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Tuesday, November 23, 2010 | 12:17am
Quincy Jones: Kanye West is No Producer “He’s just a rapper…I don’t think about him much”
SOUND OFF: Is Kanye West this generations incarnation of Quincy Jones?
@KanyeWest @quincydjones
During a recent interview for usmagazine.com, Quincy Jones became very offended by the reporter’s suggestion that Kanye West and he were some how similar in that today’s popular artists clamor to work with them.
Us: Kanye West is similar to you in that he’s the producer everybody wants to work with in the last decade….
QJ: How man? No way. Did he write for a symphony orchestra? Does he write for a jazz orchestra? Come on, man. He’s just a rapper. There’s no comparison. I’m not putting him down or making a judgement or anything, but we come from two different sides of the planet. I spent 28 years learning my first skill. I don’t rap. It’s not the same thing. A producer has to have some sort of skills that enable him to be a producer. It’s totally different to know what to do with 16 woodwinds you know from piccolos down to bass clarinet. It’s a whole different mindset. No comparison. None.
Us: What do you think of him?
QJ: I don’t think about him much. He’s a great rapper, but there are a lot of good rappers. I just did The View with Ludacris, who’s one of my favorites. He’s a beautiful human being and college educated. I joke with him and say, ‘How did ‘Move Bitch Get Out The Way’ come out of you?’ But I was raised around the Mafia when I was a kid in Chicago in the 30s. Chicago’s rough. I’m from the streets, I know what’s up!
Ouch harsh words coming from the Godfather when you think about it. I’m sure sensitive ass Kanye is have a fit behind this news plotting his next public embarrassment. The truth however is that Quincy’s time really has set and to be quite honest Kanye IS the next incarnation of Q. Whether he cosigns it or not it was a good call by the reported despite having his head ripped off about it. There just aren’t too many symphony orchestras in hip hop music that doesn’t make the genre any less relevant but sometimes you’ve gotta chaulk it up to an old vs. new school philosophy conflict.
That of course is my thoughts. What do you think? SOUND OFF: Is Kanye to modern day Quincy Jones?
UPDATE: Q issued a “clarification” of his comments via his website/ twitter very late Monday
“I’d appreciate it if people didn’t take my comments about Kanye West ( @KanyeWest ) or anyone else for that matter out of context to contrive a story. I have nothing but respect for my little brother Kanye and what he has achieved in his young career and I look forward to watching his evolution as an artist. There is a reason why we put him on the new We Are The World 25 for Haiti – he’s a great rapper. But having been in the music business for more than 60 years and having been fortunate to accomplish what I have over that time, it’s not unreasonable to put a comparison of Kanye at this time in his career and myself into the proper perspective. This is not dissing Kanye, this is simply trying to express that I’m not a rapper! I don’t need to take anyone else’s props away from them. Let’s all just try and keep the record straight.” – Quincy D. Jones – 11/22/2010
FILED IN Editorials, News
I totally understand and believe in what Qunicy Jones said. Qunicy Jones has an illustrious, 5 decade spanning career touching on every almost genre of music. Kanye west hasn’t paid enough dues get to be mentioned in the same room as Quincy Jones.
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I was listening to Secret Garden to other day…C’MON SON!!!!!! Barry White, El DeBarge, Al B. Sure, & James Ingram produced by Quincy Jones…..Yeah I’m old!!!.
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This song should be called the five minute guide to quick panties, talk about CROOONING on an ablum. I like Kanye for what he does but he never made anything like this…. maybe, possibly in another 40 years or so…. once he gets over himself, diversifies his talent, learns to play a dozen so instruments, learns how to arrange jazz, blues, classical orchestras, sells a couple millon more records (Jones produced Thriller 120 million records sold and counting),……so on and so on….
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All and all, you can’t compare the car that just stuck its key in the ignition, to the one that broke the sound barrier, repeatedly, 20 twenty years ago…
Excellent points but I’ve gotta interject. Q. is one of the more self indulged individuals out there yet no one has ever knocked him in the same way as Kanye gets knocked. Maybe the drunken Taylor swift type disses have something to do with it however.
LOL!! Exactly it’s one thing to be self indulgent, but using your self indulgent tendencies to discredit others is called being an asshole… and noone likes an asshole, they usually stink…..
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But what if you’re a admitted asshole?
Thats like someone admitting that they are stupid and continuing to do stupid sh!t….. Thats Kanye!!!!
Q right. They’re not in the same boat. It’s like comparing Alica Keys to Beethoven. U cant do it. i feel u to Juan, Kanye is doing great things in hip-hop and even pop but can he produce for any genre of music and still make hits??
You dont even have to go that far back in time… I could have sworn at one point folks were comparing Alicia Keys to Stevie Wonder….WTF!!!
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People are just reaching for what ever they can hold on to, in order to justify our generation….and unfortunatly it frequently falls short..
I’m the biggest Kanye hater which has created a conundrum for me because his music speaks to me. I think he’s not given enough credit because he’s a penis.
I wouldn’t say Kanye’s music “speaks to me”, especially after the first album. on the first album he seemed more humble. In one line he referenced back to a point where since was doing something different people would disreguard him, I can relate.
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As far as Hip-Hop goes Dead Prez, Nas, Lupe, and certain lyrics from Jay-Z, speak to me…. In the after thought I very frequently find myself asking myself do I REALLY relate to Hip-Hop, especially being born in ’79. Hip-Hop and I are like Irish twins. But its like I matured and it blew up….
No, kanye is a poser of the highest degree. Can’t compare these two. R&B and Rap today has been dumb downed as much as the rest of our culture. He is as diposable as any of these other temporary money makers.
Unfortunately, Grandpa Q is preaching to the choir. The folks who really need to hear his message (Alicia, Kanye) are blinded by fame. Sorta like folks who give Tyler Perry a free pass because he employs a lot of black folks.
People don’t want to study music anymore. People think that music production involves sampling old records and doing beats on an 808 or Autotuner. *BUZZER*
WRONG ANSWER! Kids need to enroll in music programs in college if they really want to be “professional” musicians.
That I do agree with.
Whatever happened to speaking your mind and standing by it?! nowadays, seems like EVERYONE who makes a critical statement of someone else has to run back and “clarify” it. How bout being a Fucking man of your word?! People wouldn’t “take your words out of context to contrive a story” if you didn’t say it, dumbass! And if you said it, have the cojones to stand by it….I agree with the statements he made.