Kanye West is just the 2nd incarnation of P Diddy.
Non-rapper turned shit rapper, now obsessed with being eternally and finely-dressed in the public eye and having everyone agree that he is as great as he thinks he is.
Wanker.
Yeah, but Kanye has more artistic credibility than Diddy ever did, which makes his stupid creative choices (those Macho Man glasses, sampling Daft Punk track from back in 2001 when Swizz Beats flipped new DP better and first, shitty synths, and a generally silly attempt at THE FUTURE which offers absolutely nothing new, interesting or original) that much more glaring. Diddy always got by on his promotional skills, to the point where he was reflexive about it.
This album is at its best mediocre, and at times shockingly bad. Although I think his rapping is clumsy, it can be charming -- the real crime here is the production, like no one was willing to tell Kanye when his shit stunk. Neither single is doing very well (I've heard "Can't Tell Me Nothing" all of two times on CHICAGO radio, and NEVER "Stronger" except in the background of a commercial for his live concert). Even though we'll probably have to suffer a bunch of apologist reviews, someone's going to point out that the emperor's got no clothes when this album tanks.