kudos to kanye

Politics isn't one of my main interests, even when it intersects with television, but when I heard about Kanye West's recent comments on the NBC telethon for victims of Hurricane Katrina, I was instantly curious. West said, among other things, that President Bush doesn't care about black people. Popwatch linked to a video of Kanye's commentary, and it wasn't what I was expecting. To be frank, I thought it might be another blowhard speech, but instead I was moved by Kanye's obvious nervousness and heartfelt emotion. Usually when celebrities choose to enlighten us about their issues during awards shows and other events, it comes off as crude and out of place. Some people think Kanye's comments could be described the same way, but I think the opposite--it was EXACTLY the right time and place for him to say what he said.

Plus, it was fun to see the look of total shock on Mike Meyers' face.

This incident raises the question of how we view our celebrities. We tend to want the whole package. Not satisfied to merely enjoy someone's work, we want to know everything about them. To those saying that Kanye should have kept his mouth shut, I have to point out that Kanye's political views have inevitably informed his music, the very thing that made him famous, and we should appreciate his willingness to unleash what may be an unpopular opinion.

In a later post, Popwatch tells us that the Billboard sales for Kanye's latest album topped 900,000 copies sold this week, so perhaps a lot of people were thinking what only he was willing to say. Or maybe they just like his music. Either way, I'm glad his career didn't suffer for him taking that risk.