Martin, I was going to respond to your post the other day when you reviewed the latest album from Kanye West. I myself think they guy is basically a hypocritical hack, but maybe thats just me. Maybe I was just picking on Kanye because I don't like black people or bad musical artists, that was until last evening......
http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=274940>1=7703
Mr. West was so enraged that he didn't win a VMA (is this really that tragic) he threw a tantrum (what is he nine) and screamed "give a black man a chance." Oh thats right because MTV is a bunch of right wing nutbags who hate black people. Just for good measure too I took the time to look it up and saw that 7 times a "black man" has won Male Artist of the year and 6 times Video of the Year, two of the categories where Mr. West felt like the "brother" had no chance.
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I'm a little lost why you're calling Kanye a hack? As a music producer and artist or as an "egotistical asshole who complains about what he is owed".
I'm not the biggest fan of Kanye the person. Yes, he acts like a 9-year old with silly tantrums to the press about useless awards that mean little to nothing in the long run. I mean, he does already own about six Grammies, which are the only musical awards that matter.
So I guess I need a hack explanation. If you're talking about as a person, I'm likely to totally agree. But as a musician, he's top notch and I would find that one hard to grasp. There's really no one doing it like he is, production-wise. As a lyricist, he's average at best, but the sound it was carries his albums in my opinion...
I like lyrics, and when it comes to lyrics he is poop. And yes he is a hack as a person. As a producer I would say he is slightly above average, maybe like the Tino Martinez of producing, solid steady but nothing earth shattering.
Rick Rubin, that is a producer. Bruce Dickinson, yes the Brcue Dickinson.
If you're going to start at Mount Rushmore and put West against that, then you're grading too hard and you know that...
Rick Rubin is a classic and that's not fair. But West's catalog (found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanye_West_Production_discography) is extensive.
Just a couple of examples:
dead prez - It's Bigger Than Hip-Hop
Roc La Familia - This Can't Be Life (featuring Beanie Sigel and Scarface)
Nas - Poppa Was a Playa
Alicia Keys - You Don't Know My Name
Talib Kweli - I Try (featuring Mary J. Blige)
I'm leaving off his own albums, Common's latest and tracks with people he clearly works with (Consequence, Lupe Fiasco).
Yes, he's not Rick Rubin, but in a time where Swizz Beats drum-machine sound is overplayed by everyone, from Little John to Mannie Fresh to whoever else is out there making beats, it's encouraging that West would go find Jon Brion, a music producer who's worked with Aimee Mann, Fiona Apple and The Crystal Method, to help produce the correct sound on his last two releases...
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