Kanye West has released the official version of his video, “Black Skinhead.” A couple of weeks ago, scenes from the video leaked online. An infuriated West took to Twitter, urging people to take it down and be patient for the official release. “Black Skinhead” is the second single from West’s sixth studio album, “Yeezus.” According to rollingstone.com:
“The interactive animated video, directed by Nick Knight and streaming on the rapper’s website, allows users to play with the speed of the images and sound, and to capture still images of an animated avatar of West as he moves and twists in digital shadows.”
Of course, the execution of the video is as irreverent as West’s persona. The imagery is already unique in its own right, but so are other aspects of his newest endeavor. As reported by entertainment.time.com:
“The interactive animated video…replaces the computer’s cursor with a hand with an outstretched middle finger and allows viewers to speed up and slow down the video using the keyboard’s +/- buttons. The video was created as a fully interactive experience meant to appeal to internet users and has a fully integrated system to capture images from the video, which West hopes will lead to a proliferation of images from the video via social networks.”
The video currently is only on Kanye’s website. And while the interactive thing may get old after awhile, the visuals definitely match the track. According to guardian.uk.co:
“As this video is streamed exclusively from West’s website, it renders the viewer unable to fast-forward or trace backwards: Black Skinhead demands your attention, and so it should. Even if it may have a deeper meaning, to do with the “secondary experience of the traditional music video” (as stated on his website), the video alone is a startling vision of West’s most ferocious track.”
Things haven’t been so quiet for West lately. The “Yeezus” rapper has been at the center of controversy over the past week or so. With multiple run-ins with the paparazzi—one that may lead to assault charges—he was linked again this week to Taylor Swift as an audiotape surfaced of their 2009 MTV Awards incident. Hopefully, Kanye can get back to being a great artist and creating art, or even just being a dad to his new daughter with fiancé, Kim Kardashian.
