A Few Words About Mr. West

I don't care what anyone says, if this is really Kanye West in this photo and not a lot of photoshop trickery, then I have to give the dude props, he looks hellahot! Even with that pelican jaw.

I'm not a true Kanye fan. Some of his songs are hot, especially "Golddigger." Some of his songs are thought provoking which I really appreciate, because for the life of me I can't understand how anyone could record "Grillz" or not get sick of that old white girl singing incessantly about "my humps, my humps, my lovely lady lumps." ¡Por favor, chica!

Back to Kanye. He's also a great record producer and I really appreciate his work with my new fave, John Legend. Still, Kanye's arrogance has always been a turn off for me. I was watching TV the night he announced that "George Bush doesn't care about Black people." While not disagreeing with what he said, at first I thought he was over emotional and foolish. Then I thought about it, and I was happy he put it out there when and where he did, because if he tried to say it at any other time, he would be censored. Indeed, parts of his comments were censored here on the west coast. Still, his arrogance had continued to rub me the wrong way, but I'm beginning to soften toward him because of the public stand he's taken against raps standard homophobia. It takes a lot of courage to stick your neck out like that on one of the stickiest subjects in all hip-hop.

Kanye has admitted his own homophobia, and his decision to check himself after a girlfriend told him to "get enlightened" when she over heard him mumbling something about "fags." He also talks about a gay family member that he loves, and that makes him feel that he has to stand up against the homophobia in rap music as he would stand up for his cherished relative. (That's a good reason for coming out, let people see that gays are just human beings like everyone else. To steal a few bars from an old Sesame Street song, "A homosexual is a person in your neighborhood. A person that you meet each day.")

Now it wouldn't it be great if some of the "homo thugs of hip-hop" came out. Talk about keeping it real. Stop being scared and start being your self, 'mr. elliot' and you too, your majesty 'Queen Last Holiday.' Imagine the young people you could affect, the suicides you could help avert, the bashing you could quell just by standing up for who you lay down with.

Kanye took a lot of heat for his comments, and the backlash will probably continue with those who are too blunted and ignorant to step out of the boxes they were born into. It's not easy to change ones point of view. It's not easy to stand apart from the crowd and announce that you have considered and reconsidered where you stand on an issue. It's not easy to put yourself on the line when it may affect your record sales. Mr. West did, and I am proud of him and grateful, too. He's even starting to look better, too. I may become a Kanye West fan yet - no homo!