Kanye West’s “Runaway” latest is a musically-driven, short film, which has been a hot topic online the past few days. The video premiered Saturday night on MTV and some viewers have already dissected Kanye’s artistic vision.
Narrated by Nicki Minaj, the film focuses on the ill-fated relationship between West and a phoenix that plummets from the cosmos (Selita Ebanks). Their union is torn apart after the otherworldly creature is discriminated against for her curious behavior and features.
The project is full of symbolism and imagery but some are claiming Ye snuck in symbolism of the Illuminati and devil worship.? Kanye took all the criticism in stride by joking about it on his twitter:
Watch/discuss the full (uncensored) version of Kanye’s Runaway + check out his in-depth explanation of the video:
VIDEO: Kanye West’s Runaway (Uncensored)
Kanye sat down with MTV News’ Sway for a live Q&A session that followed the film’s premiere Saturday (October 23) on MTV, he explained that he juxtaposed Jackson’s likeness with the hooded marchers to make a statement about cult mentality in today’s society.
“The hood, what it does represent to me … in relation to the Michael Jackson thing is not the KKK but the concept of cult, because it’s multiple people with this hood on,” West explained. “It’s me taking [the phoenix] to my world and saying, ‘Let me show you what my world is about.’ ”
West said he invoked the image of the late icon, whose expansive cultural reach was unparalleled, to demonstrate the energy of the pop realm.
“The greatest, biggest pop-cultural figure of all time, arguably bigger than Jesus Christ, is Michael Jackson. You have the band in front of him, marching … and you have the cult around it,” West said, before explaining the scene that precedes the procession, of a young boy in mid-sprint brandishing a flaming baton.
“If you saw the kid in the beginning, he’s running and running at top speed holding his torch, and his torch represents his thoughts and ideals. At the end, after he’s been cultivated, he has the hood on now and he’s walking extremely slow. That’s basically how people think,” West said. “It’s the way society has set people up to be able to control them, slave mentalities.”
Yeezy added that coaxing people into social conformity is an effective form of control ? assuming the followers don’t decide to break away on their own trails.
“[By] just creating this mentality by cultivating the ideals … you could just make people just stand in their own mental jails,” he said. “What happens when someone isn’t in a mental jail?” (source)
I personally think Kanye is setting a new standard for artists these days. He’s some kinda musical genius.