Since I don’t care to be told, “You’re going to burn in hell,” I tend to shy away from discussions about religion. I’m not as anti-religion as some of my friends believe me to be, but I know more times than not, if I ever do try to explain my point-of-view, it’s likely I’ll get the “Hell is hot, n-gga” type response so I try not to bother.
From my own experiences, very few people discuss religion in any way that deviates from the typical script, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the guy who prides himself on being atypical would be the one person to talk about faith in a manner I can actually relate to.
"I don't want to be James Bond. I don't want to fit into this iconic figure that someone else has made. Just like how I don't want to be Jesus Christ. My whole life, they're like, you know, I was raised as a Christian, and they're like 'Be Christ-like. Be Christ-like.' I'm like, 'No! I don't wanna fuckin' be Christ-like. I want to be me-like. I want to be the best me. 'Cause you're gonna fall short of being Christ-like and then you'll never quite be happy. And then, you'll always feel like you gotta give up 20% of your money to try to buy back some of this happiness. It's like, 'No. I just want to be me."
OK, so I probably wouldn’t word it that way for fear of my mom bitch-slapping me with a book, but thankfully, after realizing he was going to get the clap back from Black folk, Kanye rephrased:
"When I listened back to the New Zealand conference I was like, 'Whoa this is
pretty harsh.' Sometimes I speak with no filter. I did not mean to be so harsh
on the subject of Christianity being that I was a well known Christian. When I
was at my mom's funeral a fucking stranger came up to me and said, 'I hope
you've accepted Jesus as your savior so you can see your mother again!' My
entire life, being an African American, Christianity was forced down my throat.
Since I was a child, I would ask questions like, 'So are little babies that
can't speak yet going to hell also?' I 1,000% believe in God, I believe in
Karma, I believe in being a good person. I'm not trying to tell people what they
should believe or not believe. To each is his own. I was in situations where
someone constantly used Jesus to show me how baaaad a person I was or how not
perfect or not Christ-like I was. When I say I don't want to be Christ-like, I'm
saying I'm fine with not being perfect. I'm fine with being a human being. I'm
happy with just that."
I know exactly what's it's like to see God and religion used more as a weapon than a source of solace. And I definitely can relate to being a curious kid having all of these questions about God and being told in so many words to shut up.
It took me a long time to realize that I can be a good person without being bound to any particular dogma. Going to church every week doesn't make you a good person; it makes you religious. The two terms are not mutually exclusive. It's good to hear someone that looks like me (he would Dale, I would be Chip of the Rescue Rangers) share that opinion.
Before he blew up and ran off at the mouth, I was a burgeoning 'Ye stan. I remember seeing him at Howard and appreciating him for…I don’t know, just being himself. I really liked him when he put Bush on blast (although I think George W. Bush hates all people).
After awhile you couldn't help but notice how self-absorbed he was, not to mention how arrogant and sometimes nonsensical some of his statements were. He was being an attention whore for the sake of. It works, but eh. Yet and still he often says things that people don’t say out loud -- which is why people either love him or hate him.
I still wonder if he was nursed too long, but I have between this, the AMAs, his interview with
The Fader, and his comments about legendary status, I have to say I'm actually interested in hearing what he has to say again.
I only wonder how long it will take Pee Wee West to say something that will turn me off all over again.
Labels: say what
The Cynical Ones.
