A “gadfly” is a metaphor that both Socrates and Martin Luther King Jr. used to describe themselves. They chose this term because the idea can be broken down as such: The enemies of social change are comfort and complacency because when a person is comfortable, he or she has no motivation to change the way things are at that point in time. For there to be a social change, one must be uncomfortable and replace complacency with action. There are some major gadflies of the 21th century, such as, Tupac, Kanye, and even Lauryn Hill. However, even though Kanye West isn’t my favorite artist and I don’t agree with everything he says, he is one of the most important gadflies of the 21st century. Kanye’s father was a black panther, photojournalist,
…show more content…
That alone is the first step to being a gadfly. One must be comfortable with being disliked, shunned, and hated. Kanye West changed Hip Hop in a major way. It’s almost like he gave hardcore dudes the permission to be emotional. For example, with the release of 808s and Heartbreak he sang about heartbreak, death, alienation, etc. Kanye wore his heart on his sleeve and that was very uncommon in the Hip Hop industry. It is interesting how Kanye bridged the gap between conscious rap and popular rap. He demonstrated that being socially conscious doesn’t have to equate with being boring. His album “College Dropout” was something that people have never heard before. Kanye was able to discuss religion, relationships, and working out all in one album with ease. Is this still Hip Hop? Of course it is, because Kanye says it …show more content…
These are the two most universal languages known to man. So how do you influence people around the world when there is no way you could be like every single one of them? Music is the best way and Kanye perfected it. For example in his song “All Falls Down” he states, “It seems we living the American dream. The people highest up got the lowest self-esteem. The prettiest people do the ugliest things for the road to riches and diamond rings.” These words are so simple yet so powerful. I guarantee you there isn’t a person on this earth that hasn’t known someone rich with low self-esteem or a person who uses his or her beauty or body for
That alone is the first step to being a gadfly. One must be comfortable with being disliked, shunned, and hated. Kanye West changed Hip Hop in a major way. It’s almost like he gave hardcore dudes the permission to be emotional. For example, with the release of 808s and Heartbreak he sang about heartbreak, death, alienation, etc. Kanye wore his heart on his sleeve and that was very uncommon in the Hip Hop industry. It is interesting how Kanye bridged the gap between conscious rap and popular rap. He demonstrated that being socially conscious doesn’t have to equate with being boring. His album “College Dropout” was something that people have never heard before. Kanye was able to discuss religion, relationships, and working out all in one album with ease. Is this still Hip Hop? Of course it is, because Kanye says it …show more content…
These are the two most universal languages known to man. So how do you influence people around the world when there is no way you could be like every single one of them? Music is the best way and Kanye perfected it. For example in his song “All Falls Down” he states, “It seems we living the American dream. The people highest up got the lowest self-esteem. The prettiest people do the ugliest things for the road to riches and diamond rings.” These words are so simple yet so powerful. I guarantee you there isn’t a person on this earth that hasn’t known someone rich with low self-esteem or a person who uses his or her beauty or body for