Simpson is also amazing, to stunned silence. What we do get is him saying Michael Jackson and Michael Phelps are amazing, to audience approval, and then that O.J. Granted, the highlights there might have still been the highlights here: West grappling with his old homophobia West again explaining how badly he wishes he could experience his own live show and the part in "Amazing" in which we don't get to hear him defend Chris Brown. Remove the talking from each, balloon it to an unreasonable, audacious, bloated level, and you've got something worth hearing at least once. Hell, he's inching toward it already: 808s ended with "Pinocchio Song", a long monologue, and then he released this Storytellers disc. And why stop there? Why not about a best-of Kanye speaks: a Having Fun With Kanye on Stage, like the famous LP that collected clips of Elvis Presley talking at, rather than singing to, his audience. A better record- albeit not a great product for those fronting the money- would have been just the monologues. But hearing them here did make me think again about that record and hardened my belief that it will ultimately sit in West's catalog as respectfully as his first three LPs. The tracks here, from 808s in particular, are well chosen- especially underrated ones like "Say You Will", "Robocop", and "Heartless"- even if the album versions are vastly better. However it may have played in the room, breaking down a song in order to ramble doesn't make for a compelling at-home listen. (A need that no doubt caused this to be released more than a year after it was recorded- they were still working 808s and Heartbreak back when this was taped.)
I understand the impulse: The people behind the album aren't looking to entertain us they're looking to create a salable product. Alas, those who pick up this record get an abbreviated, neutered version. Those at this taping presumably got their money's worth, but other than the few excised morsels that leaked after the show (a long anti-Radiohead screed and a defense of Chris Brown's attack on Rihanna), we don't know what was cut. Live, West is an entertainer and a perfectionist- a bang-for-your-buck guy. Dude should have had a highball in his hand. It's less storytelling and more golden age of entertainment-type stuff, like Sinatra or Garland holding court over an audience: Here's an anecdote, here's a joke, here are some inspirational words, here's what happens to be on my mind at this very moment. Instead, Kanye delivers monologues in the middle of songs. That would be unnecessary anyway, since his bio is already so entwined into his music. There are no long intros explaining the hidden meanings of his songs, or where his life was at the time he wrote them. If you've ever seen Kanye live, you know what sort of stories he tells. On record, it's all over in a little more than an hour. But VH1 wound up with too much of a good thing, or too much of a jaw-dropping thing: West's three-hour set had to be chopped to 90 minutes, including commercials.
He was already responsible for four (and soon to be five) of the most WTF/OMG live TV moments of the decade: crashing Justice at an awards show (Taylor Swift would come later), his "SNL" freestyle, his Grammys performance, and of course, the famed Hurricane Katrina benefit.
His latest release Possibilities is now available and he is currently producing more full projects and singles for a variety of artists.The producers of "VH1 Storytellers" must have thought they'd struck gold when Kanye West agreed to appear on the program. His music has been featured on shows airing on VH1, Hulu, Bravo, BET and more. KT has produced for artists that have gone on to land distribution deals, be nominated for Espy awards, and accrue millions of streams in over 100 countries. Growing up learning the piano in a musical household, he draws from diverse influences ranging from Outkast to Mozart. Often described as a funky blend of Timbaland and Kanye West, KT pulls from the entire musical spectrum to transform Hip Hop and R&B into a universal language. He expresses his passion through helping artists discover their artistic identities, develop a radio ready sound and earn from their music. KT specializes in creating the soundtracks for storytellers. How does a classically trained hip hop kid grow up around gospel and jazz? According to KTGotBeats, the Atlanta based music producer from Alabama, you just embrace living out of the box.