"Inspiration is free"

Tyler The Creator

The man above needs no introduction but for those who live under boulders this is Tyler the Creator. Tyler is one of my favorite artists and musicians of all time. This man makes phenomenal music, clothes, video concepts, etc. It seems like he's evolved with every single release since his debut mixtape Bastard in 2009. He has built a cult following that has been intact almost as long as he's been out. And with that you have people who copy everything he does. Everything from style to design, people are biting from him. Don't get it twisted, this isn't a blog about me defending one my favorite artists and saying that everyone should stop biting him. I want to talk about the concept of originality in fandom.

As I sit in my bed bobbing my head to Grace Jones, I think about who and what inspired me growing up. The immediate person that comes to mind is Kanye West. I used to be a HUGE fan of Kanye back in high school. In my mind he could do no wrong and his creative genius trumped everything else. I would have tendencies in forming parts of my personality in and outside of art around Kanye. Now don't be crazy, I wasn't being an asshole for no reason and mimicking his actions... that's crazy. However, I felt like I was "different" for liking Kanye and loving his art. I felt like because I could recognize his genius (along with millions of other people) I was kind of like him in a sense? I had some idea of proximity based on appreciation. It wasn't until I watched an interview he was on in 2013 with the Breakfast Club. That interview had just come out that morning and I was ready to listen the minute I got out of school. The interview had the typical Kanye and Charlamagne banter until Kanye said something that really got my attention. Aight let me look up the exact quote. I'm not paraphrasing on a written blog. Kanye said the following "Bernard Arnault doesn't understand why he needs to take a meeting with me. Ok you don't understand why you need to take a meeting with Kanye West? Imma show you why you need to take a meeting with Kanye West. Everybody in Atlanta at the Louis Vuitton store if you black don't go to the Louis Vuitton today. That's why you need to take a meeting with Kanye West." Those words did not hit my ear right. He said that because the head of Louis Vuitton didn't feel compelled to meet with him, he felt emboldened to galvanize his fanbase to brandish his power. I felt like loving Kanye made me more of myself until he said those words. I immediately realized that I was lowkey just following a guy and forming parts of my artistic expression around what he already created. That then and now is not originality to me. I don't see a world where you can claim to be yourself when who you are is heavily influenced by a handful of people who're already doing that thing. To add insult to injury I wasn't the only one. There are literally millions of Kanye fans that are doing the same thing I was doing. Can you imagine thinking you're being yourself when the man you copy is extremely popular? Shit is insane. There were millions of others like me. And whenever you did try to separate yourself, it was by proving that you like Kanye more than another person. Now I have to make this clear before I move on. I was never one of the fans who said "Dad?" In the instagram comment section. That shit's always been crazy to me. Honestly it isn't a conversation about originality as much as not being a weirdo about the celebs you like. But seriously, I do see this in a lot of consumers today who are in creative spaces. I don't want to come off like I have all the answers, I just feel like it's pretty obvious that basing who you are on another person is pretty objectively unsustainable in life.

Kanye West

As I sit in my bed, now listening to Lana Del Rey, I am thinking about what inspires me today. I'm gonna skip over the process of "finding yourself" because it's corny and it's a different journey for everyone. Also, I want to distance myself from the idea that I have everything figured out and that the people that read this don't have their shit together. I think it's important to be inspired by the world around you rather than the work of other people. I'll never say being inspired is corny, but it depends on what. If you're inspired by the world it allows you to expand your interests. There's more to build off of to create your own vision. Like the idea of having your own creative vision sounds amazing! And I'm not talking about your ability to profit off of it. Just creating a niche and loving it because it's yours is way more powerful than connecting yourself to someone else's vision. That shit is wack. I'm not saying don't be a fan of people. I love Tyler and Blood Orange so much, but I can't allow the success of others to interfere with how I choose to dress, speak, and create. And I'm not getting ahead of myself by stating that. Do you see these white kids listening to Hip-Hop? Hip-Hop has these kids acting like something they fundamentally aren't and couldn't honestly begin to understand. Anyway, stop being a fucking weirdo and go listen to Wu-Tang Clan while making a PB&J.