I live in America -- land of the free, home of the brave. I eat hotdogs. I drink coffee. I buy things I don’t need. Although I’m a first generation American, I’m as stereotypical as a stereotypical American can get. And like every other stereotypical American, I hate Kanye West -- with a fiery passion.
The reason I hate Kanye is because he constantly brags about being a so-called genius. To a degree, I can agree with him -- just not through his word; Yeezy has proven his genius through his solid discography (solid from 1999 to 2010; Kanye died in 2011 for me).
Yeezy has won numerous awards, put out three classic albums, and produced the biggest hits of the 2000s. With these accomplishments, why does our supposed lord and savior, Yeezus Christ, feel the need to constantly utter the word “genius” out of his mouth? Because he’s secretly insecure -- like any other arrogant person.
Arrogance is nothing, but disguised insecurity. Sure, people like Kanye appear high and mighty, but that high and mightiness is nothing but a façade for feeling inadequate. As I stated earlier, if a person has proof for his or her claim, why does he have to reiterate his claim? The evidence speaks for itself. Actions speak louder than words. Sure, that phrase may be clichéd, but it’s true. If you’ve received universal praise for your music, the praise speaks for itself; self-aggrandizing labels only make you look snobbish and pretentious (which Kanye is -- that "Yeezus" album cover might be the most pretentious thing I’ve ever seen in my life).
Although society promotes the idea that every person has a different value, that idea is a lie. The truth is that everyone has the same value, no matter the class, creed, or color. By boasting about being a “genius,” you’re simply trying to contradict an indisputable, universal truth -- you’re trying to prove an unprovable concept. Putting yourself on a pedestal, calling yourself a god, is a great way to enlarge your ego, but a completely useless way to feel better about yourself.
Everyone has insecurities. But the truly confident people disregard their insecurities. Insecure people let their insecurities define them, and arrogant people deify themselves, also letting their insecurities define them as they try to mask their low self-worth. Mr. West is not a truly confident person because he doesn’t believe that his accolades are enough, and because he feels that his numerous accolades aren’t enough, he calls himself a genius to hide his true feelings.
The thing about being arrogant is that you become hard to gratify. And as gratification is hard to achieve, so is true confidence because an insatiable desire can never fill the empty void in your heart if you’re existence is so contingent on it. That’s why Kanye, who is supposed to be the underdog whom record executives never thought would sell records, acted like an entitled brat when Louis Vuitton rejected him.
Kanye West, or not, being arrogant is pointless because all you are doing is masking your insecurity. If you have universal appeal, there’s no need for you to call yourself a genius. If every human being has the same value, there’s no need to call yourself a god. If you receive a copious number of accolades, there’s no need to make yourself insatiable. Truly confident people don’t need to speak up -- they just let their actions speak for them.
Am I wrong? Are arrogant people truly confident? Please tell me what you think.
