Jesus talks
Kanye West is made to look like Jesus on the new issue of Rolling Stone, with the following cover line: “The Passion of Kanye West”
You can just hear the magazine buzz!
According to the New York Daily News, the cover shot was photographed by David LaChapelle, who is known for doing controversial spreads, including a Britney Spears kiddie-porn doozy from the late 90s.
Here’s your token response from religous types, as Catholic League president Bill Donohue checks in:
“At first glance, it appears that both Kanye West and Rolling Stone are equally culpable of misappropriating Catholic iconography. But on closer inspection, it looks like Rolling Stone deserves the lion’s share of the blame.
“West is a young rapper who is hard to peg. On the one hand, he eschews gangsta rap and likes to sing lyrics like, ‘They say you can rap about anything except Jesus/That means guns, sex, lies, videotapes/But if I talk about God, my record won’t get played.’ On the other hand, he is capable of saying plainly foolish things, e.g., the government is responsible for the spread of AIDS among blacks and gays.
“If it is true that West is a morally confused black young man, it is also true that Rolling Stone is staffed by morally challenged white veterans: they are to West what white boxing agents in the 20th century were to black boxers—rip-off artists. It is not for nothing that West poses as a Christ-like figure on a magazine geared to whites. To top it off, the white readership is bound to get a kick out of knowing that the ‘The Passion of Kanye West’ is the rapper’s self-confessed passion for pornography.
“Is Rolling Stone as racist as it is anti-Catholic? Hard to say, but one thing’s for sure: it will only be offended by the former charge.”
Hold on, I’m still trying to figure out how Donohue got from point A to point B here, point B being that Rolling Stone might be racist.
By the way, I think “The Daily Show” pointed this out once, but if you pose something in the form of a question, like “Is Rolling Stone racist?” then you can get away with saying just about anything without actually being held accountable. Keep that in mind, kids.
If anything, Donohue and the Catholic League should be psyched to have music’s most popular and critically acclaimed rapper as its No. 1 Jesus cheerleader.
The magazine gave this predictable statement to the Daily News to quell the non-existent backlash caused by the cover:
“Rolling Stone covers have always been an outlet for artistic expression; we certainly do not intend to offend religious groups, or anyone else for that matter.”
I’m already bored of this story. It would be one thing if this was Marylin Manson posing as Jesus, but this is Kanye, the guy who made “Jesus Walks” and turned it into his breakout hit.
Instead, we should be focusing on quotes like this:
In his interview with the mag, the man who recorded “Jesus Walks” confesses that he suffers from an “addiction” to porn. He remembers first seeing his father’s Playboy magazine when he was 5 years old. “Right then,” West says, laughing, “it was like, ‘Houston, we have a problem.’”
Now Charles Barkley being made to look like a slave on Sports Illustrated, that was a little inappropriate, if only because we shouldn’t have to be exposed to a shirtless Barkley.
January 25th, 2006 at 2:12 pm
I believe Kanye has strong values and faith, and many good Christian men have sufferred from an addiction to pornography.
I don’t know exactly what Kanye was going for in posing as Jesus, but I personally think he’s a good honest man… flawed and imperfect as we all are.
I can’t wait to hear what Pat, Jerry, and James have to say about this… oh wait, yes I can.
January 25th, 2006 at 2:56 pm
When he says he’s addicted to porn, what he really should say is that he’s “addicted to jackin’ li’l Kanye.”
January 25th, 2006 at 3:38 pm
It is true that “asking” if someone is racist is the easiest way to accuse without taking the heat. Dan Le Batard played this card when Steve Nash won the NBA’s MVP award. Dan asked if race might have played a role in this white canadian winning what is predominantly a black sport. For his efforts, Dan got to be front page on a number of sports outlets, and get his name plastered about. His no-talent act continues to this day.
I actually think Donahue has a good point. Any “artist” appearing in a mass-media outlet like rollling stone is predominantly doing it it for the money brought about by the exposure. And the publishers of Rolling Stone are not valiantly allowing this guy a venue for expression. They are using a popular musician to sell magazines. The bottom line always rules.
I love the Britney cover. tasty!
January 25th, 2006 at 6:20 pm
Dressing up as Jesus is over the top, but Kanyne West seems like decent man. Addicted to porn? That’s normal nowadays….although Playboy to me is not considered porn.