Ethan Long
Journal Staff

“First rule in this world, baby? Don’t believe anything you see in the news.” This is the return of Kanye West, two years after his last album, 808s and Heartbreak (2008, Roc-A-Fella Records), and one year after his disappearance due to the “Taylor Swift controversy.”  Kanye has returned to the spotlight, releasing My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010, Roc-A-Fella Records), which will drop into stores on Nov. 22. In lieu of his fifth album release, Kanye has released a 35-minute music video for the single “Runaway.” This video is not only a sample of what’s to come, but an homage to some of the greatest artists of all time. In fact, the first few seconds of the video, as Kanye runs down the road, comes from Mozart’s final unfinished piece, Requiem.

Debuting Oct. 23 on MTV, as well as West’s official website, the video features Kanye’s relationship with a sexy human-phoenix hybrid who had fallen from the sky to the Earth below. Opening narration by Nikki Minaj is followed by scenes of Kanye, in a top notch vehicle, as music blasts. At first, Kanye’s raps reflect on his past, including commenting on his own flow style as well as his roots in Chicago. Then, the phoenix falls on top of Kanye’s car. Of course, an epic scene follows, with West carrying the bird woman away from a huge explosion.

Kanye seems as egotistical as ever; an entire scene even exists of him performing for the bird-lady alone in a room. He jumps up and down as his fingers produce the beat used for “Power” on a single synthesize pad. It seems like he’s showing off, but then again, this is scripted and everyone’s a character.

The video has many underlying themes, most prominent of which is the idea of self-sabotage. In fact, the entire song “Runaway” is either an egotistical attempt at clearing his own ego, or just an apology to all those he’s hurt over the years through self-sabotage. Is the entire film a metaphor for what Kanye feels in his personal and professional life?

During the next sequence, a child runs with a red flare, followed by members of a marching band surrounded by figures in red, KKK-like robes. In the middle of the parade is a papier-mâché bust of Michael Jackson. I believe Kanye is signifying that those in red aren’t of any race, but the members of the American press and public, who had attacked Jackson during the last decade of his life. One could possibly say that the same members of the media also harass West at every chance they get.

Then, cut to the centerpiece. In the most minimalistic use of industrialization, we find a dinner party smack dab in the middle of an abandoned aircraft hangar. Only African Americans are sitting at the table, as Caucasians serve and entertain them. The entire scene calls back to Vanessa Beecroft’s piece, Last Supper. The Italian performance artist placed twenty African immigrants at a table and put suits on them while still dirty. They ate bird for three hours. Kanye’s vision for this scene, as revealed after the “Runaway” performance, was directly influenced by her work.

After people judgmentally stare at Kanye’s lady, he decides to call out a ballet troupe to dance to the title song, “Runaway”. The very European group portrays the beauty of the female figure, as their legs twist, their hips move, and their upper bodies flex. At the other side of the spectrum of dancing in rap videos, this sexual yet non-obscene use of dance is poetry. However, some of the dance moves are unorthodox in the traditional ballet world, giving the feeling that breaking the rules of the art is art in itself.

In fact, Kanye breaks another convention of recent music trends. As Sufjan Stevens did in his latest album, The Age of Adz (2010, Asthmatic Kitty), Kanye uses auto-tune not as a gimmick, but as an instrument itself, adding harmonies to the background music as a lead solo. You vaguely hear him talking, but he isn’t annunciating his words, instead trying to be as sloppy as possible in order to create a smooth effect.

When dinner is served, the Phoenix cries out in horror as the main dish, turkey, is placed right in front of her. Kanye, assuming he was the host of the party, once again has messed up. As she screams, Kanye looks down loathing his decision. After one more passionate night together, including a scene of interspecies erotica, she leaves. The goddess-like Phoenix lights into flames and flies away. Kanye chases after her.

This is when the video ends. The relationship ends. One should feel bad for Kanye, because we all make mistakes. We all do things subconsciously that ruins the relationships we have in life. Sometimes there’s just no way to learn better. As the civil rights poet Amiri Baraka asks in a sample at the end of the video, “Who will survive in America?” The answer may never be revealed, but one thing that can come out of this video is that Kanye has survived America, and the artist won’t let nobody hold him down.