Flashing Lights, Camera, Action: Kanye West and Cinema
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
The video for “All of the Lights”.
Today is the birthday of one of hip hop’s most iconic — yet polarizing — figures. Kanye West has been a producer, rapper-singer, designer, businessman and more in his twenty-or-so years of fame. As an art student at heart (he attended the American Academy of Art College, as well as studying English in Chicago State University), I’m able to acknowledge some of the justifications for what he does (but not all; certainly not all), since provocation is something he has down to a fine formula or two. One thing is for sure: West certainly will try anything, and his career has proven it for better or for worse.
When it comes to his artistic side, this gets reflected in his music often; each album feels like it is of a different universe, with the palette of whatever comes in this particular territory this time around. He tries to get everything going with each release: the music and lyrics (obviously), album artwork, promotional materials, and even how he presents himself are all attached to a specific feel, aesthetic, and intention. In a little bit of everything, West’s obsession with cinema comes into play, and it’s part of the identity he crafts and reinvents every era. Let’s dive into some notable examples, shall we?
The music video for “Good Morning”.
The most obvious exhibits of West’s cinephilia comes in the form of his lyricism. Often enough, you can tell exactly what his taste in films is like because of his references. It turns out that West is a fairly easy-going guy in this department. Whereas Frank Ocean displayed an affinity for film school selections and arthouse (I’ll spotlight him in a similar article in the future), West is much more of a mainstream, Friday night release kind of guy. Even in something a bit more unorthodox like “New Slaves” off of his abrasive album Yeezus, West takes a minute to reference an Adam Sandler picture: The Waterboy (“I’m about to wild the fuck out; I’m going Bobby Boucher.”). West’s songs have touched upon Ferris Beuller’s Day Off at least a couple of times, including Watch the Throne’s “Gotta Have It” (with Jay-Z) and the collaboration to promote LeBron James (remember those days?) “Forever” (he also brings up Superbad in the same verse). A highly memorable case is when he mentioned how he keeps it “300 like the Trojans”, forgetting that the Zack Snyder film is about Spartans (unless he’s referring to the Roman numerals for 300, being CCC: cool, calm, and collected [but I doubt it]). Either way, his film references are far from abstract, and are usually some of the more identifiable parts of his lyrics.
Sometimes, however, the ways his lyrics are written are what feel cinematic, and not solely the callbacks within them. My favourite example is the ending of the final track on The College Dropout “Last Call”, where he sits in the studio and details his journey from a struggling everyman (living with his mother, both trying to survive society) to being the then-latest Roc-A-Fella signee; the epilogue is hypnotic, and I find that I can’t tune out for the entire time, as if I’m viewing all of these images in my head as West talks. West doesn’t ramble here, either, and it’s a monologue that he clearly put thought and time into. Some other examples where his storytelling feels like narration in an audio-only film include the jealousy-ridden mental fight “Blame Game”, the incredibly detailed “Roses”, and the recounting of the scariest hour of his life in “Through the Wire”: a recounting of the car accident that almost killed him (he raps, even though his jaw was actually wired shut for reconstructive purposes, to tell his story
The video for “Runaway”.
Even though he occasionally channels the sounds of cinema in his production (a clear example being his 007-sounding “Diamonds from Sierra Leone”, which samples Shirley Bassey’s “Diamonds are Forever”, and Jamie Foxx reprising his role as Ray Charles in Ray on “Gold Digger”), I find that he is more blatantly inspired with the music videos attached to his songs. Sure, West can channel Austin Powers’ Dr. Evil all he wants, but it’s the visual nature of his music videos that gets much more explorative. The music video for “All of the Lights” is clearly a tribute to Gaspar Noé’s near-seizure-inducing opening credits for Enter the Void (thankfully West and company break up the amount of strobing a little bit more). West’s love of anime resulted in his collaboration with artist Takashi Murakami all over his Graduation album, but especially on the opening track “Good Morning”’s video; here, West’s mascot Dropout Bear is racing to not miss his graduation ceremony in a psychedelic, futuristic world (they would work again on West’s collaboration with Kid Cudi known as Kids See Ghosts).
Even if West isn’t tributing specific films, his videos (and live performances) are incredibly cinematic. Spike Jonze collaborated with West on the “Flashing Lights” video, which reveals small little details over the course of one single shot. This feels like a precursor to “Power”, which remains significant with its slow zoom; from an extreme closeup to an extreme wide shot, as the video reveals a panoramic display in one continuous image. Again, West is an artist at heart, so a few other filmic music videos are the implementations of cinematographic innovations that are known for their aesthetic achievements. “Heartless” is compiled of rotoscope animated clips, which felt extremely relevant shortly after the releases of Richard Linklater’s Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly (the latter being released two years before “Heartless”). You can find countless examples of pop culture movements, nostalgic fixations, and imaginative creations that West fixates on for each video.
The video for “Heartless”.
The most significant example of West’s love of cinema is the borderline-arthouse mega music video for “Runaway”: an over-half-hour opus that serves the centrepiece song on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, whilst also acting as a preview for most of the other songs on the track list. This video features a phoenix-woman hybrid that crash lands on Earth, with West taking her in and falling in love with her. One of the most ambitious music videos I’ve ever seen, “Runaway” was as explorative as a mainstream artist’s music videos could be back in 2010. It could have been another “Thriller”, but West’s vision tells a much more surreal, somewhat abstract tale that relies more on experimentation rather than a cohesive story. It remains his arguable masterpiece when it comes to his visual works.
Otherwise, West tries to do something with everything of his releases. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’s physical album release allows you to swap the album covers to whatever you desire (Nicki Minaj even instructs you to on the opening track). The first three albums carry a thematic and visual beginning, middle, and conclusion for Dropout Bear and West himself (he’s a misfit in The College Dropout, he is reinstated in Late Registration, and he breaks out into superstardom with Graduation). Yeezus is a postmodern statement that only features a clear jewelcase, a blank compact disc, and a bright red (or orange) sticker that keeps it shut (and even then it just worked). The majority of his press releases, public appearances, and interviews are also geared towards his goal to remain relevant despite deviating from the typical sounds of popular music (this is where I find West nearly impossible to support, to be fair); his albums usually redefine the sound of the present (The College Dropout), or genres in the near-to-distant future (808s & Heartbreak). When it comes to his audible and visual attempts, I can almost always get on board (outside of Jesus is King, which isn’t as bad as it seems it would be, but still his worst album by far). I hope West continues to keep this side of his artistry. It isn’t a popular opinion in some circles, but I love the art that Kanye West makes.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.