CHAOSVRGN (DMSI v2.5)

[apollolux]

KANYE. 21 Grammys. An amazing hip-hop portfolio (if you're not a hip-hop fan, I don't wanna hear it -- "My Beautiful Dark, Twisted Fantasy" is the Kid A of hip-hop), a billion dollar deal with ADIDAS, the ability to create anything to his heart's content. And what, I shouldn't look up to him because he's unapologetic about the fact that he made it in a society that was geared for him to fail?

**** THAT.

This is the only part of your post that I have any sort of issue with, however minor it may be. He worked/still works his hustle and I respect the commitment and work ethic he exercises in making his success happen. The part in bold, though, specifically feels almost certainly like a strawman assertion, that not only his success was predicated on "fighting against odds" but also that he shouldn't be a role model because of his brash attitude and swagger.

What the American people fail to realize is that the argument isn't "you shouldn't look up to Kanye because he's unapologetic blah blah blah," it's "you shouldn't look up to Kanye because his success is predicated on an industry of nearly useless entertainment." You say "21 Grammys" I say "21 times an industry catering ONLY to audio entertainment that's all but completely useless said 'your work deserves an award, here's a useless pat on the back and fleeting validation' to him;" you say "amazing hip-hop portfolio" I say "he made audio a lot of people consume, so do a bunch of other people more or less disposable than he;" you say "billion dollar deal with Adidas" I say "someone who knows a lot about music but next to nothing about shoes got paid way too much to promote shoes, IT'S MF'ING SHOES WHY DO COMPANIES SPEND SO MUCH TO ADVERTISE SOMETHING PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BUY ANYWAYS?!?!?"

In case I haven't made it clear, my problem here isn't Kanye specifically, it's the fact that industries such as the recording industry exist where producers can earn mega-bucks for producing and distributing consumable entertainment and very rarely do the best artists themselves get the share they deserve. Kanye hustled to make sure he's as difficult to replace as possible, but eventually there will be someone else pushed to that level, whether naturally or artificially, and he will be replaced.

Regarding Shannon specifically, I think you only slightly misinterpreted his goals, chaos. Yes, he's almost certainly after money and power, but the means he chose to make that happen are primarily "creating something of value to the public." Entertainment, especially produced music, TV shows, and movies, has significantly less value than what people like Shannon in the self-help and/or health industries create by comparison. You've consistently said DMSI was the best $114.95 you've ever spent because you acknowledge this value, and likely, somewhere deep within you, you know that what entertainers create is lower value by comparison.

(edit: whoa, I spent so much time on this post Shannon already posted ahead of me :~)

I'm going to be honest. I find this post condescending, with a "holier-than-thou" attitude. I don't find music, and hip-hop in particular as "valueless." Of course, if you're not from the scene, you WOULD think that. Generally, this is why I avoid conversations about hip-hop in the first place. It's usually some outsider that's ignorant about what it means to people and isn't interested in being educated on the topic, yet feels entitled enough to talk on the topic.

If you don't see any value in "entertainment," then by all means, enjoy the life of an ascetic. That's not for me. I find great value in literature, movies, music, and other "consumables," because art is the physical expression and manifestation of the human spirit. It's how we truly communicate who we are as a people and who we are as a culture.

Have you ever actually listened to any Kanye's music outside of the radio singles? No one listens to "The College Dropout" and says it's "useless entertainment." Go listen to the song "Family Business" or "All Falls Down," and you see why people connect to his music. I doubt it. There's nothing "useless" about it just because he inhabits the "pop" industry. What I see here is someone arbitrarily trying to place themselves "above" other people. You knock down someone else's accomplishments so easily. And what have you done?

And that's the main reason I'm starting to have a problem with the concept of zen. What Shannon's describing as zen and what I see many of you calling zen are different. From what I'm reading, Shannon's zen is malleable -- it can fit into any kind of lifestyle and mindset. True self-mastery and self-actualization.

What I'm seeing from a lot of you is this idea that separating from any kind of pleasure and then placing yourself above those pleasures and then deriving some kind of value from doing it. My new life rule is this: If you haven't done shit with your life, if you're just an average, everyday Joe -- DON'T try to educate me. I'll shoot the shit and philosophize with anyone, but the moment that conversation turns into didactic drivel, I'm shutting it down.

For many of you, your "zen" is little more than inaction. Inaction that you've somehow convinced yourself is superior than taking action, and that you're superior to those who HAVE taken action.

And passive acceptance of life's circumstances is NOT a virtue.

On another note:

A profound shift in thought is occurring (if you couldn't tell). That resistance has finally passed. I'm feeling very euphoric and powerful today. Instead of an underlying sense of fear, there's a sense of power -- maybe a bit of anger. And I like it. It's motivating me to take action today. All the other days, when I felt depressed or "zen," I did nothing but watch Hulu and shit. I want to feel like THIS. So I can accomplish shit.

I think I'm going to enjoy v2.5.

You may feel my post was condescending, I accept that. I agree that it's usually outsiders playing armchair quarterback, ignorant of what's actually happening and how people actually feel and think, but I'm no outsider.

I grew up in the music industry; my mother was once a music agent, my godfather was Ralph Mercado, and my godmother was Celia Cruz. I don't often reveal this since it usually feels like prideful bragging and I've felt for a long time pride is useless without the results to back it up. I've seen firsthand the wheelings and dealings of the production and distribution aspects of professional music. I've seen music turn from expressions of individuality and uniqueness to cookie cutter "mainstream" garbage. I've experienced the integration of Latin music into pop fusion and seen its inevitable reduction in quality and increase in sameness.

The entertainment (especially music) industry has little to no useful value, at least to the common man. Irrelevant of the genre, whatever art it used to be, used to represent, has been sucked dry and turned into a formula. Sure, once or twice in a generation we sometimes get glimmers of hope to each genre like Kanye to hip-hop, but most of the time we get nonsense like Ariana Grande being compared to Mariah Carey just because she can hit high notes, where Ariana isn't even close to Mariah's league. Mariah has (had?) a work ethic and consistency almost no female artist today has, she worked from the ground up to be successful, and didn't need anywhere near the amount of post-production someone like Ariana needs for audio clarity and consistency. Ariana was essentially bred for music since childhood and is almost completely manufactured.

Music in and of itself can be, and is often, art and can have and usually has value, but as an industry is as useless and valueless as carrying a potted plant in a desert. If the industry didn't exist, would Kanye still be successful?