Kanye West’s Quest for Perfection

I don't think perfection is even close to the correct word. He just does what he wants, when he wants to. That currently includes delaying an album to work on it more.

I saw about 30 minutes of a set at a festival a few years ago, mostly because I was waiting for another stage to start, and he spent 20 minutes going on a barely coherent rant about society. In the time I was watching he barely got one song out.

I definitely didn't see perfection. I saw him doing, and being able to do, whatever he wants.

> He does not entertain the derision he receives for his erratic cycles of hype and retreat, because they are part of his hyper self-conscious creative rhythm, part of his prayer ritual.

Right. He has also publicly admitted that he has bipolar disorder -- a devastating illness that causes behaviors remarkably like the ones so relentlessly romanticized in this article.

I think Kanye West is a genius. But I also think it doesn't help him or anyone else struggling with mental illness to perpetuate the myth that his symptoms are an essential part of his "process."

Artists can have incredible bargaining power when they are so unique.

There’s no backlash when he misses such a hyped up deadline because there’s no substitute for what he provides.

I think he finally alienated much of his fanbase with MAGA era antics and the massive publicity stunts preceding each new album release have been increasingly desperate since then. At least, that's when I stopped caring.

He seems like a genius but he has also stated that he is mentally ill. This article seems to mythologize the mental illness parts in a really off-putting way.