Once again Kanye West has dropped a thought-provoking bomb-shell on the way that we think and do things with his visual for the song "Famous" off of his most recent studio album "The Life of Pablo."
"Famous" of course is the same song that had Taylor Swift fans, and many others alike, up in arms. Still not sure what I'm talking about?
"For all my Southside n***** that know me best, I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex. Why? I made that b*tch famous. I made that b*tch famous." Just to clarify with those of you reading who are either reading these lyrics for the first time, or are unfamiliar with hip-hop culture, "bitch" doesn't carry the same offensive weight as it would elsewhere.. Although if we're trying to be progressive, which I'll assume we all are, you can't just be calling people "b*tches".
The visual was premiered to an audience of roughly 8,000 people who bought tickets to the showing at the (also) famous Forum in Los Angeles. For those who could not make it to the first or second showing, it was streamed simultaneously worldwide on the music streaming app Tidal for members and non-members alike.
After all the hoopla, and a 45 minute delay out of respect for those who were waiting in long lines to buy merchandise, so that they wouldn't miss anything, the show was underway.
The ten minute and forty-four second visual begins with the image of the sun above the cloud, then short one or two second clips of a messy bed, or Kanye preaching, as well as sound-bites from some of his most controversial moments playing, until finally we hear Rihanna's rendition of Nina Simone's "Do What You Gotta Do", and the song starts. The camera slowly glides over the bed and shows the faces, and nude bodies of each and every one of its occupants. In that bed we see 12 of the most talked about human beings from the last decade or so.
From left to right, we see George Bush, Anna Wintour, Donald Trump, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian West, Ray J, Caitlyn Jenner and Bill Cosby. Most interesting to me was the placement of Chris Brown and Rihanna next to each other, as well as Kim lying between Kanye and Ray J. Oh, and let's not forget Taylor Swift laying right next to Mr. West.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Kanye talked about the imagery and how it wasn't meant to be anything pornographic, but rather a bold expression that the famous are naked and vulnerable under the covers just like the rest of us. He also explains it as a commentary on exactly what fame is, and how people get there.
The visual, inspired by the painting "Sleep" by Vincent Desiderio might be the most thought-provoking thing Ye has done yet, and that's saying something.
