BY CHEMELLE RICE
A petition that started with nearly 9,000 signatures to prevent egoistic rapper Kanye West from performing at the Glastonbury Festival has grown to 90,000. The petition was set up by Neil Londsdale, a 31 year old Norfolk lad. It’s aim is to cancel plans for Kanye West headline’s slot mainly because his music according to Neil does not represent the essence of the festival. The petition describes Kanye West as egoistical, maniacal, and a disgrace, and has called for the American rapper to be replaced at the festival which runs from the 24th of June to the 28th of June Mr. Londsdale in an interview to the BBC said ”West is an insult to music fans all over the world. We spend hundreds of pounds to attend Glasto, and by doing so expect a certain level of entertainment.
The controversial rapper who incensed lots of viewers at last months Brits Awards when his debut song which contained 45 instances of the N word, is despised by many of the 135,000 people who have already paid a staggering £225 for the event long before the acts were announced.
Kanye West’s feature at the Brits received over 126 complaints to ITV from viewers , and there are many who would rather not have him display his backward and ignorant style in an event normally headlined by leveled headed guitar artists. It is fair to say that the controversial artist is not popular in some circles and certainly needs to clean his act up. A glastonbury organiser defended their decision to feature West . Eavis wrote in an article for the Guardian that ” saying ” the story should not be why is Kanye coming, but how amazing is it that Kanye is coming? One of the world’s biggest superstars, a music legend, always interesting , never boring”.
Oh, get a grip mate, he is not wanted, period! Listen to the paying fans of the festival. The annual festival has in past times been headlined by none rock music stars like Beyonce, Stevie wonder, the prodigy, to name a few, as pointed out by Emily Eavis, but Kanye West does not possess the class of any of the aforementioned real superstars. We need to move from being awed by accomplished artists of individuals to truly crediting and appreciating those who have the full package. The rapper’s talent and ability is undeniable, but he certainly does not do very well in the area of having boundaries. It is unlikely the petition will eventually be granted by the organisers who are more likely not going to want to sacrifice the opportunity to take photos with the artist whose fame might slowly be dwindling into notoriety. One thing that is clear is that if an entertainer is imposed upon paying fans, it shows the organisers are more concerned about their pockets than they are about the quality of the event. At the moment, only four people have asked for their money back mainly because most other fans will not want to miss out on the festival just because of Kanye West. Don’t be surprised though if the number of those wanting their money back increases as the event draws nearer.
