Fame can have a long half-life — Billy Joel still regularly sells out stadiums, and he's 40 years on from his peak cultural relevancy.
There's no denying Kanye's words still have an impact, but his star is dimmer than it once was, and he knows it.
There's no denying Kanye's words still have an impact, but his star is dimmer than it once was, and he knows it.
And isn't Kanye also still popular by those metrics?
However, measuring said relevancy is a very subjective endeavor (due to the fact that it’s hard to objectively evaluate things outside of our own bubble). In my view it’s whether the artist is “talked about” and whether they are influencing the current music (and a broader culture) - that’s what makes them relevant. Kanye is still doing both of those things, so he is very relevant.
Donda (and Donda 2 to a smaller degree) was a very noticeable cultural event. Listening parties, album guests, the controversy around his romantic relationships (scandalous IG posts, etc), merchandise (tied to his big fashion releases)…
Billy Joel has none of that. Nostalgic concerts are definitely not a sign of relevancy outside of his fandom bubble.
He's definitely lost his mind but to say he's lost his cultural relevance is a stretch.