Voice of a Generation?

Kanye West is starting to refer to himself as the Voice of a Generation. At first look I'm sure a lot of critics would scoff at the remark and immediately write him off as just "being Kanye." But realistically, from his first album to his most recent, I believe Kanye has in some way defined and influenced the Gen Y College generation. How many casual and hardcore fanatics quote his lyrics and imitate his style? Damn near everyone. Bravo Kanye! Maybe you are history in the making.

Voice of a Generation
"The reason why I feel I had to give a little introductory speech before you heard the album is because this is not hip-hop music," he says. "Taking a sample, looping it and doing all that 'throw your hands up in the sky' thing has become such a cliche. Hip-hop is over for me. I sing, not rap, on this album. I now want to be grouped among those musicians you see in those old black-and-white photos - the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles. And I'm not going to get there by doing just another rap album full of samples.

"I've had to create a whole new musical genre to describe what I'm doing now and I'm calling it 'pop-art' - which is not to be confused with the visual art movement. I realise that my place and position in history is that I will go down as the voice of a generation."

Popularity
He disdains what he calls the snobbery of people who think if something is popular "then it's necessarily bullshit".

"Look at all those indie guitar bands who look down on pop music. My question to them is: "Do you not want a song of yours to explode and be heard by everyone?'

"Look at Britney Spears and how people talk about her. If you don't like Britney Spears, then you're just wrong."
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald