Why we need the Church of Yeezus

“You see, there’s leaders and there’s followers / But I’d rather be a dick than a swallower.”

And for Kanye West, that’s exactly the motto he lives by.

Fresh off the release of his sixth studio album “Yeezus,” Kanye has consistently found himself on the defendant’s bench in the court of public opinion.

With song titles on the new album like “I Am a God,” “New Slaves” and recently a Twitter beef with Jimmy Kimmel, West’s antics have brought the man America loves hating back into the spotlight.

But aside from making headlines on TMZ, West has become much more than just an artist.

He’s become an ideal.

Our society operates on false senses of modesty and relative silence on subjects we know make for uncomfortable conversation, since after all, it’s not polite to talk about certain things at the dinner table.

West has challenged that.

Not only has his music preached to America about the systematic injustice of institutionalized racism, classicism, hyper-commercialization, black marginalization culture and an extensive list of other issues, but he’s done it in a way that’s easily consumable.

Even the privileged blasting Yeezy in their Benz knowingly or unknowingly are supporting this agenda.

When we think of West, “civil rights activist” is not the first label that comes to mind.

But as the son of a Black Panther, West is too familiar with the social implications of being a minority in America, as many of his songs and albums address.

West is actively redefining not only how blacks and other minorities are seen by America, but how they see themselves — or at the very least sparking a discussion about it.

An example of this is in “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” the album that followed the Taylor Swift incident in 2009.

After figuratively attacking one of white America’s favorite people, West was exiled from all American media.  

At one point in the album he addresses how President Obama, painted as the ideal representation of what a black man should be, vastly differs from West himself and his own relationship with white America.

And it’s charged subject matter like this that makes West not just another rapper, but a rapper with substance. And a damn good one.

Unfortunately we are too often distracted by how he’s saying something rather than what he’s actually saying.

West is definitely confrontational — in his music, his personal life, his brand.

But after all, what’s wrong with saying you’re great if it’s true?

Sure, talking about popping pills, kissing heiresses and waking up in Paris is likely not something Jesus would do. But that doesn’t make Yeezy any less of a god.

Ultimately, being Kanye West is standing up for something, whether that pisses people off or not.

And in terms of being a Yeezy fan, he words it best himself.

“If you’re a Kanye West fan, you’re not a fan of me, you’re a fan of yourself.”

­— edsalas@indiana.edu
Follow columnist Eduardo Salas on Twitter @seibbe.