George W. Bush, Anna Wintour, Donald Trump, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian West, Ray J, Amber Rose, Caitlyn Jenner, and Bill Cosby... all naked.
Almost anyone on this planet knows who these select individuals are. Kanye West has yet again astonished the world by using these people of his past and present, morphing them into a piece originally from the Yeezy imagination.
On June 24, the music video for the leading single "Famous" on Kanye's seventh studio album, "The Life of Pablo," released live from the L.A. Forum. As expected, one could surmise that whatever Ye cooked up was something aloof from reality, yet strikingly witty. Out of all the interactions between those in this "famous" world, these 12 "nude" individuals are the representations Kanye utilizes to capitalize on the cream of the crop, at least so far in 2016.
But in the music video a year is nonexistent in the "famous" world (the world being the bed and white sheets), and the bareness of these selected individuals who lay on top are exploited to the planet. Remember when Ye ran on stage while Taylor Swift was receiving an accolade at the MTV Music Video Awards? The amount of attention on both artists became a national brand. Memes, parodies, and other pop culture references perpetuated them at the apex of being "famous" all the way to the year 2016. It's obvious that Swift is an intricate part of the song "Famous". But what if I told you that she is one of many in the nude bunch who have achieved such a status? That the bed being illustrated in the video is some sort of a media-omnipotent hall of fame from the view of Kanye in 2016 and years past?
On this day in Twitter, Mr. West exclaims the innocence of Bill Cosby. On this strength alone, the star power of Ye and where he stands so far in the "famous" world, on his words alone, he might want the people to believe in him and not what the media might show you. Who knows what this truly means. Kanye is a multi-progressive thinker and is misunderstood. But one thing that's certain is that no matter what way you put it, a nude Bill Cosby is ironically already "famous," and through the personal dealings in Cosby's life, he is publicly deemed infamous.
The music video is actually inspired by historical and biblical influences. Vincent Desiderio’s “Sleep" (pictured below) and Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper" are prominent in this naked rendition of artwork. Since Kanye see's himself past music and as a genius-like entity that has transcended past all other famous entities, he feels like he almost resembles Jesus Christ in a way (not saying he is). West using political figures like George W. Bush and Donald Trump also has a unique mark in the life of Yeezy. He rants/raps about them, subsequently contributing to their success (especially G.W. Bush when Kanye criticized his efforts during hurricane Katrina).
So what would happen if Kanye didn't actually mention the 12 world famous nudists? Is he the reason for modern pop culture? Does he imply without his knowledge or his abilities they wouldn't be in the comfortable bed with him? Either way, the "Famous" video can be analyzed in a multitude of ways and is too grand to analyze in one sitting. What should be taken away from this video is that people will always talk about and focus the scandalous. A song just about fame is one thing, but illustrating the concept can be a lot more complicated than one might think.
I cannot say for certain that this will change the landscape on how music videos are made or even music for that matter, but West is definitely starting his own revolution. A rebellion of culture, ideas and progress which in his vision will lead to a more sympathetic and peaceful world. Kanye is transcending from music as we see in his fashion pursuits and other artistic/business ventures. I believe his video highlights that vision with a detached scandalous image made attachable by the context of lyrics and and history, is his way of showing to the world that distractions are seducing.
