Kanye West Back in the Studio, Inspired by "True Poets"

In his first blog post of the new decade, Kanye West revealed he's back in the studio working on new music. West also expressed a desire to avoid the usual career trajectory of a hip-hop star, writing, "It's funny how so many rappers get worse as their careers stretch out but true poets get better. We will follow in the footsteps of Maya Angelou, Gill Scott Herron [sic] and Nina Simone. Their work improved with time."

Behind the scenes with Kanye West: shots from his Glow in the Dark tour.

Last year was a shaky one for West, and he spent more time making headlines than actual music. The highlight, or lowlight, came when he infamously rushed the stage at the 2009 MTV VMAs to interrupt Taylor Swift's acceptance speech. The aftermath of that stunt possibly led to the cancellation of West's Fame Kills tour with Lady Gaga. With all the negative press last year, West writes that he hopes his art is remembered for "accurately representing what is happening now" in culture. "Let us look past headlines and deal with just a bit of reality in this new decade. We have our own outlets now. We don't have to believe everything anymore," West writes.

For West's full blog post — presented lower cased and spell checked courtesy of RS — keep reading:

First of all, I want to thank everybody for their constant love and support over these past 6 years! I'm so happy to be back in the studio making new music. I will bring you the best I have to offer with the same dedication that Kobe has on the court. It's funny how so many rappers get worse as their careers stretch out but true poets get better. We will follow in the footsteps of Maya Angelou, Gil Scott-Heron and Nina Simone. Their work improved with time. They documented what was happening in culture. That is our responsibility as the modern day artists and poets, to accurately represent what is happening now, so when the powers that be try to rewrite history you can always look at our works and find truth and sincerity in a world of processed information. Let us soak in positive forces and look down on upon those who masquerade as truth tellers and objective fact givers when in reality everything that is projected has an agenda of brainwashing us, the "consumer", the public, to believe what they want us to. Let us look past headlines and deal with just a bit of reality in this new decade. We have our own outlets now. We don't have to believe everything anymore. Now I'll figure out a way to make that rhyme LOL!

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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