KANYE WEST P1 9/25

For the first project, I have decided to make my topic Kanye West. Seeing as we're going to be spending a considerable amount of time researching and writing about the pop culture icon we choose, I thought it'd be best to pick an individual whom I am interested in and have been for quite some time. The first time I had ever heard of Kanye was after listening to his 2004 hit song "Gold Digger", which my brother had played for me when I was in elementary school. Then, as I got older, I became more interested in rap music and became an avid Kanye fan when he came out with his album "Yeezus". After listening to this album, I went back through Mr. West's older music and found some of my favorite songs and albums that I cherish to this day.

In 2016 when Kanye debuted "The Life of Pablo" was when he officially became my favorite rapper. During this time period, Kanye was also releasing his Yeezy fashion line items, which pulled my interest even deeper. Kanye West is a modern pop culture icon due to the fact that in the public eye he remains himself, stands out from other artists, and continues to strive in showing the world how he is unique, bringing all attention to him. He does this through his music, his fashion line, and his performances, specifically in how he conducted the Life of Pablo tour, with these three artifacts being perfect examples of how Kanye differs from other artists and is versatile in doing so. Kanye's music, lyrics within his songs, and sometimes even his song titles have tended to be very controversial, causing him to stand out and be noticed. His fashion line is unique in the sense that before Kanye designed this style of clothing, it wasn't considered fashionable at all, and does not really resemble any other modern-day clothing lines. Finally, Kanye is known for his performances, truly going beyond and making himself the center of attention by performing on a platform suspended from the top of the given venue, causing his concerts to be one of a kind. Kanye is controversial, different, and recognized as so, not being afraid to be himself, daring to even be known as "Yeezus", making him the perfect icon for this project.