Kanye West's attempts to pull off being a serious artist while working part-time in a circus have failed, cold hard reality reported this weekend.
West went to the Boonaroo Festival, and found says the Examiner, a crowd in no mood for his braggadocio:
Variations of “F--k Kanye” began appearing throughout the audience on graffiti including walls, barriers and port-a-potties.
You'd think that when even the chemical toilets are singling you out, you'd take the hint.
But oh no; not Kanye.
About halfway through his set, when the song “Heartless” was being introduced, Kayne started shouting “Where the press at? F–k the press!”
Many members of the news media were in attendance for the show. But West continued with his rant. He bragged to the crowd about his strong work ethic and his commitment to music.
Kanye continued, “humbled in a way that gave him strength” because at 37, “what you see [of him] now is only the beginning.” and later added, “I am the No. 1 muthaf–kin’ rock star on the planet!”
Paul McCartney might beg to differ. Mick Jagger might beg to differ. Indeed, given Kanye's move to being a hip-hop Honey Boo Boo, even James Arthur might have a case for challenging that claim.
In the absence of other rock stars, though, it was the audience who raised the objections:
The crowd did not take that sitting down. The audience forcefully booed him and many got up and left. But the festival attendees did not leave the area, they migrated over to the UK dance band “Disclosure’s” tent before the duo’s set even began.
The raucous crowd shouted well-organized chants of “F–k Kanye!”
Bonnaroo is noted for its mellow crowd. The festival’s official slogan is “Radiate Positivity.”
That's not entirely true - after all, the last time Kanye appeared back in 2008 he got booed off the Boonaroo stage. That time, though, it was turning up six hours late and the displeasure could have been a commentary on poor time keeping. In 2014, I think we can safely assume this was a content issue.