It might be a stretch to compare the Grammy winning musician Beck to the 99%. He’s worth $25 million. But compared to Kanye West ($130M), Taylor Swift ($200M) and Beyoncé ($450M), Beck is the 99% among Grammy award winners. Beck’s album Morning Phase sold just 300,000 copies in the US. Beyoncé’s self-titled release Beyoncé sold 5 million copies worldwide. Is “artistry” equal to sales in Kanye West’s opinion?
Must be. Kanye’s rationale for protesting Beck beating Beyoncé for Album of the Year at the GRAMMYs must be based on the belief that whoever sells the most albums should win. Kanye says it’s about “artistry.” As @DrewsThatDude tweeted the day after the GRAMMYs: “Kanye West told a n*%ga who plays like 14 instruments that he needs to respect the artistry of a woman who needs 4 writers for one song.” It’s been retweeted 48,000 times, but to put its popularity in perspective, Kanye’s “happy birthday” tweet to his wife was retweeted 55,000 times. What’s her name again?
