There are moments in music history in which have completely altered and revolutionized the music industry for ever. These are epic moments which sometimes aren't recognized for their significance until decades later. Moments such as:
* Bob Dylan releasing the six minute "Like a Rolling Stone" , ending the three minute song era.
* Grandmaster Flash's "Adventures on the Wheels of Steel" becoming the first rap song to ever use samples from other songs.
* Michael Jackson's "Thriller".
* NWA's "F*** the Police" becoming the first banned song from the radio and music television.
* Or even the discovery of Napster which introduced downloading; marking the end of traditional music formats as we knew them.
On Sunday, October 23rd another one of these moments took place. Kanye West premiered his Runaway film to the entire world. A 35 minute film based on the story of a phoenix; played by Selita Ebanks; who crashes into earth and is forced to learn about life on earth. The film starts with Kanye rapping and driving on a road surrounded by woods when he is suddenly hit by the phoenix that crashes right in the middle of the road causing a huge explosion. West then tries to help her assimilate to the life on earth. However the film shows how people on earth aren't accepting of anything that's different; depicting the human race as intolerable and indifferent.
The film was directed by West himself. There's not much dialogue throughout the film rather a compilation of snippets from songs off Kanye's new album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy which comes out November 22nd. The DVD of Runaway will also be included with the limited edition version of the album.
Now think about how unique, original and revolutionary a venture like this is ? No music artist in history has ever even attempted to compile a film made up of various songs from one album, telling a story the way West did has done with Runaway . Not to mention the film was played simultaneously on MTV, MTV2, and BET. Millions of viewers tuned in to watch: supporters, doubters, and casual music fans. On twitter; one of the largest networking sites; #Runaway was the number one trending topic. And oh yeah #askkanye was 3rd, #selita was 6th and #Ebanks was 7th all at the same time.
The man is a visionary. Whether you like the person he is or you despise him, you have to respect his impact and his dedication to what he loves to do. With Runaway and his new album he is raising the bar, and setting up new standards for all music artists (emphasis on artist). Soon instead of music videos for individual singles all music artists will be making films just like this one, probably better. But we must all remember a decade or two from now who was the originator, and whom to give credit to . Mr. Kanye Omari West.
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