from stems to players

don’t know if you’ll find validity in these comparisons, but let me lay out this jumble of thoughts. i’m just typing. kanye is one of the more controversial creatives around. with an uncanny skill for turning attention back to him at any moments notice. crypto is another controversial being. promises of decentralized environments and a rebuilding of the financial system. with buzzwords like NFTs and new paradigms like web3 attached to everything, there is noise all around. but where’s the link. why am I bringing kanye into this? for one, i think new images can help to contextualize the adoption cycles of crypto. comparing these paths can humanize certain narratives. or maybe this piece just points to how everything in this life is more interconnected than we think. this article is a rough outline of the dynamics and consequences of attention; zoomed into kanye and crypto. 

attention strikes

ye (aka kanye) has continually been in the spotlight for the past decade. questioning certain norms through all sorts of endeavors. i’ll include references to some notable moments of the last years. without getting into good or bad judgments, it's clear that he knows how to be independent but his intensity and framing of thoughts can be taken as harmful to certain communities.

from running for president and leading a sunday service with 50,000 people to opening the yeezy christian academy and most recently stirring up controversy over his yeezy season nine fashion show and white lives matter shirt appearance. 

similarities can also be found in the perception of crypto; which has it’s own place in the spotlight. for better or for worse, new narratives are constantly spun up around this space. strictly from it’s existence, generally misguided themes are latched onto, but that doesn’t outlast the positive images that also break through.

you still hear strong arguments for cryptocurrencies like bitcoin being digital gold along with hopes that this emerging technology will bring banking to the unbanked through decentralized finance. but cryptocurrency has also been attacked for it's trickle down environmental issues even though the sky is not falling. things like NFTs have become something people love to hate; with fake protests like this showing the craziness of it all. 

attention is just second-nature. 

the soil 

we’ve seen crypto as a natural vessel for independent thought and creativity. something that cannot be understated. reminding us of how much power lies within centralized systems and bringing reflection to how things could be different. by presenting almost utopian ideals at times, change will always bring controversy.

sometimes i even view crypto outside the scope of a technology. not a religion or a philosophy either. almost a third more mysterious thing, and yes, i hate myself for saying that. but it gives a starting point for new thought. once captivated, you’re given you a new lens for nearly everything.

this is in part why i wanted to get these thoughts off. there are so many conflicting feelings surrounding ye’s presence in culture. some of these reactions are just, but these points of attention just mimic what i've seen with the growth of crypto. similar reactions to newness of thought. 

earlier this year, a kanye west documentary dropped on netflix called jeen-yuhs. it followed ye from his early years, and it was widely inspiring to see so many of those early stage ideas come into fruition. he was building in public and doing everything his way. 

what stemmed from this was even more interesting. a meme around creativity. everyone was "feeling like kanye". people on twitter were even poking fun at the number of creatives who would try to follow in his footsteps after watching the series. inspiration was in the air. just searching the words "kanye doc feeling" on twitter brings a series of tweets like this one. seeing his life from birds-eye gave way to a new perspective and provided a starting point for other creatives. an example of how compounded attention converts into a clearer understanding of something over time. the release of this documentary seemed to make many finally understand who ye truly was; only for other moments of controversy to immediately wash away that feeling. will stop on this point here, but this seems like the perfect spot to link reggie james' related piece on ye's repeated redemptive arc. 

stunted growth

like mentioned, this writing is not meant to convince you of anything about how to feel about kayne or about crypto. these thoughts are more-so meant to draw references from two beings that have journeys full of mirrors. and for every shadow, there is a light. it's fascinating to me how beacons of attention are received by society. 

notice that once attention comes to something original, repetition precedes. in the words fo greg isenburg, we live in the “fast-foodification” phase of everything. annoying as a creator but maybe the truest test of resonance there is. reminds me of growing up and complaining to my mom that my little brother was copying the way i dressed. remember, imitation is the highest form of flattery, i heard echoing back. the human nature to remix something continues to shine through; happening with the greatest of innovations to the most mundane daily routines. 

i'll be brief with these points but wanted to mention how natural magnets of attention are always copied. with this replication, comes dilution of the original ideals and designs. 

for kanye, we could point to tons of examples, but let’s talk about the recent yeezy brand controversy with gap and adidas. in short, shoe designs were created by kanye, and then replicated by adidas outside of his yeezy umbrella and without his consent. 

for crypto, the examples are widespread as well. the general ethos aligned with decentralization and individual power, but countless projects feasting from these frameworks; creating a list of cash grabs and uninspired work. beating the pulp from buzzwords until no one knows what we're even doing here. 

in many cases, scale kills meaning. the essence of something is effectively removed. and let’s be real: most people have no idea how to think for themselves. by the time many innovations meet the masses, the soul has been lost. they only interact with a shell of the original concept or idea.

but that’s why we need raw and unfiltered beings. to create moments that are a continual delineation between the state of comfort and newness. not always about replacing your mindset, but about extending the human capacity to create and amplify knowledge. making you question why you care about something. controversial figures can turn attention back to themselves at any given moment, but the masses often miss the bigger picture of points they try to articulate. 

this quote above could be the premise for an entirely different essay, but I wanted to throw it out there to hopefully make the point of why things that can harness attention are so important today. but still, stirring high-arousal emotions is a dangerous game to play. 

some sort of ending 

kanye is completely his own person. he knows how to inspire people and turn people against him. crypto is a free system. it knows how to inspire people and turn people against it. flat points, but the idea of re-imagining something is consistent across both fronts. provocative ideals sometimes create an entry point for creativity, and without them, we would have quite an empty representation of both the future and the past.

maybe one conclusion to come to is that we can’t be afraid to think differently. everything is cyclical. before anything is re-imagined, people will try to distract, discredit, dismiss, and destroy it. 

what kanye has shown in his performances, crypto holds in it's essence. you just cannot bet on vehicles of attention to disappear. but for better or for worse, being provocative is not the same as moving forward. ye has fallen into a loop of attaching to many different symbols and changing form with each. where does crypto go? what symbols do we need to attach to? the search for resonance continues. 

the upmost thanks to those who choose to give me some of your attention. with something as valuable as spending time, unsubscribing will always be understandable. these writings will continue to come on a weekly consistency. much love and appreciate the opportunity!