In Yeezus we trust

Franchesca Walker, Co-Arts & Features Editor

The hype centered around the musician turned designer Kanye West is endless as new stories develop about him within the hour. There’s news coverage about his every move and what he says, specifically about his project with Adidas, upcoming music and unfiltered behavior are all seen on websites such as Hypebeast and Complex Magazine, and acquiring online retailer Karmaloop. Although it’s tiring to see Kanye pop up in my newsfeed, Kanye is an example of public interest.

Complex writer Justin Charity clarifies in his story, “Why Kanye West is in this Headline,” the reason countless stories that are focused on Kanye are produced: “Music fans and random bloggers can agree that people generally enjoy hearing, watching, and reading about Kanye West.”

“A successful website publishes articles that people want to read,” Charity said.

Charity compared Kanye recently being in the spotlight to politicians who are centered in the media like Hilary Clinton and her email preference scandal: “In the past couple weeks, news websites have produced millions of words about Hillary Clinton’s mobile email preferences … Millions of readers care about these god-level politicians, so dozens of publications jockey for coverage of their every move.”

Despite countless people who don’t care about Kanye and what he is doing, the media won’t stop documenting him because there are more people clicking onto the website and viewing the stories about Kanye rather than complaining the stories should stop.

Media outlets are benefiting by producing significant amounts of content about particular artists and their projects or controversies. Kendrick Lamar’s third album, “To Pimp a Butterfly,” was accidentally released on iTunes and available for streaming on March 15. Originally the album was supposed to be for pre-order, but according to iTunes, a glitch allowed consumers to purchase the album. This sparked numerous conversations on social media sites and stories poured in within a matter of hours about the controversy and reviews for the album.

Mad Pat argued that well-known artists don’t need to be written about or care about what bloggers have to say about them in his story, “Chase Kanye Talent Not Kanye Clicks.”

“Artists like Kanye West do not need bloggers. Drake, Lil’ Wayne, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj don’t need bloggers. Nor do they care for bloggers. When music from said artists comes out, they aren’t rushing to see what us bloggers have to think,” Mad Pat wrote.

Mad Pat is wrong because popular musicians he named need writers to report about them and help market them and their products. During New York Fashion Week, numerous websites and blogs published stories about Kanye’s new fashion line with Adidas, especially about the Adidas Yeezy 750 Boost that he designed. The coverage about Kanye’s fashion line was aggrandized and his shoe were highly desirable by many consumers.

Not only do stories promote artists, it serves the people because there is a general interest for these artists. People are curious to know what their favorite musicians, celebrities or politicians are doing. These stories create promotion and anticipation for the fans.

It’s only a matter of time until another artist will saturate the media as writers want to write about them and fans are curious to read and learn more.