While his personality is constant in the public eye, Kanye West has put on many different hats and transformed his image within the music industry throughout his career. Starting off his legacy by producing hundreds of beats for some of the best hip-hop musicians of his time, he soon moved to rapping over his own beats and collaborating with the fresh talent coming up alongside him. Currently, he’s on a vicious path for world domination, with lines out the door just to pick up his latest shoe designs.
One of Kanye’s trade secrets for staying relevant is his ability to collaborate with artists whose raw talent has yet to reach the greater population of music listeners. While Travis Scott is on his way to becoming a household hip-hop name, it was only a couple of years ago that he was an unknown production credit on Kanye’s last album, Yeezus. Scott is one of many artists that received the intangible Kanye seal of approval, and the question of whether that was the reason he’s entered hip-hop’s spotlight has yet to be answered.
Some artists have gone on record to protest Kanye’s use of young talent. Last week, Young Chop took to Instagram to express his feelings on Kanye West’s role in the Chicago music scene. “Kanye don’t make it no better, he use you and try to soak up everything n----- know,” Young Chop explained in a short video posted to his account.
This isn’t the first time Young Chop publicized his disdain for West. In an interview with VladTV back in 2013, he explained that Kanye’s remix of “Don’t Like” originally felt like an appropriation of the real Chicago life that Chief Keef and Young Chop based the song on, though he didn’t feel the same way as he got older.
The “Kanye co-sign” has become a contentious topic in the music industry. While Yeezus himself is capable of lifting a younger artist’s career to new heights with the flick of his hand, the aftermath doesn’t always follow suit. Chop’s main issue lay in the fact that Kanye never called him back for any future projects after his work with G.O.O.D Music and Yeezus. Kanye never stays in one place for too long, so it would make sense that he doesn’t stick around for former collaborators when new sounds are on the horizon. Does that mean, though, that he owes something to those he used to work with? Is Kanye responsible for the success of those he tried to bring up?
People can knock Kanye for a multitude of personality quirks, but nobody can question the innovation he’s brought to the table throughout his years as an artist. The 808s & Heartbreak to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy to Yeezus path is the most varied any artist has been in their creative direction since Björk went from Icelandic pop music to experimental electronic soundscapes in the ’90s. The reason such a distinct transformation over time was pulled off so effortlessly was because of Kanye’s never-ending desire for a youthful sound. He’s almost 40-years-old, yet he continues to run around the world as if he’s as young as the artists he’s “putting on.”
This creates a conflict for artists that he interacts with that lie within a niche scene of music. Kanye collaborated with Young Chop at the peak of Chief Keef’s fame, when Chicago drill music was expected to take over the world. It would only be a few years later that Atlanta trap would take the world by storm, leaving drill music to live a quiet yet steady life within the confines of Chicago. Young Chop’s excellent production skills only work within the concept of drill music, so it would be illogical for Kanye to call him back while simultaneously working on avant-electronic beats with people like Arca and Skrillex.
In fact, some of the least successful Kanye co-signs are the ones who stick closest to him on a professional level. CyHi the Prynce and Consequence, both signees on Kanye’s label G.O.O.D Music, failed to make a name for themselves to such an extent that CyHi’s single which came out September 2015 has a meager 8,000 plays on Spotify, compared to the millions on his Cruel Summer features.
Kanye’s relation to the fashion industry perfectly outlines his role in the music industry. The fashion industry has a ravenous appetite for the new and disruptive designers that will shape modern styles as we know them. In a globalized internet age, the cycle of finding new talent is viciously fast. As someone who was rocking Visvim shoes in 2007 on his personal blog, Kanye has the same hunger for fresh young ideas that often take years to become fully popularized after he’s had his fill. If artists can’t keep up with his vision, then there’s little point in continuing a cosign at all.
The controversy of Young Chop’s statements boil down to the topic of whether Chop deserveda call back from Kanye. In many ways, the answer to that question is no. Music is a personal reflection of what one is feeling within themselves, and to force Kanye to return to the styles of Chicago drill music when he’s moved on to newer sounds is a recipe for failure. If Young Chop was upset with Kanye’s ignorance of his life growing up in a violent and impoverished Chicago, he should also recognize Kanye’s perspective of having worked with hundreds of rappers and producers over the span of fifteen years.
If anything, the lack of contact from Kanye should only inspire Young Chop and other artists Kanye cosigns to rise up and prove their worth outside of his shadow. They were originally recruited to collaborate because of their own vision, and Kanye wore their style as if they were in-season clothes from the trendiest fashion houses. If that’s not a process that Young Chop wants to be a part of, then he has to prove his mettle by evolving alongside the ever-changing landscape of popular music.
