Many people: I don’t like Kanye West.

Me: Why not?

Many People: Kanye is an asshole.

Me: I know. But he’s dope and innovative as hell.

Many People: But Kanye is an arrogant bastard.

Me: I know. But he’s fantastic.

Many People: But Kanye did that thing to Taylor Swift.

Me: He was right about the video, but yeah he’s an asshole. But his music is dope. Do you have any of his albums?

Many people: No. He’s an asshole.

YEAH WE KNOW HE’S AN ASSHOLE. GET OVER IT. It drives me fucking crazy that people discredit Kanye’s music because of how controversial he is. I understand if you legitimately don’t like him because you have given his music a chance. But when people refuse to listen to him because of what they’ve heard, that just makes me nuts.

I feel like Kanye is frequently misunderstood. Don’t get me wrong, Kanye has said and done many things where I shake my head and I’m like, “WTF Ye? What are you even talking about right now? Stop that shit.” I totally get how most people get their negative opinions about it. And unlike many, Kanye’s flaws and fuck ups are what make him insanely wonderful.

I feel like Kanye is just some dude who is trying to figure out his shit as much as the next person. He’s got major opinions, albeit some full of shit ones, but what I love is that he is never afraid to say what they are. Ever. He knows that he fucks up, a lot. He addresses it in his music all of the time. What’s fascinating to me is how every now and then you can catch how sad and remorseful he is about the way he behaves. Check out the last third of “Power” or that damn “All of the Lights” interlude. He can be so incredibly egotistical and turn around feel immediately depressed afterward.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? THAT CONTRAST IS DOPE AS FUCK.

In defense of Kanye’s arrogance, I often reference his first album, “The College Dropout.” I consider the album to be more of an early (and more innocent) “thesis” for his later work. On the album, he frequently addresses his insecurities and low self esteem.

In his song/skit “Last Call” he says,

“Last year shoppin my demo, I was tryin’ to shine

Every motherfucker told me that I couldn’t rhyme

Now I could let these dream killers kill my self-esteem

Or use my arrogance as the steam to power my dreams

I use it as my gas, so they say that I’m gassed

But without it I’d be last, so I ought to laugh..”

There’s the source of his perceived craziness right there! Kanye has been straight up honest from fucking Jump Street. HE WARNED US ALL. And yeah, his honesty has made him act rude, outspoken, loud, a little bit whiny- but he is ultimately saying his truth.

I love the shit out of that man. I see him as one of the most OPENLY flawed dudes out there. And that’s what I respect. He wears his emotions on his sleeve and it makes him incredibly unpredictable. I feel like people expect Kanye to be this guy that has it all figured out. When really, HE IS JUST A FUCKING REGULAR ASS DUDE like the rest of us. He’s got fears he’s running away from and he gets these bouts of low self esteem. If you have listened to him and you don’t like him, fine. But I feel like people need to think about this before they discredit his music for his personality.

I think he’s an insanely beautiful regular ass dude who does not have his shit together. But yes, we all know he’s an asshole.

So like, get over it and accept him for the incredibly beautiful disaster he is.

That’s all, y’all.

P.S. Kanye if you read this, @ mention me on twitter k?