But last night's performance by Kanye West on "Saturday Night Live", which he performed the song "Ultrabeam Light" from his new album "The Life Of Pablo, made me really like gospel music for the first time in my life, for that five minutes and forty-three seconds.
"Ultrabeam Light" to me isn't about how we should worship god. You can listen to it in a totally different way. I viewed it as getting through these horrible times we've been through as a society and how we feel so helpless. As for instance, when a bombing or a shooting kills a group of innocent people. Or when a black unarmed kid gets shot. Or when an innocent hispanic and asian cop gets killed. Or when a white cop hates what's going on his job but can't do nothing about it.
That's what I feel this song is saying. Sometimes we feel so helpless, that all we can do is look above.
What a performance. Not just by Kanye, but by The Dream, Kelly Price and Chance The Rapper who was unbelievable! I've heard a lot about Chance The Rapper for a while now, although I never got the chance to really listen to him and shame on me because the kid is no joke. This isn't no "trap" rapper. This is a RAPPER. A real rapper.
Kanye putting a 22-year-old Chance in his album and on a major, national television show like Saturday Night Live, tells you a lot about him. Something he hasn't taken credit for. Kanye is not only putting out great music year after year to keep hip-hop relevant, but he's also helping the young rapper get a spotlight at the mainstream.
He's putting his fame to use. Yea, Kanye sells sneakers and clothes for an insane price, but he's taking advantage of his mainstream attention and giving back to others and rebuilding hip-hop with new talent.
Not a lot of rappers do that. They like to worry about themselves or not worry about where they came from, while Kanye is basically carrying hip-hop on his back, right now.
He brought Vic Mensa on stage with him, at Saturday Night Live's 40th anniversary; something he didn't have to do. Since then, I've been a big Mensa fan. I truly believe Mensa is gonna be the next big thing, very soon.
Travis Scott, whose another young talent Kanye has brought to mainstream and I love.
Kanye shows off true, definite talent! All these rappers he's brought out like Chance, Scott and Mensa, all have great hip-hop talent. None of these guys are these 'trap' rappers; who I have nothing against, but they don't really rap. As for Mensa, Scott and Chance: they're old school lyricist. Something we need more of. Actual hip-hop music.
Give him credit for that. He's giving back.
Watching Kanye rebuild hip-hop. Opening up this side of gospel to hip-hop. He reminds of another rapper that could've been doing this today, if he were alive. That's Tupac Shakur.
At look at this whole thing and said to myself: 'Man, this is what Tupac would be doing right now.' I always thought he'd be into movies because he was such excellent actor; and he would've been, but I feel he would've brought this side of music, which you saw from "Ultrabeam Light" to a big stage. It probably would've been done already, while Kanye is doing it now.
Tupac would've helped the young rapper or rappers, like Kanye is doing now.
Makes me realize what hip-hop would've been without Tupac and what hip-hop would've been without Kanye.
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