West supporters desperately want everyone to only see the best in him. They want the public to appreciate his impact on music and beyond. They want people to talk about how West broke ground by rapping about his low self-esteem on The College Dropout. West defenders want people to understand that Jay Z’s The Blueprint is a classic because West had his hands all over it. When West gives interviews, they want his critics to grasp the incredible truths hidden in what seem like clunky metaphors. And when he acts so ridiculously that he can’t be defended, West’s supporters pull the race card to keep the opposition at bay.
The irony of his stardom is that a good amount of his critics –including myself–would like to see the best West as well. But his actions don’t let us. There is no way to cut out the blatant immaturity and ego and leave only the good parts. West isn’t being asked by his critics to be completely quiet or extremely humble. In fact, one of his best moments was when he was the loudest. When West said “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, West echoed a sentiment that plenty of people shared, regardless of race. And anyone who puts West down based only on his ego must not be much of a hip-hop fan; the genre was founded on bravado. His critics simply want him to stop with the overreactions, to ease back on the absurd declarations. No one expects West to be perfect. They also want his defenders to realize that not everything he does is earth-shattering. His critics want West fans to acknowledge, that no matter how groundbreaking they find Yeezus or any of his other albums, he doesn’t get a life pass for acting like an entitled asshole. In real life, we may toast the douchebags, but we can also call them douchebags. In his BBC interview, Kanye proved he can, at times, be one. Kimmel isn’t a racist for pointing that out, and if you’re white and happen to agree, you’re not either.
This isn’t to say that racism isn’t a factor in some of the criticism directed toward West. There are plenty of white people who hate West simply because he is a wildly successful black man. It scares them. But overall, it’s West’s behavior that generates the waves of criticism. A genius who stumbles over his own feet is always going to have a difficult time walking tall, no matter the color of his skin.
Article Appeared @http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2013/09/disliking_kanye.php?page=2