Adorno's Autonomy Kanye West

669 Words3 Pages
West’s ‘autonomy’ perhaps derives from his artistry and unwillingness to compromise his art, however it does come from a place of privilege – he is willing not to “give a fuck about selling a million records” because he is already well established and wealthy as a rapper. However, his dedication and commitment to his art, and strive to subvert the expected of mainstream artists (to have singles, and be ‘marketable’) is admirable. When tied with Adorno’s idea of ‘autonomy’ especially in regard to market-value, Yeezus is caught in a deadlock between intentions and delivery – the album is West’s most off-brand and daring album, created and executed in minimalistic terms with delivering the conceptual idea on the forefront plan rather than creating…show more content…
Kanye West, much like Adorno has had enough of the culture he lives in – but both of them are not ready to let go of it yet. Adorno believes that the avant-garde should be a great force against capitalism, and its dependence on mass production. While I do agree with Adorno, I cannot imagine a situation, especially in the music industry, is possible – a person trying to change the system from within is more effective than an outsider trying to change it from the outside. Adorno states in Prisms that “the dialectical critic of culture must both participate in culture and not participate. Only then does he do justice to his object and to himself” . Kanye West does this quite well – yes he is involved in the mainstream, but he is constantly vilified and misunderstood for his remarks and actions, which pushes him to outskirts, only to the moment when he knows what to create in response to culture. His fluctuation -- sonically and creatively – and ability to maintain himself politically engaged throughout the years is impressive. Ultimately, West is far from perfect: his lyrics are focused on the pessimistic reality of being a black man, and while he creates important dialogues in race, he revels in misogynistic lyrics. Hopefully in a near future his alternative models of reality will involve the destruction of all forms of oppression. If Adorno were alive would he hate Kanye West? Probably. He’d call him a capitalist megalomaniac, which would most likely not affect Kanye West. But that doesn’t make Kanye West less avant-garde then he already is. If West ever engaged in a debate with Adorno, I’m sure Adorno would have a lot to say – but all that Kanye has to do to keep the last word is sample one of Adorno’s
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