident, including:
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