>1) his track record for hits is in place... so you get the
>impression
>that if he wanted to do something commercially palatable, he
>could.
>

that only matters if you care about that sort of thing, which some don't but still get held to that parameter
same thing for rapping skill-niggas want top emcee credit because of everything but rapping skill and people give it to them


>2) he has slowly morphed into something of an auteur.
>even as his projects got more ambitious, he always put
>something
>that was pop friendly in there.
>

we're giving people credit for just doing shit, not how well they do it
that isn't something I go for no matter how lauded he is for it


>so now that more people are comfortable with kanye west "the
>artiste,"
>they are open to the idea of him releasing an album that has
>no pop in it at all.
>

seems to me not many are particularly comfortable with it, especially since there are so many pleas copped by fans and reviewers both for the album quality


>
>if this was the follow up to his debut,
>folks would just say he was batshit crazy.
>

I personally don't think he's crazy, just not nearly as talented as people give him credit for being
we're in the era of diminished returns but I can't rock with that


>when folks hear it as a follow up to MBDTF,
>coming from the same guy that gave us "slow jams," "gold
>digger," and half of "the blueprint," it seems less like a
>guy that has become pretentious b/c he's scared that he CAN'T
>deliver a great pop song, and more like a guy that is DECIDING
>to not make a great pop song b/c there is something else he
>wants to try.
>

again, that only matters if you care about hits in the first place
I go off the work itself, no perception of past achievements (deserved or otherwise) or hype


>
>
>in other words, he has built a résumé that gives him
>room to try what he wants, and he won't get written off.
>

if you're an artist you already have room to try new things, people shouldn't be allowed to dictate what you can and can't do


>
>
>even of his albums from now until forever disappear completely
>from the pop charts,
>he'll still maintain a following that will be curious what
>he's up to next.
>

you can say that about anybody that has a loyal fanbase, for whatever the reason may be


>like prince. (which is not to say he's as talented.. but you
>catch my drift.)
>

I get it, and Prince is another one
he has more bad albums than he has good ones, but people pretend like they're good because he's Prince
fuck that shit, failure is a part of artistry