Joyeur

In the media blitz leading up to the release of “Graduate”, Kanye West has been out talking to, well, the media. I saw this AP interview where Mr. West made the following claim:

My biggest inspiration and biggest competition is Justin Timberlake[.] He’s the only other person that gets an across-the-board response and respect level — black radio, white radio.

I am a fan of Mr. West’s craft. Late Registration (produced by the superlative Jon Brion) deserves careful listening both on a lyrical and musical level. But back to his praise for Mr. Timberlake, from the interview:

We push each other. I look at me and Justin like Prince and Michael Jackson in their day.

By order, I suppose Mr. West believes he’s Prince, and Justin Mr. Jackson. Nice (back-handed, not subtle, street fighting).

If Justin hadn’t come out and killed the game, I can’t say that my album, singles and videos would be on the same level that they’re on[.]

My question: who is your Justin Timberlake? I assume you have the craft. We ask ourselves this question all the time. Not because we need to travel the path of “Sexyback 2.0”. It’s not an examen for replication. It’s an examen so that we can say we “killed the game”.