Kanye West, Angry Again

Kanye West has written one of the best humor pieces I've read in quite some time., and he doesn't even know he wrote it: (via his blog)

...this Bonnaroo thing is the worst insult I've ever had in my life. This is the most offended I've ever been... this is the maddest I ever will be. I'm typing so fucking hard I might break my fucking Mac book Air!!!!!!!!

Break it! Please! Show Steve Jobs his sleek design and spatially pleasing piece of machinery is ill advised and not immune to the furious fingers of Kanye West! Give in to your heathen desires!

Kanye, of course is referring to his recent performance at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. The four-day festival, in its seventh season has boasted some of the best and most popular musical talent in the world including BB King, Wilie Nelson and the Disco Biscuits among many other greats. Hippies and music lovers alike make the pilgrimage each year to indulge in the sonic goodness.

While the festival hasn't had much mainstream rap in the past (you're more likely to see a group like The Roots or Jurassic 5 than the T.I.'s and Lil Wayne's of the world), it welcomed Kanye with open arms as a stop on his Glow in the Dark tour.

According to Kanye's blog, there were some miscommunications between his people and Bonnaroo folks:

FOR OVER A MONTH WE WENT BACK AND FORTH ON WETHER OR NOT WE COULD EVEN FIT MY STAGE AT THE FESTIVAL. ONE DAY THEY WOULD SAY YES... WE'D SEND THEM OUR SPECS THEN THEY THEY'D SAY OK... THEN THEY WOULD SEND SPECS BACK THAT DIDN'T FIT THE STAGE. WE WERE OBVIOUSLY DEALING WITH FUCKING IDIOTS WHO DIDN'T REALLY HAVE THE CAPACITY TO REALLY PUT ON THIS SHOW PROPERLY.

Ease up on the caps lock, kid! And the word "really." Really.

While it's not entirely impossible that there were tech issues from the get-go, it's hard to call Bonnaroo fest organizers "fucking idiots," when they've put on one of the nation's largest festivals since 2002 that only gets bigger each year. The lineup this year was absolutely absurd and any up-and-coming band would rip out their sexual organs in order to play the fest and get noticed. It's also possible fest organizers had some other things on their mind like, oh, I don't know...how to corral the EIGHTY-THOUSAND PEOLE about to descend on the SEVEN HUNDRED ACRES of festival space.

I am sick of negative people who just sit around trying 2 plot my downfall... Why????

Yes! Everyone is trying to take you down! I actually just paid my monthly dues for the "Let's All Make Sure Kanye West Never Makes a Hit Record Again" society.

I WENT ON STAGE BUT THE FESTIVAL WOULDN'T ALLOW US TO DO ANYTHING UNTILL PEARL JAM LEFT THE STAGE. PEARL JAM ENDED ONE HOUR 
LATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, no! That never happens at music concerts! I'm always RUSHING to see shows because I know most rock stars have got their shit TOGETHER and if the ticket says 8pm--you better get there by 7. Scott Weiland THROWS A FIT if he's even a minute late.

Kanye, relax. We all know this is a "Glow in the Dark" tour and the show is only in its full effect when it's dark out. And yes, by the time you got on stage you were fighting the sun light but seriously? Fuck it. If you're the consummate artist like you say you are, that shouldn't stop you from putting on a hell of a show no matter what.

Do you think Sam Cooke would have whined, complained and pouted if a few lights went out on the stage? I'm sure Mr. Soul wouldn't have been too happy but that wouldn't have stopped him from stepping out onstage, connecting with the crowd and belting out his songs.

Yes, you put a lot of time into your show but when you've got little to work with, just make something out of it, dammit. Does this mean become complacent? Of course not. But just get out and perform. It's what you're supposed to do.

I'll leave you with my favorite line from his incredible blog posting:

I HAVE A FUCKING LIGHT SHOW DUMB ASS, IT'S NOT CALLED GLOW IN THE DARK FOR NO REASON SQUID BRAINS!

Yes. Squid brains indeed, Kanye.

Comments

[DryBrook]

The venue was responsible for providing the act (1) access to the stage sufficient to set up for a 2:45AM show and (2) a safe place to perform. They failed to provide either of those things. It's not all that unusual in the music business for a venue to screw up one or both of those things, but it remains the venue's error.

As a result, the fans became angry at the delay, the fans damaged the act's equipment, the fans made the stage unsafe, the oncoming dawn interfered with the show, and the show had to be abridged. The venue should have issued a statement saying, at a minimum, that the problems were outside the act's control. The venue did not do this, so the act posted a rant on its blog.

In the end, everyone involved came up short -- the venue was incompetent and cowardly, the fans were impatient and destructive, and the act was late, poor and then petulant.

What part of that is funny? Not one bit.

[arkgrfx61]

Kanye West is a Puff Daddy (or P Diddy or P Diddly Squat) wanna be....
both of them are pretty talentless and therefore have nothing to go on but their divaliciousness.

[Chuckwheat]

Blame it on the Man. He gets up before dawn every day so's he can mess with your destiny.