- Introduction; why did I choose this performance?
- Kanye is my all time favourite artist and this track closes out my favourite album of his. It’s rare he performs in a television setting, let alone on British television, so this makes the performance quite unique. We also have funk icon Charlie Wilson assisting with vocals and legendary producer Mike Dean on keys, as if there wasn’t already enough talent on that stage.
- Venue/Types of audience; does it suit the style/genre? Is the audience in person or online? How does the audience react?
- Performed at Later… with Jools Holland; a TV show giving a platform to many different musical acts from a variety of genres – for context this episode also included Kings of Leon and a 16 y/o Lorde before she took off with “Royals”.
- There isn’t necessarily a typical Later… with Jools Holland guest per se but more often than not they are pop/rock, indie, or RnB – a far cry from Kanye’s music at the time, his latest release being an experimental hip-hop album centred on the story of a wannabe godlike character named Yeezus, loosely based on Kanye himself.
- Filmed in front of a live audience in the relatively intimate setting of a television studio.
- Before the performance, when Kanye was introduced there was a good cheer, during the performance the audience either were not vocal or any noise from them was not included in the final edit, after the performance the audience gave a sizable cheer/round of applause.
- Communication; what verbal, physical, and musical communication is happening?
- There is no direct verbal dialogue between the artist and the audience here, but the lack of direct verbal dialogue says more than any words could. I would argue it was a choice made by Kanye to reflect the character he’s portraying in Yeezus – this egotistical, larger than life figure who (on the surface) doesn’t care for anyone else. If this performance feels impersonal, it’s because it was meant to, it makes sense for this figure to be rude.
- Similar to this would be musical communication, as there is next to no communication between artists on stage. The only real acknowledgement of any other performer is indirectly when Kanye changes his lyrics from “Jerome’s in the house” to “Uncle Charlie’s in the house” – fun fact: this nickname was bestowed upon Wilson by Snoop Dogg.
- As for physical communication, I will talk a bit more later on Kanye’s general stage presence but right now I want to highlight one point when Kanye steps away from the microphone and assumes the crucifix position. Symbolic for someone who you could say was crucified in the wake of his interruption of Taylor Swift at the 2009 VMAS, but far more symbolic when you consider the figure he is performing as – Yeezus. Quite clearly a reference to Jesus himself who was obviously crucified.
- Stage presence; consider image, stage presence and awareness, use of space, lighting, staging.
- Kanye and Charlie are dressed in dark clothing but Kanye catches the eye with a hefty gold chain, bedazzled grill, and his large slouchy jacket hanging off him, matching his egotistical persona.
- Kanye bounces along to the rhythm and uses large movements, all to make himself look bigger and bolder, he wants to be the centre of attention when he’s on the mic. Both him and Charlie groove to the song, taking the metaphorical spotlight when it’s their turn to go.
- Considering they had a good chunk of floorspace to move around in, the performance was quite contained with the largest movement being Kanye stepping back a few feet away from the microphone.
- Lighting is minimal, dark, and focused on the artists – reminiscent of Yeezus, the album that this track comes from. It was an exercise in how to make the most out of very little; songs were often sparse and empty, yet full of emotion and musical skill, these sentiments are reflected in this performance.
- Musical competency; how well do the artists perform? Consider circumstances, instrumentation, dynamics, etc.
- Artists on stage are all well accomplished, Mike Dean is a legendary producer, Charlie Wilson is a funk phenomenon, and Kanye is Kanye.
- This song plays around with dynamics and texture very well, a lot of variety in every section of the song, taking out instruments and reintroducing them again later, starting the song off with only vocals and a minute later a verse with every track running loud simultaneously, etc.
- Kanye started the track censoring himself but later on seemed to get caught up and often ended up cursing anyway, I don’t imagine this was his intention.
- Was this a successful performance?
- This performance went by with no technical errors and no real hiccups on the part of the musicians, meaning the viewer could focus on all the positives.
- After the song concluded, the artists were met with raucous applause, indicating a great amount of enjoyment on the viewers’ behalves. In the comments sections under anywhere this recording is found, viewers rave about the song, the performance, and of course Kanye.
- It was plain to see that the performers had a good time; Kanye smiled several times, the two at the back could be seen moving with the music, clearly feeling it, and the same can be said for Wilson at the front.
Attached above is the recording of myself presenting these slides in what became something akin to an unrehearsed TEDx talk – give me an opportunity to analyse Kanye and his work and you will not be left searching for depth.
- What was good?
- In the presentation I believe I talked with confidence, clarity, and most certainly with length.
- It was a highly detailed affair and the audience weren’t left wanting when it came to information.
- I made a dedicated effort to make my presentation look as smooth as possible with a slick appearance to it.
- What could be improved?
- With a great amount of depth comes a great amount of speaking to convey it. The speaking section of the presentation took a strong thirteen minutes, whilst I enjoyed the chance to go on and on about Kanye’s brilliance, the audience seemed to be half asleep by the end.
- I stuttered quite a few times and fell over myself.
- Was it clear what was presented?
- I believe so. I made a point to clarify what I was talking about and explain why it makes an impactful performance.
- Was the detail sufficient?
- Almost too sufficient, if anything. I could’ve done with brevity in certain circumstances, so the audience aren’t too bored at the end of my presentation.