Kanye West: A Cocky, Brilliant...Idiot

CLEVELAND - Kanye West amazed and inspired me from the first time I heard his work as a hip-hop artist. Some said he was arrogant, I said he was very self-assured. Some said he was obnoxious, I said he was cultivating his brand. Turns out, everyone was correct.

He was and still is all of those things.

Sunday night marked the lowest point of West's "social" career, which is saying an awful lot. In a moment destined to become an infamous event in pop culture lore, West hijacked country singer Taylor Swift's acceptance speech after she won an MTV Video Music Award over, among others, Beyonce Knowles. He took the mic from Swift and proclaimed to the star studded audience that Beyonce had "one of the best videos of all time." In other words, West felt as though Beyonce should have won instead of the 19-year old Swift.

I, along with the rest of America was in utter shock.

Swift, momentarily deflated and stunned, gave an awesome live performance of her song "You Belong With Me" just minutes later, but the West backlash had already begun. He was removed from the building and the mere mention of his name garnered boos from the crowd for the rest of the night. The Internet was abuzz with reaction to the incident, even from celebrities who were in attendance at the VMA's. West later posted an apology on his blog, but it didn't matter.

The following day, the debacle was all over the news and West himself was vilified and castigated for the audacious incident. In an ironic twist, he'd been scheduled for months to perform the hit single, "Run This Town" with Jay-Z and Rihanna on Jay Leno's brand new variety show, which debuted just 24 hours after the infraction. During an impromptu interview with Leno, Kanye appeared shaken, contrite and humble -- emotions that have never described him.

The following day, Swift appeared on The View and recounted her thoughts as the event unfolded. She also mentioned that West hadn't personally contacted her to apologize. However, before she left the building, she received a call from him and according to sources, she accepted his apology.

Here's my take: I am one of the few people that has always understood Kanye's personality. Sure, he seems egotistical and arrogant, but I believe he is just a guy that faced so many challenges and had so many doubters, that now that he's a critically acclaimed music producer and recording artist, he chooses to shout it from the rooftops early and often in an I-told-you-so-fashion. I believe his passion got him there, but that passion often manifests itself in less than stellar ways. He tells the world how great he is, then isn't able to summon humility when he needs to and conversely, we get his petulant outbursts at awards shows.

This was different, though.

For West to insinuate himself into a situation that had absolutely nothing to do with him was above the pale. The nominees were female for one, and for two, they were Swift and Knowles. If he had a problem with Beyonce losing, that's fine, he's entitled to his opinion. But in no way did he have a right to crash Swift's speech and defile her moment to satisfy his own (drunken) agenda. That was beyond rude and arrogant. It was selfish and childish and reeked of a distinct lack of respect, class and poise. For Kanye to be so gifted as an artist and producer, he is very lacking in tact and grace.

After reading a few comments online from several black folks, I am even more enraged. While nearly everyone, even West's peers and friends say that his behavior was deplorable, many of the comments were from people upset with West for "bowing to the white man" and for essentially being an Uncle Tom. They even suggested that Swift deserved what Kanye did to her and even labeled her a "white devil." Most of these people applauded him for his behavior and felt like he "sold out" by apologizing.

Wow.

When ignorance, idiocy and stupidity is present, I just want to leave the room. Nothing was acceptable about his actions, and like it or not, he just furthered the disdain that Whites have for Blacks. Kanye made us all fit into a stereotype that so many racists have put us in with his transgression.

Talent means nothing without class and respect.

MTV's VMA's: The Good, The Bad And The Odd

CLEVELAND - For me, last night's MTV Video Music Awards caused a gamut of emotions. There were tears, jeers and cheers from me during the two and a half hour spectacle that began and ended with Michael Jackson.

The in-between was something else.

The good: Pop legend Madonna opened the show (held at New York's Radio City Music Hall) with a moving, occassionally funny and heartfelt speech about Michael, noting a range of similarities between the two of them, then detailing her friendship with the man that she dominated 1980's music and pop culture with. She extolled his kindness and brilliance and labeled him a "human being," but still very much a "king." Though they grew distant, she was quick to assert that "we abandoned him."

After Madonna finished, a troupe of dancers filled the stage clad in various trademark Michael Jackson outfits and ran through a short medley of a few of his iconic songs. Against a large, video screen backdrop, the dancers mimicked Jackson's choreographed dance numbers in sync with him on the screen, which featured him performing in those groundbreaking short films. When MJ's futuristic 1995 clip for the song "Scream" came on, his sister Janet (who featured on the song and video) took to the stage and reprised her dance sequences as well as Michael's while it played out on the screen behind her. It was an electrifying performance by all, and it caused me to shed buckets of tears.

The Bad: Hip-hop musician and producer Kanye West, a notoriously egotistical sore loser, stormed the stage when young newcomer Taylor Swift won an award over a group of nominees that included Beyonce Knowles. West interrupted Swift's exuberant acceptance speech to declare that Beyonce should have won instead of her, which prompted a chorus of boos from the star-studded crowd. Knowles appeared stunned in her seat, as did Swift on stage. West wasn't seen again the rest of the night.

What a total creep.

The Odd: Eccentric pop star Lady Gaga showed up with Kermit the Frog as her date, whom she kissed while she sported a Phantom of the Opera-style face mask. She later performed her hit song "Paparazzi" with heavy theatrics that included a glittery wheelchair and fake blood dripping from her torso. She switched outfits often, at one point wearing a red lace shroud which covered her entire face with matching crown. After that? Gaga's face was encased in a circular haystack. Incidentally, I love her style. I felt that her "oddities" were also among the "good" simply because she is original and isn't afraid to go to extremes to express herself.

More good: Pink has become a favorite of mine. She looked and sounded great during her performance as did Beyonce, who surprised me with how thick and curvy she is. Taylor Swift is a 19-year old knockout and brushed off the Kanye debacle with an awesome performance of her song "You Belong With Me" on a subway train before running through the station and finally, outside the building. Later, Beyonce won an award and asked Swift to take to the stage and use her (Beyonce's) time to finally have "her moment" since West ruined hers. That was true class at its finest.

Great to see Eminem win an award for his music video "We Made You." He stepped onstage and thanked his fans for sticking by him during his hiatus from music, then dedicated the award to his fallen friend, Proof.

Jay-Z made a grand entrance after his motorcade traversed the streets of Manhattan before dropping him off at an exclusive, backstage door. He walked in calm, yet confident, grabbed a mic, then stepped out on stage and launched into his new song "Empire State of Mind" while Alicia Keys crooned the hook and played the piano.

The Odd: Host Russell Brand, who also emceed the show last year. His over-the-top and often racy humor tends to border on the peculiar, and he can be quite disturbing.

The Good: We were finally treated to the trailer for the forthcoming Michael Jackson feature length documentary, "This Is It." The film is comprised of footage from Michael's rehearsals as he prepared for what was to be his swan song as a touring artist. Due in theaters October 28 for a two week run, it also features interviews and other behind the scenes access that we've never seen. From what I saw, it looks and sounds incredible.

Great show overall, but someone needs to invest in a muzzle for Mr. West. Or maybe even a restraining order.

That wasn't a joke, either.