Kanye West used to have the reputation of being quite the diva. I have no idea what the male term for diva is. Divo? Let’s go with that. Kanye was notorious for his hissy fits when he didn’t win awards – often overtaking the stage and ranting to camera crews about how amazing his work was. His sense of entitlement was a pretty big turnoff, but it seems that we may have a gentler, kinder, more humble Kanye from now on. West says his mother’s death in November changed him, and his outlook on life is completely different now.
Rapper Kanye West says he’s been putting his priorities in place since his mother’s death. “If there’s anything my mom taught me [it] is to enjoy life,” West, 30, wrote on his blog on Wednesday. “I don’t do anything I don’t love anymore … While people chase money I pursue happiness.”
West’s mother died of heart disease and other factors Nov. 10th – one day after undergoing cosmetic surgery. The rapper paid tribute to his mom at this year’s Grammy Awards. On his blog, the multiple Grammy winner also wrote about the joys of making new music and recording “my first verse in the last six months” two days earlier in Japan.
“It felt good and I was inspired … tragedy can produce great art and this is definitely true … life is good … good as finding the perfect fabric for a simple one button casual blazer with matching pants.”
[From People]
The clothing analogy is a little unexpected, but whatever works for you. I was hoping there’d be a little something in there about not getting your boxers in a twist every time something doesn’t go your way, but I’ll take what I can get from Kanye. Losing a parent makes you really reflect on not just your life but life in general. Kanye’s right, tragedy can produce great art, and hopefully he’ll come back with his best work yet.
Here’s Kanye and fiancée Alexis Phifer at Paris Fashion Week on February 29th. Images thanks to PR Photos.
xxx – You never addressed my point, I never said that rich people have no problems, I said that the severity is different.
Yeah, you still have problems, but poor people have problems too, PLUS money problems. Look at any book on marriage, what’s the primary cause for couples fighting? Money. Read any psychological study, what’s the primary worry of most people? Money.
You remove the money problems, and statistically you’ve just cured most of your reasons for being miserable.
I assume by your statements about having to be responsible for death that you’re a doctor. You really think you’re the only person that faces death? Lots of people do, and make a whole lot less money. I was a squad leader in Iraq and Afghanistan, and have seen more than my fair share of death, including those under my direct command. My father in law is a firefighter, he regularly peals dead bodies from burned cars, as well as seeing comrades enter buildings and never come back. We are forced to deal with the same stresses, for a MUCH smaller paycheck.
I feel for Kanye, he lost his mother, and that’s hard for anyone. Claiming his money caused it though is ridiculous. Lack of research caused this. The doctor had already had like four cases brought against him, and was shady to say the least. He had the money to get her surgery done anywhere, and lives in an area where good plastic surgeons are a dime a dozen.
My point isn’t that money cures all your ills, but if you have a lot of it, then by definition most of the problems the general population faces every day suddenly dry up.
he samples other artist’s music
if nothing he’s going to be more full of himself
I dont do anything I dont love anymore While people chase money I pursue happiness.
It’s alright for someone who stinking rich to say that. I wish I could only do jobs I loved, and not just do things to pay the bills. It’s easy for him to say.
However, I still love Kanye. I still feel so sorry that his mother died so young.
death has a way of doing that. real love and real people are hard to find.
yes to megan. would be very sweet to have the option of only doing what you loved.
Well, yeah. I’d be surprised if his mother’s death DIDN’T change his life.
His mothers untimely death was, of course, tragic and unnecessary but calling his work ‘great art’ still smacks of the old Kanye to me.
So wait, was he chasing money or MTV awards before???
I like his music and his mother’s death was a tragedy, but I can hardly stand watching him (in interviews, etc.)
sorry to be off topic….but what in the heck is his fiance wearing?! bikini bottoms?
Still a life changing event for anyone. He’s human just like anyone else and they were close. And he doesn’t seem to do drugs, his momma raised him right. He may be arrogent or full of himself but he seems to want to do the right thing.
He’ll always be my idol for the “Bush hates black people” rant on live tv. Even if it’s true or not you have to like someone that speaks their mind and forcing people to “go there” during the Katrina tragedy.
It wasn’t really an analogy about the clothing. It was an example of what he now believes to be a way of finding some joy and even happiness in life.
“Life is like a chocolate box” : analogy
“[…] good as finding the perfect fabric for a simple one button casual blazer with matching pants.” : not an analogy but an example
I wouldn’t have used this example (I’d rather think life is good as making someone smile every day) but hey… whatever works for him.
But being at the Paris Fashion week wearing a Moncler jacket still reeks of “a lotta money”.
I do get it. I really do. Money does not equal happiness. However…it does always seem like the people with cash falling out of their asses seem to get all holier than thou how unimportant money is. I think statement like this make people who are really struggling to make ends meat really angry. Cause even though money doesn’t buy happiness; it can give you a clear conscious. I can think of a shitload of problems money can solve.
Having $$ also causes a lot of problems. You end up supporting many family members (say, 15 k for a cousin’s schooling & tutors because the mother ignores the child and you don’t want her to be 13 & pregnant) and are constantly being badgered by “business” people to invest with them, people that you meet on a first occasion will ask you to donate money or they have a scheme to make you more money, just give them 50k up front. It’s a blessing and a curse, people don’t realize that.
There is absolutely no difference in my life from when I was dirt poor to being affluent. Belive me, God has a way of balancing things out. $$ is sometimes a curse. It’s a myth that if you have $$ your problems go away. You just have a lot of people trying to take it from you. Suing you for it, the IRS constantly chasing you, family members wanting $600 vacuums for their birthday. And you also feel it’s your responsibility to help family/friends financially when something goes wrong out there. It’s not nearly as glamorous as it looks on the outside. How many people do you read about that are mega rich and are on drugs or suicidal or have really f’ed up life stories? Everyone has their own set of problems and debts.
Sorry xxx, but I have rich relatives who are healthy, happy and winter on an island. No drugs, no anti-depressants, no therapists and no suicides. Money has not been a curse to them and they live well. That’s the kind of money I could suffer through. I’m saying rich people don’t get sick or unhappy, but let’s be real here. There are certain problems (Con Ed or student loans, for instance) that only money can solve and not having those problems would ease my mind a great deal.
The grass is always greener on the other side…..
We also had serious debt from schooling, 300k by the way. You work to achieve. Trust me when I say your relatives have encountered some type of irritation from their wealth, you just may not know it.
xxx – Statements like that are why the French decided to up and decapitate their royal family. Rich people really need to stop with this ‘woe is me, I have soooo many burdens’ bullshit before they push too far and have a ‘let them eat cake’ moment.
Rich people always say almost exactly what you did, “you trade one kind of problems for the other” which is true, but the SEVERITY of the problem is no where near comparable!
Would you rather be a person who has to decide if their going to get their third job just to cover the cost of their kid’s braces or a person who gets hounded for money? Give me a few million and you can line up around the block asking for it, cause I can hire people who know how to say no persuasively.
I don’t begrudge people hard-earned wealth, but even once you’re rich just enjoy it and shut up.
death changes everyine ,,, he is still a spoiled bitch
Scott F, you have no idea what you’re talking about. Could you stand to watch people die every day from your job or know that your actions and decisions may mean another’s life or death?
My point is that even though you may have $$ that does not necessarily mean you are happy and do not have your own burden to carry in life, like say having a father that has been hospitilized for trying to off himslf.
You do not know what anyone else has been through because you have not walked in their shoes. What you are saying is reverse bigotry. Money has absolutely nothing to do with personal happiness whether you want to believe it or not. What you have in some spots you may lack in other areas. That’s the way karma is.
Philosophically you can say having wealth killed Kanye’s mother, had she not had the money she could not afford the operation or had a chance to make a poor decision, thus she’d be alive today. Understand?
“xxx – Statements like that are why the French decided to up and decapitate their royal family.” : well, actually, Scott F., not really. The main problem was the immense gap between the very few very rich and the vast majority who was extremely poor. When I say poor, I mean that the entire country was. Bakers couldn’t even prepare enough bread for all their costumers.
Back to the wealth issue : I believe some people who have a lot of money handle it very well. There is no universal rule and there most certainly are exceptions to the entire Hollywood-bragging-thing.
Awesome read , I am going to spend more time reading about this subject