Courtesy of The Lala Report.

Like most other ‰millennials,‰’ I begin basically any task assigned to me by going straight to Google. It‰’s like there exists some sort of direct pathway from my mind to the search engine, which is convenient but also quite terrifying. Also, somewhere amidst this process I‰’m bound to get distracted by social media. I gently touch my pointer finger to the smudged glass of my iPhone and see Tweets expressing #hashtags, Instagrams of OOTDS, Yaks urging for a tuition freeze, and Facebook events full of free food. But somehow, a certain man has infiltrated all of this. Some type of evil technological genius who I can‰’t escape. That man is Kanye West.

The 37 year-old (before some cursory Googling I seriously underestimated his age) has essentially acquired a time turner and can be in no less than seven places at once. Or at least covering all the bases my iPhone has access to. I swear I forget this guy is a musician because he partakes in such a plethora of other activities. whether he‰’s designing and manufacturing Yeezy Boost, or just chillin’ with the Kardashians, and his daughter. Yeah, Kanye West has a daughter. I‰’m sure you‰’re aware of this, but just let it sink in. Have you ever really thought about it? If I had to construct a Venn diagram of the attributes I associate with Kanye West and the attributes I associate with fatherhood, I would end up with two circles on separate pieces of paper, one in DC and the other by the Bermuda triangle (Triangle // Kanye // illuminati). 

But back to the Yeezy Boost. Those things are heinous. And, although Kanye has said in an interview with Power 105‰’s The Breakfast Club that he wants their price to be lower so that the Boosts are available to a wider audience, they cost 36 hours of minimum wage work in DC (or $350). There’s also the chance that they will get caught up in the sneaker culture of people buying them and then reselling for triple the value. At some point I also realized I had been wrongly calling them Yeezy Boots, not Boosts, since they really are boots to me, but if Adidas is collaborating then I guess they qualify as a sneaker. Yeah, let‰’s go with that. 

Courtesy of Nice Kicks.

Also, they released on Valentine‰’s Day. Two main points about this. One, the fact that shoes have a drop date is honestly comical to me. Two, that aforementioned drop date was Valentine‰’s day. Not that I‰’m super romantic or look forward to anything on February 14^th besides the cheap chocolate I‰’ll acquire on the 15^th, but it just seems an odd day to stand in line for Yeezy Boosts. Not to mention the fact that the Boosts seem like they would make you the flyest guy in the nursing home with that thick Velcro strap.

And then there‰’s the whole being married to Kim Kardashian thing. I always thought of her as pretty stupid, honestly, but now I‰’m realizing that she‰’s somewhat of a genius to be able to get so famous for not really doing anything. It’s to the point where Kanye‰’s bio on Complex Mag‰’s website reads “Kanye West is a rapper, songwriter, record producer, director, entrepreneur, fashion designer, and self-proclaimed genius. Aside from all that, he’s also married to Kim Kardashian.‰Û

Musicians are becoming increasingly less about just music.They are also entrepreneurs, fashion connoisseurs, tastemakers, and trendsetters. For instance, you‰’re not really a pop diva until you have your own designer fragrance. And the front rows of fashion shows are becoming populated with rappers and singers, not designers.

I‰’m struggling to decide whether this is good or bad for the music industry. Part of me wants music to stay music and not touch other things. But at the same time, it‰’s an attestation to the great amount of talent these people possess, and who am I to say they shouldn‰’t spread that talent as much as possible. Even if it is by producing funny looking boots.