KanYE!!

One of the more exciting gigs that I have had the honor of playing has been with rapper Kanye West. Believe it or not the music is very intricate, and puts to use many complex rhythms. Everytime I play with Mr. West I realize that Hip Hop (although it may have had its beginnings on the street) as a genre is making a move towards a structured, intricately composed piece of work whose content is having an even greater affect on society.




I know we all remember (or have heard of) the moment last year when Kanye was lurched into the news concerning comments that he made at a telethon. One might think that this would have had some adverse effects on his fan base, mainly dealing with race. Maybe it did, yet as I peered out into the crowd last Saturday at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington I notice that the majority of the attendants were not African-Americans but Caucasian- Americans, and they were all singing along with him on every song.





Perhaps there is no political meaning to this, but it does cause one to think.

Anyhoo, I enjoyed myself and I look forward to these "out of the classically trained box" type gigs. They remind me that music is universal. Period.