In 2015, Kanye West released "Only One" ft. Paul McCartney, and later that year, Kanye teamed up with the British Legend again along with Rihanna to release "FourFiveSeconds."
Despite the Beatles being the best-selling band in history as of 2009 and Paul McCartney's own success giving him a net worth of $1.2 billion, a few tweets from Kanye fans revealed that not everyone has heard of the multi-billionaire Brit.
Tweets read "Who is this Paul McCartney? He boutta blow up thanks to Kanye!!!" and "this is why I love Kanye for shining light on unknown artists" and "I don't know who Paul McCartney is, but Kanye is going to give this man a career w/ this new song!"
Now, I personally am not a fan of Kanye's music, but I know some who may put him as their favorite artist. But, to be so engrossed in one artist, I believe, is not the way to enjoy music.
Yes, I have my favorites, but I am happy to let my horizons expand. For example, I love listening to a cappella music (PTX, Home Free, VoicePlay), but I make a point of also listening to the original songs by the artists that these groups covered. This is just one way I expand my musical horizons. Another way is taking recommendations from my friends and embracing their music tastes.
As a society, many believe we have reached a point artistically where everything we do is just a mixture, an imitation, or simply a call back to the past. If this is true, then we must seek to know the musical past to better understand the musical present. The Beatles were arguably the greatest of their time and Paul McCartney was much of the musical genius behind their songs. No one should wonder who he is and everyone should understand that we have much to owe to the Beatles for their music.
Check out my cover of "Here Comes the Sun" over on my YouTube Channel!
