Late last week, on Feb. 11, 2016, Kanye West had a Yeezy Season 3 launch party, to promote his upcoming album, "The Life of Pablo." One of his tracks, titled "Famous," is what has gotten the most attention due to the misogynistic lyric about Taylor Swift.
"I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex.
Why? I made that bitch famous."
Let me start off by saying that I have never ever (like ever) been a fan of Kanye West. I did not know who he was before the 2009 VMA incident (you all know which one I'm talking about), and afterwards, I had no respect for him and never liked him. When Taylor and Kayne made amends at the 2015 Grammy Awards and when she presented him with the Video Vanguard Award at the 2015 VMAs, I still suspected we had not really heard the last negativity from Kanye regarding Taylor.
This lyric from "Famous" is just the last nail in the coffin. Not only is it misogynistic and offensive to Taylor Swift, it is just plain hateful. If Kanye's intention was to be vindictive and malicious, then he succeeded. But let's get something straight here: nobody ever owes anybody sex. There is no exception and no argument to dispute this. Nobody ever owes anybody for sex. For that lyric to be in a song, that I have no doubt people will still unfortunately listen to and sing along with, shows that women in this society are still looked upon as objects in men's lives. Women are neither objects to lust over nor are they ever to be used for sex. This was not just a jab at Taylor Swift, but to women everywhere, and those who take Kanye and his music seriously will continue to perpetuate such notions.
I would also like to point out that Kanye West most certainly did not make Taylor Swift famous. Taylor Swift made Taylor Swift famous. When Kanye rudely interrupted Taylor at the 2009 VMAs, she was accepting the award for Best Female Video. Obviously she was well known enough to receive a nomination in the first place. Not only was she nominated for the VMA award in 2009 for "You Belong With Me," but her current album at the time, "Fearless," was the best selling album in the United States for that year. It was previously nominated for and won four Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, making her the youngest to ever receive the award. Now having won Album of the Year for the second time, she became the only woman to do so twice. Taylor Swift was already breaking records in 2009, and she has never needed Kanye to "make her famous." Success is not given. It is earned. In response to Kanye in her acceptance speech for Album of the Year at the 2016 Grammy Awards in a classy, respectful way, Swift said:
"There are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success, or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame. But if you just focus on the work and you don't let those people sidetrack you, someday when you get where you're going, you'll look around and you'll know that it was you and the people who love you that put you there, and that will be the greatest feeling in the world."
Taylor Swift has done one heck of a job earning her success. And, to Kanye, I say: shake it off.
