Hip hop goes Owens

[525252]

[Verse 1]
My momma was raised in the era when
Clean water was only served to the fairer skin
Doing clothes you would have thought I had help
But they wasn't satisfied unless I picked the cotton myself
You see it's broke nigga racism
That's that "Don't touch anything in the store"
And this rich nigga racism
That's that "Come in, please buy more"
What you want, a Bentley? Fur coat? A diamond chain?
All you blacks want all the same things"
Used to only be niggas, now everybody playing
Spending everything on Alexander Wang
New Slaves

The false god, the golden calph, and Kanye as a God of wealth and fashion is a running theme throughout this album. Kanye sees himself as the epitome of a the illusive and enslaving economic fantasy black people chase.
But Kanye brags about being part of this high society, calling himself a globe-trotting god, even though he also rails against the economic slavery it entails. Why? Because Kanye believes that his genius excuses these evils because they all fuel his creative ability to spread the word. He takes on the form of Neitzche’s antichrist and superman, a god of man whose genius separates him from normal people and gives him permission to act in dark ways to fulfill his greater goals.

please discuss!

[AKA*NYC]

ubermenschen go owens

[lowrey]

please discuss!

I'm not sure how this is related to hip hop's relation to Rick Owens or "high" fashion... but Kanye is a hypocritical egomaniac, this is nothing new.

Here is a guy presumably wearing a SS16 givenchy t-shirt explaining it:

[Shucks]

charlamagne tellin it straight

[Mirror&Rack]

HOPSIN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?nomobile=1&v=hRVOOwFNp5U

[525252]

hey I wasn't asking everyone to agree how much of an ass Kanye is. Also I posted this here because I couldn't find that other thread about rap and fashion (feel free to move it there) and there seemed to be more activity on this one anyway

I don't see how the comment I posted was a tirade- I'm quite sure it wasn't intended that way though I should clarify I wasn't the author of it. I do think its a nice analysis of the album, though I guess Nietzsche's terms can make it sound like a bad review.

Why does this relate to "high fashion"? because the luxury industry thrives on exploiting an underclass which is increasingly isolated from the wealth of society.

Consumer society now seeks out its best supporters from among the marginalised elements of traditional society: women and youth first, followed by homosexuals and immigrants.

In the case of the USA, african americans fit under this margin. Its an exploitation which is not different to colonial slavery. It doesn't matter that there aren't handcuffs and guns involved because there may as well be if there isn't already some form of it existing already.

[lowrey]

Give me a break. Yeezus is a masterpiece.

this isn't really about musical quality though, I think there is definitely a point to that quote as well as the video I linked.

[Fade to Black]

alright, I read it again, fair enough. I retract my offhanded remark

[Faust]

I'm not sure how this is related to hip hop's relation to Rick Owens or "high" fashion... but Kanye is a hypocritical egomaniac, this is nothing new.

Here is a guy presumably wearing a SS16 givenchy t-shirt explaining it:

awesome

[Faust]

Why does this relate to "high fashion"? because the luxury industry thrives on exploiting an underclass which is increasingly isolated from the wealth of society.

In the case of the USA, african americans fit under this margin. Its an exploitation which is not different to colonial slavery. It doesn't matter that there aren't handcuffs and guns involved because there may as well be if there isn't already some form of it existing already.

Sorry, but this is way too hyperbolic. I agree with the man in the video lowrey posted - the term "slave" is inaccurate (but, of course, very useful as self-promotion because of its sensationalism). There is an enormous difference between having free will and not. Granted, the free will is in the constant struggle against formidable marketing forces, but this goes for every person living in contemporary capitalist society, no matter the race. Capitalism does not discriminate - it turns every color into green.

Also, could you explain how "the luxury industry thrives on exploiting an underclass which is increasingly isolated from the wealth of society"? Last time I was in Barneys I didn't see too many people from the ghetto shopping.

[profondo nero]

SZ goes TMZ

please discuss!

Why bother?

[525252]

Also, could you explain how "the luxury industry thrives on exploiting an underclass which is increasingly isolated from the wealth of society"? Last time I was in Barneys I didn't see too many people from the ghetto shopping.

When we think of the primary consumers for monogrammed gucci or LV bags, real or fake, we distinctly do not think of very wealthy people, rather we think of those that aspire to being very wealthy. It is no coincidence that those monogrammed bags are priced accordingly to this purpose and they make up some ludicrous profit (I remember reading a figure like 70% of gucci's net profit being to those bags).

I don't think I have an effective capacity in me to explain the phenomenon, but I did visit a Costco the other day and it was truly disturbing how these businesses are so streamlined towards catering to the local immigrants. Sure Costco is not luxury fashion, but it sure sells the image of it. You can get CK underwear there, diamond rings as well as some pretty processed to hell food.
All the people working there were immigrants, all the customers were immigrants, and every now and then you'd see an American-as-American-can-be manager walk around in the midst of it all. Costco was strategically placed in the poorer immigrant enclaves of Sydney and targets them quite visibly (pseudo korean oriented products etc.)

I do agree with a lot of the points that have been brought up in the video, by Faust, but I think drawing the connection to slavery is important because of how invisible the enslavers are. Sure, there is no evil white man, we can't say for certain who the slaves are, if they're willing or not, if any-body is enslaving them in the first place, but there are people everywhere, working their lives away for no other reason than "this is how it is". Capitalism does discriminate in some way: it turns the wealthy, wealthier, and the poor become poorer.

[AKA*NYC]

[profondo nero]

Yo, I heard Rick Owens is new Pelle Pelle and Givenchy is new Davoucci.



According to vice belief you can't fix stupid but exploit them,

Capitalism does discriminate in some way:

Seriously, I wish this thread would fermer des fuckdown..

[Fuuma]

hey I wasn't asking everyone to agree how much of an ass Kanye is. Also I posted this here because I couldn't find that other thread about rap and fashion (feel free to move it there) and there seemed to be more activity on this one anyway

I don't see how the comment I posted was a tirade- I'm quite sure it wasn't intended that way though I should clarify I wasn't the author of it. I do think its a nice analysis of the album, though I guess Nietzsche's terms can make it sound like a bad review.

Why does this relate to "high fashion"? because the luxury industry thrives on exploiting an underclass which is increasingly isolated from the wealth of society.



In the case of the USA, african americans fit under this margin. Its an exploitation which is not different to colonial slavery. It doesn't matter that there aren't handcuffs and guns involved because there may as well be if there isn't already some form of it existing already.

Tiqqun's point though is that EVERYONE is encouraged to act like that, hence the "theory of the young girl".