America's beautiful, dark twisted fantasy

Echoing Kanye West’s own words, “Let’s kill the hypocrisy / This is an aristocracy.”

Vogue announced West and his wife-to-be — Kim Kardashian, fellow lightning rod for the American public’s vitriol — would be featured on the cover of the magazine’s April issue.

Following the release of the cover, the faux outrage on Twitter and other social media was palpable. The primary source of this rage seems to stem from the belief that the Kardashian-Wests are undeserving of such a high-profile feature in one of America’s most storied publications.

But what detractors seem completely blind to is the fact that, whether we like it or not, Kanye and Kim represent the best in their respective fields.

Their marriage only further cements their positions in the cultural elite.

That’s why the Editorial Board, despite our very mixed opinions about West and Kardashian themselves, believes their appearance on Vogue’s cover is deserved.

Though we completely understand there are more pressing issues in the world to discuss, many of us have grown tired of the derision and dismissal toward West and Kardashian that the Vogue cover controversy has brought to the surface yet again. And it deserves to be addressed.

For the pop culture oblivious, mentioning West likely still conjures images of the Taylor Swift incident in 2009 that for which West was labeled a “jackass” by the leader of the free world. Or perhaps it might remind one of his “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” remark back in 2006, during the incompetent response to Hurricane Katrina by the Bush administration.

But what many tend to overlook in the process of calling West an egotistical asshole is that said egotistical asshole continues to be the single most innovative force in hip-hop with more than 380 award nominations and 21 Grammys.

He has experience as a producer, businessman, cultural provocateur, high-fashion designer and, even if some only begrudgingly agree, the embodiment of black excellence.

Kim Kardashian, though already existing in a space of wealth and privilege, has managed to create an enterprise for herself despite the fact that her claim to fame was a leaked sex tape, which for others might have spelled out the end of any sort of career. She has been able to maneuver the entertainment industry — for better or worse — to become arguably one of the most envied and followed women in America.

But if there’s a single major reason why West and Kardashian should be on the cover of Vogue, it’s because they represent our culture at this point in time and, by extension, ourselves.

Vogue editor Anna Wintour put it best in the issue’s editor’s note.

“Part of the pleasure of editing Vogue, one that lies in a long tradition of this magazine, is being able to feature those who define the culture at any given moment, who stir things up, whose presence in the world shapes the way it looks and influences the way we see it,” she said. “I think we can all agree on the fact that that role is currently being played by Kim and Kanye to a T. (Or perhaps that should be to a K?)”

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