One of the most influential figures in the world of hip-hop in the past decade, Kanye West is also known for his dynamic blog. With a predilection for high-tech gadgets that border on science fiction and futuristic, minimalist furniture, West has become an online arbiter of taste.
He posts at an almost alarming rate, causing some to suspect that he employs ghosts. Whether this is true or not seems moot. The style of his blog at Kanye Universecity is playful but refreshingly not ironic. The expansive content features a round-up of creativity, and focuses on all things design with a liberal sprinkling of pin-up models. Here's what's on offer, with a focus on the month of June, 2008. Dates of the posts are in parentheses.
The Fashion
Kanye West is conversant with contemporary haute couture, and he incorporates this into his own artistic practice. A post on English fashion innovator Alexander McQueen (06.26.2008) includes a video from a runway show that is a hallucinogenic spectacle. Light, air, and movement mold a female figure in a flowing gown that seems to materialize and de-materialize simultaneously. West, with his own light show extravaganza Glow in the Dark tour, sees a kindred spirit in McQueen.
The Far-Out Furniture
The interior design featured at West's blog is sleek and modular, with molecular lights by Hopf and Wortmann (06.22.2008) and single wire furniture systems by Aykut Erol (06.28.2008) that look like art installations. Things can get pretty fourth millennium: witness the WaSnake shelf by NoDesign (06.24.2008). Its "topology can be reconfigured" and it contains LED lights and optical fibers that can be programmed into display screens.
The Photography
Ultra-sleek photos that border on abstraction are preferred. Thierry Le Goue's "Soul Series" (06.11.2008) of slender Black nude figures transcends exoticism even as it embraces it. Gwong Osang (06.30.2008) makes sculptures from hundreds of snapshot-size photographs. They are disturbingly realistic representations of figures that were once human and have now become cyborgs.
The Far East
Namely, Japanese style. Takashi Murakami has designed several of West's album covers, and West's "Stronger" video is set in nighttime Tokyo, red Katakana letters flashing across the screen periodically. West's blog features Japanese creative types like Tokujin Yoshika, a designer who makes furniture out of glass (06.30.2008), and architect Kelichito Sako (06.20.2008), who creates organic interiors using pod-like forms.
The Females
Brazilian, Australian, Puerto Rican, or plain old American ladies in lingerie and bikinis turn up regularly. Doe-eyed, they stare mistily at the camera with greased thighs. The speech bubbles added to their bee-stung lips all ask the same question: “Where are you Yeezy?”
The Fresh Music
Nas and Lil' Wayne are obviously in the mix. But then there's MGMT's video "Electric Feel" (06.25.2008), a dance party in a warm neon jungle like a tropical Hieronymous Bosch come to life. And there's a much-needed flashback to New York in '93, with Tribe Called Quest's "Electric Relaxation" (06.09.2008). And The Pharcyde’s "Drop" video, directed by Spike Jonze. And Das EFX. And...
Add one part art, one part hip-hop, three parts design, sprinkle with babes, and you’ve got Kanye West’s blog, right? Not exactly. There's always, everywhere, West himself. In addition to the culture and style, there is the occasional undiluted opinion, notably his own unmitigated version of the skirmish that took place recently at Bonnaroo. Artists, bloggers and other media types go to his blog because of the great content and the big personality behind it. That’s what makes his blog good.
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