As of October 19, 2021 Kanye West changed his name to just “Ye”, but for people to understand who I am talking about, I chose to call him “Kanye”.

As I am writing this, I listen to Kanye West. He was my “most listened-to” artist on Spotify this year. I had about 250,000 minutes logged of just purely his heavenly music.

One of the biggest events in Kanye’s media-filled life began early in his career during on on stage “battle” with none other than prominent country singer Taylor Swift. The controversy between two of the biggest names in the music industry has waged on for more than ten years now. It all started at the 2009 VMAs. The rising 19-year-old in the music industry was just about to give her acceptance speech for ‘Best Female Video Award’. Before the young artist, could utter even a few words, the man that would change her career stepped onto the stage in glorious fashion. Wielding a bottle of Hennessy and a mouth that could talk someone’s ear off, Kanye West made his grand appearance. Kanye told Taylor that he’d let her speech continue but rained on her parade and announced that he believed Beyoncé in fact, had one of the greatest music videos of all time. This was another badge added to Kanye’s arsenal of iconic, ignorant, and brash public actions. Nonetheless, this cemented Kanye as one of the crassest and boldest figures in the music industry. The question I ask is, why do we shame him for his boldness?

Kanye’s moment of fame during the 2009s in the VMAs did not go without ridicule and criticism from the general public. As Taylor Swift got to play the role of the victim, accepting the love she got from the public and bathing in the hatred that was sent towards Kanye, he became ostracized by the ensuing media response. This led to a hiatus from his public image and recording status. In a shocking move, Kanye self-exiled himself in Oahu, Hawaii to work on his fifth studio album, “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.” This proved to be an excellent move as Kanye produced some of the greatest songs that humanity has ever borne witness to. The question remains, could Taylor Swift ever write anything as great as “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” and could Kanye write lyrics matching that of Taylor’s “folklore?”

I am not sure if I can even classify Kanye’s music as merely a collection of songs, it’s more like art. Art that hits your eardrums in such a visceral way that you can’t help but feel an onslaught of strong emotions. In a way, I am thankful for the negative media attention that was driven by Taylor Swift’s fanbase. Every ounce of hate that was headed towards Kanye’s direction fueled his massively-impactful song “Power.” All the anger that Kanye felt as a result of the media’s depiction of him as a monster and a terrible person was put into the heartfelt and destructive lyrics of “Runaway.” This is a monumental task for Taylor to take on; can her simple country-charm carry her far enough to write deeply emotionally-charged lyrics? Frankly, I don’t think she stands a chance. Kanye can most certainly write lyrics matching that of Taylor’s, as this challenge is simply vapid and nothing but a second thought for him. I mean, we’re talking about the man who wrote the premier heartbreak album “808’s and Heartbreaks.” I am sure whatever sappy lyrics that Taylor Swift wrote don’t even hold a candle to what Kanye can do. Kanye stands alone with his monumental achievements and Taylor pales in comparison. Simply put, Kanye can be the chart-topper of both the hip-hop and pop charts.