Sorry, But Kanye Is the GOAT

Categories: Kanye West


5) 808s & Heartbreak is not that good
Wait, it's the Future era and folks are still complaining about Auto-Tune? Not only did Jay not successfully kill it off, but it's come to be as ubiquitous in pop and hip-hop as, we don't know, 808s. (And yes, we're still waiting on that critical reevaluation of T-Pain.)

What everyone who wasn't blinded by the great anti-disco-style Auto-Tune hysteria of the late aughts already knows, of course, is this: What makes 808s great is the songwriting. The work, a downer concept album focusing on relationships that was somehow a giant hit, pioneered the now-pervasive "sad robot" subgenre, and helped solidify the idea that it was ok to be really, really vulnerable in rap.

It's built on real emotion, channeled eloquently. And we'd say the song structures are Beatlesque, if not for the fact Kanye's achievement is probably greater than the Beatles', if only because he did a lot more producing than they.

6) OutKast is the GOAT
Sure maybe if you take OutKast's first five albums -- but pry The Love Below out of the double CD case and replace it with Sir Lucious Left Foot -- and pit them against Kanye's five albums, then maybe it's close. But that's a lot of math.

See also: The 25 Best OutKast Songs of All Time

7) My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy won't hold up
Yeah, after our initial obsession with the work we too thought that. And it was definitely a terrible thing for Pitchfork to give it a 10.0. But we challenge any doubters to listen to MBDTF again, right now, and see if you're not caught up all over again. Truth is it sounds as good now as it did before, maybe better. Raekwon, Nicki Minaj, Pusha T, Bon Iver and Fergie alike are at peak form, and that's a strange sentence to write. In fact, we'll even go so far as to say the 34 minute "Runaway" video holds up.

8) Tupac is the GOAT
If you genuinely feel this way then there's probably no talking you out of it here, and in terms of worldwide cultural influence there's admittedly no topping Tupac. (And that's comparing him to any cultural artifact short of Baywatch.) But c'mon. Also, let's be honest, "Hey Mama" > "Dear Mama."

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20 comments
arevr18
arevr18

Thank you for telling us all about who the greatest rapper is, Mr. White Man.  No one knew anything about this until your liberal candy-ass opened up and told us.

RobRoy
RobRoy

Interesting article Mr. Westoff; you more or less anticipated most of my opposing arguments, including the Outkast/Rakim/Tupac argument for who is GOAT. 

I wouldn't have minded a longer article, though, if you could have expanded on some of your arguments, particularly on point 10. Your overall reasoning, similarly, could have been just a bit more rigorous. 

Also, the question of whether we can proclaim an artist (or athlete: think LBJ) GOAT is complicated when the said person is still in their prime, which I would contend Kanye is at the moment, at least in regards to his solo career. As another commenter pointed out, Source declared Rakim the best in '94, he was already a couple years past his prime, and nobody debated the distinction. Here, Kanye's legacy is still a contentious issue as it is still being written.   

riley
riley

this is true

PatrickAllen
PatrickAllen

I can't believe people are still talking about Kanye. This guy is a fucking laugh out loud joke. He has to rely on childish antics to get any attention in the mainstream media. He is not an icon although his music may make a comeback on VH1 in 2045 on their series "I love the '00's"

ilovemusic
ilovemusic like.author.displayName 1 Like

My favourite rapper is Lauryn Hill. So nope, Kanye isn't better then "my favourite rapper". Kanye is awesome though.

Best producer ever? ERM, he mostly samples. Prince is the best producer ever.

muziceventz
muziceventz like.author.displayName 1 Like

Kanyes flow is average, his delivery is good, his rhymes are average (he employ writers), he has nice beats. Its a insult to hip hop to label a guy who doesnt write all his rhymes as the GOAT. 2pac, Jayz, Nas, BIG Andre3000 are light years ahead of Kanye in terms of rapping. Kanye doesnt make the top 20, put him up against the likes of Ice Cube, DMX, Scarface, Rakim etc..The person who wrote this article sounds like a moron. 

efef2
efef2 like.author.displayName 1 Like

best PRODUCER ever? maybe. Don't call him the best ARTIST simply because his production skills outshine his rapping ability. You jumped the gun on this, and you also made TERRIBLE points, the average rap fan would have made better and more logical points in favor of your argument. Joke.


Still deciding who lost a bigger chunk of their mind, Ben Westhoff or joser.368(lil wayne? really? throw your ipod in the trash now please, thx)

arronbright
arronbright

@efef2 Produces and/or overssee's all of his musics production, no A&R, no promo, zero songs that are designed to get radio play. Global artist that can sell out in any country.

jlswright
jlswright

Holy S. Thank god there's only 4 comments, it means nobody is reading. West is a pop star not an icon. Seriously, this is like saying Britney Spears or Mariah Carey are the greatest of all time. Unbelievable. 

mattybuckets31
mattybuckets31

@jlswright you don't know too much about kanye. he has produced for so many artists across a multitude of genres and has had (as an MC and a producer) the biggest footprint in the music industry over the past 10 years.  i will reiterate what this author has argued by also mentioning his growth and variety from album to album displays a type of integrity and artistic ambition that is rarely duplicated. that said, i don't think he's the GOAT  i think he is unique in terms of lyrical content, but his technical ability is fairly basic. i think the term 'GOAT' itself is pretty nebulous or at least open to extensive interpretation.

 you need to do some research on his infamous talent as a producer. at least take a look at that section of his wikipedia page or something and get a clue son

joser.368
joser.368 like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

It is quite obvious that this is the review and final opinion of a "young buck" as we used to say in the 90's.  You haven't even scratched the surface in regards to what it really takes to be considered the GOAT in Hip Hop.  You're catering to an audience that spans the 16-31 y.o. demographic.  Hip Hop has to be measured by a broader age range, a much more entertainment industry educated columnist and it is quite obvious that the fanfare of Kanye West's "mystique" is driving your so called subjectivity, if you even have any.  Back when Soucre Magazine declared Rakim the GOAT ca. 1994, no one in America (or in the world, for that matter) would even think to argue the point.  Mind you he was at least 4-5 years past his prime but the relevance of his musical/contributions were irrefutable.  The same cannot be said about your boy Kanye and he really is too subpar in terms of his delivery, cadence and lyrical content.  I'd have to pick Lil' Wayne, whom I despise, over him any day and won't come anywhere near giving him such an auspicious title.  You youngsters are trying to hard to switch the paradigm via shallow opinions and over dosing with Media devices/communication.  Love for an artist can be created so to speak but when it is earned it lasts so much longer, hence your predicament with Biggie and Tupac, have at it!

RobRoy
RobRoy

@joser.368 You disprove yourself. When we are indeed 4-5 past the prime of Kanye, then we can really judgements about who's GOAT and not. PLEASE do not drag Lil Wayne into this. 

andrewbishop13
andrewbishop13 like.author.displayName 1 Like

Using pseudonym "Ben Westhoff," Kanye West has added "Trolling Blogger" to his resume.

payperdel
payperdel

WATCH THE THRONE AND CRUEL SUMMER WERE AMAZING ALBUMS. I was following your logic, and I was gaining confidence in the fact that I could bring up all these points the next time I wanted to go toe to toe with someone..... Then you were bashing Jay-Z, and then I saw another one of your bloggers praising WAKA FLOCKA FUCKING RETARD, because that is what he could be mistaken for....And now? Your opinion means nothing Marc Engel is right. 

Marc Engel
Marc Engel like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 3 Like

This is the stupidest article I have ever read. Why anybody could care what the Village Voice thinks anymore after reading some trash like this is beyond me. Ben Westhoff, what a joke.

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