I wish we had more artists like Kanye
I remember I went to my first Kanye West concert in Ithaca NY. It was something Kanye I could relate to- even more, when I got to know him as an artist. I guess you could say we were on the same frequency. I remember when Kanye first came out and his nickname was Kane, it was such a great moment for music. I loved listening to him because he said what he felt, and he didn't care what you thought about it, I could relate to that.
Growing up, I went through different levels of learning myself, before I was comfortable with speaking up for myself. I got bullied, picked on, people made fun of my face because I had a skin disease. It wasn't easy having high self-esteem when your peers were always making fun of you. I think the only thing that allowed me to keep my sanity was my family. My great grandmother taught me unconditional love. My grandfather taught me how to be a man. My aunt taught me how to have swag and be Kool. My environment made me tough and taught me that I had to stand up for myself always.
To get back to Kanye that's what made me love him, because he was unapologetically his self. He spoke about his hardships in his music, he spoke about his struggles to become great, he inspires people through his music and I always felt like I could hear the love in his heart from his music. The one thing that me and Kanye have in common is we are both Gemini's, so we share the same astrological sign. Furthermore, like him, once I realized my greatness, I wanted other people to realize their greatness.
If you know me, sometimes I go on rants and get so passionate about what I'm talking about that most of the people around me don't understand what I'm saying. I have no filter when it comes down to me expressing my truth. I worked very hard to build myself into the person I am today. I will forever speak my mind now and forever. I stand for love, peace, unity and I want to shift the consciousness of a generation. That's what I think Kanye West is doing. He speaks about social issues that other artists don't talk about.
You know what my favorite Kanye West moment is? When he told the whole world that George Bush didn't care about black people. Now this wasn't in a song on his album. This happen during the time when New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Katrina. The entire county, including myself, watched thousands of people that look like me, get killed by the police, left stranded on top of their houses while the entire neighborhood was being flooded with water. The president of the United States flew over New Orleans watching out the window citizens he was sworn in to protect and serve. Now remember this happened in 2006. So we are not talking about the Kanye that is a multi-millionaire, has his own fashion line, sneaker line and a great portrait of music. This was Kanye when he only had one album and only had dreams of becoming the person he is today. He risked his whole career by getting up on national television and telling the entire world how he felt about how his people were being treated. Now that's an artist I would support my entire life. I don't even personally know Kanye West but I love him. I love what he stands for, anything he's apart of I want to support. As I study his work and all that he has done during his career, I can only be inspired and he adds a fire in me to bring my dreams to life.
I have been through so much in my life, and I am very strong but if it wasn't for my family I would of been another statistic. I've empowered myself with knowledge my entire life. I beat the odds and made something of myself. I stayed humble and I was good to the people around me. I took care of my grandparents, I graduated from college and I started my own business. Koolforlife is my company when you write it out; you have to put Inc. at the end of it. People like Kanye West continue to inspire me to speak my truth. So when I write my blogs, when I'm doing motivational speaking, when I'm working with the youth or my community, I remember all the things that I got me to where I am today. I use energy as fuel, and I promised myself if I ever made it that I would be inspiration in human form for all the people in this world.
At 18 I decided I wanted to be a part of the solution of abolishing poverty. I told my grandfather when I was 16 that I wanted to be a millionaire. I didn't know why I just knew that I wanted to be great. Now on my journey to becoming one I understand my purpose now. I want to be one of the leaders of my generation and I want to play my part in this revolution. I know that I wouldn't be here if people didn't give their lives so that I would have these opportunities. So I feel obliged to do the same for my generation. People like Kanye show me that anything is possible. I remember listening to Kanye West interviews while driving back from trips to Chicago and hearing him talk about how he wanted to get into the fashion industry but it was so hard. He spoke about having his own sneaker and competing with other top notch sneaker brands because he always believed in himself. Fast forward Kanye West has one of the most exclusive sneakers in the world. He just had his fashion show at Madison Square Garden. People that he looked up to and that inspire him like Diddy, Jay Z, Beyoncé were all sitting in the same row to support their contemporary. As I watched Yeezy Season 3, on Tidal, my palms began to sweat. I felt this this bolt of electricity in my body that inspired me to write this piece. I want to be like Kanye West, I am like Kanye West but it would be a blessing to accomplish some of the things that he has accomplished. I don't believe Kanye is as successful as he is because of music, fashion or the fact that he is one of the best producers in the world. I think Kanye is so successful because he allows people to see his spirit and real will forever recognize real. That means that real people can feel other real people. I could be blind, but I could still feel when it's good energy around and when it's not. I believe in Kanye and I support him because I know he believes in love, bringing people together and pushing you to be the best product of yourself. I love that Kanye pushed the envelope, I love that he speaks his mind and he is willing to die for what he believes. That reminds me of what Koolforlife is, it's being who you are, no matter where you are. It's standing up for injustice, it's bringing people together through love and respect. If the music industry had more artist like Kanye, J Cole, Nas, and Jay Z, the world would be a better place.
With great power, comes great responsibility.
Look at how the media are criticizing Beyoncé for her new song, Formation. Remember what happen to Michael Jackson after he made that song "They don't really care about us". A few weeks later they were saying he was molesting young kids. It's funny that when he was murdered those same kids came back out and said Michael never touched them and their parents told them to say that he did. It's not easy speaking up for what is right. I learned from a History course was that revolutionaries don't get applauded, they get their legs cut off. So I respect and love any person that puts their life on the line for the greater good. I'm glad people like Kanye West exist. He's inspiration that I can do anything I put my mind too. I will work hard every day to bring my dreams to life. One day Koolforlife Inc. will be a billion-dollar company that services the world. I will inspire people everywhere, I will create job opportunities for people within my community and one day all over the world. I will be a voice for the voiceless, I will use my success and my network to shine light on all the darkness. I love everybody and one day I pray that we can create the paradise society taught us we had to die to get too. We all can be great we just have to work together to get there. I hope that you liked this piece and I'm losing my mind since Kanye dropped his album.
Side note, I love the business aspect to Jay Z but he is killing me slowly by not dropping any new music. He does know that he still has millions of supporters that are waiting for new music. Kanye if you happen to read this please get Jay Z in the studio, it's a good time for Watch the Throne 2. Last thing, please be very careful on what music you listen to. Music carries the vibration of the artist, so if your listening to music with people that have low frequency eventually your frequency will start to get low as well. Listen to artist that have like minds. If you would ask me, what new artist are out? I wouldn't be able to tell you because I can't relate to their music. To be honest if you're not talking about love, making the world better, bring people together and helping people wake up, I don't want to listen to your music. Music is supposed to inspire you, connect you, make you want to be better and heal your soul. If it's not doing that then it's bad for you.