Do you agree with this Kanye statement?

I can't find the actual statement, so I'm going to have to paraphrase:

He said something along the lines of "If I didn't have a big ego, I couldn't make music that anybody gives a **** about."

What I take from this is that his ego drives him to try harder than other rappers/pop musicians or whatever.

When thinking of really big artists who defined their generation, they do seem to have rather big egos.

John Lennon/Paul McCartney? The former admitted that he sometimes thought he was a God (figuratively of course) while sometimes thinking he was a loser. The latter is pretty notorious for having a huge ego. Michael Jackson/Madonna? Michael Jackson's ego was pretty over-the-top to the point that he made a video that featured him as a giant statue that made him seem like a diety; also, he seemed to think his music was a gift from God. The latter may not have a huge ego when it comes to her musical talents (which she admits are modest), but she has a huge ego as far as her actualy musical product/brand/status as an icon is concerned.I've also heard that Frank Sanatra had a huge ego. Not to mention the gazillions of major rock bands that have members with gigantic egos. Thom Yorke is pretty major and I heard he was a very inflated ego.

This is not to say that artists without egos don't make excellent music. This thread doesn't really have as much to do with quality (as that's subjective) as noteriety. I'm just saying that the artists that make music that people remember and that define their generation seem to generally have big egos. I think this is because one's ego leads one to be more ambitious, which leads them to want to make music that isn't forgotten.

Now I'm not sure that Kanye's music will be remembered in the bigger picture (though I'm sure his contributions to hip hop will), but I think his quote has some validity to it. It's not a universal truth, but it's easy to see how ego can drive one to want to be "the best" whereas artists with small egos will often settle for making music people enjoy.

I think it's been quite a while since he's made any excellent music so no not really.

I think it's been quite a while since he's made any excellent music so no not really.

Serraph105

Well, the comment wasn't really talking about excellence. It's more about noteriety.

With Kanye in the title, I figured this would have more replies.

What John Lennon said was that rock n roll was more popular than jesus and he wasn't sure which would fade sooner.

"We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first - rock 'n' roll or Christianity."

And on-topic I find that big egos make you try even less, although if you really are as naturally gifted as your ego tells you then trying won't really matter.

With Kanye in the title, I figured this would have more replies.

GreySeal9

What John Lennon said was that rock n roll was (more popular) than jesus and he wasn't sure which would fade sooner. "We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first - rock 'n' roll or Christianity."Mr_Alexander

That's not the quote I was refering to in my OP. I realize that ^that statement is a social observation rather than a egoistical statement.

I think John Lennon struggled with his ego rather than just rolling with it.

[QUOTE="GreySeal9"]

With Kanye in the title, I figured this would have more replies.

jeremiah06

It's because he's a polarizing figure here in OT. A lot of people (myself included) think his music is brilliant, but just as many (if not more) hate him.

At least he's honest about it. I hate all those musicians who try to feign modesty and it just comes across as pathetic.xTheExploited

I agree. I've seen some musicians say they don't think they're that good and I just think...then why should I listen to your stuff?

[QUOTE="GreySeal9"]

With Kanye in the title, I figured this would have more replies.

jeremiah06

I disagree, but what I was saying is that Kanye threads tend to get big because he is controversial. I wasn't saying that Kanye is so excellent that threads about him should get tons of replies.

And on-topic I find that big egos make you try even less, although if you really are as naturally gifted as your ego tells you then trying won't really matter.

Mr_Alexander

Being naturally gifted is not enough to define a generation.

There are some artists that are phenomenally gifted that aren't defining **** (Celine Dion would be a good example) whereas there are some artists whose musical talents are very modest yet are legendary (Madonna would be a good example of this).

Michael Jackson is very gifted yet I bet he couldn't have made Thriller without a desire to make the kind of pop music that would rise to the top. And that kind of desire is fueled by ego.

[QUOTE="jeremiah06"][QUOTE="GreySeal9"]

With Kanye in the title, I figured this would have more replies.

JML897

It's because he's a polarizing figure here in OT. A lot of people (myself included) think his music is brilliant, but just as many (if not more) hate him.

Big ego or not, doesn't matter to me. He makes amazing music that I enjoy listening to and that's all that matters to me.