My Kanye post from his Taylor Swift "Fiasco"

*Just worth a re-read seeing how his album, put out AFTER this experience, sold 600,000 units...in a WEEK. People forgave, forgot, and re-worshipped him, and his doing this stunt put him back in the limelight where he "needs" to be*

Kanye West is a genius.

Before you go calling for my head or praising Taylor Swift, hear me out. This has nothing to do with him as a person. We all know he’s an egotistical jerk. We’ve known that for years, since his other string of outbursts and low-blows on other artists. He’s been doing it for years and you’ve still bought his albums and we’ve all decided he’s a great musician. The fact that he’s a schmuck doesn’t matter when it comes to his albums, as evidenced by the fact that everything he touches goes triple platinum minimum. We hate the dude but buy his music. Hmmmm.

Now, on September 13, 2009, Kanye rushed the stage, took the mic from Taylor Swift, moaned about Beyonce not winning an award, and that was it. Or was it?

In less than one minute, Kanye became relevant again. His last album, 808s & Heartbreak, was released 11 months before the VMA’s. Kanye needed to become relevant again. You think a guy with an ego like his likes being out of the spotlight for 11 months? Interestingly enough, Jay-Z’s The Blueprint III had just come out 2 days earlier. Think Kanye liked letting Jay-Z bask in hip-hop’s glow?

In less than one minute, Kanye became The Man again. In less than one minute, Kanye was the most famous music artist, if not person, in the world. Top 3 on Google searches. #1 on Twitter. Think that’s by chance?

West was supposedly seen drinking from a bottle on the red carpet prior to the show and many have decided he did it because he was drunk. Really? I don’t know the real story, nor does anyone, but if you think this guy’s not scripted and calculated in every moment of his life, you’re missing the point.

Now, on to the fact the world hates him now. Let me tell you one thing: Rap music does not sell on good reputations. Nor does R&B or whatever genre you want to say Kanye West is. A few examples:

Eminem was involved in gun charges, drug and alcohol abuse and addiction, and was sued by his own mother, just to name a few. Did any of that stop his albums from selling through the roof? Even after disappearing for 5 years, his albumRelapse sold over 2 million copies in under 3 months. So much for being a bad person affecting record sales, huh?

R. Kelly was videotaped having sex with what appeared to be an underaged girl. The charge of child pornography was eventually dropped, but while he was entangled in the scandal, his album Chocolate Factory went on to sell over 2 million copies in the USA. So Americans don’t have a problem supporting a child pornographer, are they really going to hate Kanye for taking a mic for 30 seconds?

The list is endless. Lil’ Wayne’s 2008-2009 tour grossed over $42 million dollars, despite Wayne having battled with marijuana, cocaine and guns charges within the last couple years. Get it in your heads, America: Rap music thrives on the kind of controversy Kanye West just created.

So say what you want about Kanye. Is he a bad person? Probably. Has he been threatened with repercussion by MTV and others? Yes, but any follow through is doubtful. Call him what you like, but remember he became immediately famous and relevant from 30 seconds of spotlight. When his next album goes six times platinum, remember I called it first: Kanye West is a genius.