My head about exploded...

... when I saw this vid yesterday. Kanye West has plugged straight into the "now" trend of Asian influence in media and global style trends that is sweeping the planet.



For the video "Stronger" from he new-release Graduation, Kanyeeezy has done a shot for shot recreation of the anime classic "Akira" (any conincidence that the anime cartoon movie has been playing off the hook lately?). I flipped out just seeing it which shows my complete geekdom, but it left me wondering a bit...

Is it a hot vid because he, like many who are far more ground-level in the Hip Hop community have been facinated and long supported many imports of Asian subculture (movies, anime, street style clothing trends). As a matter of fact, Hip Hop culture found a rebirth and second home in Japan and exploded back to us where it was born with a new adaptation and twist that has spawned huge growth in streetwear and, like this video proves, entertainment mediums.

OR... Sadly...
Is it just an attempt to strike a "hot iron" and piggy back a classic with hopes of tapping into an enormous sub-culture to get some of the overlap that exsists. I mean obviously I noticed it and my background is as street/hip hop as it gets.

You can be the judges, I'll just chalk it up to a study in global street culture, which is cool in and of itself to even say that something is truly global and we're not all that diff.

--Steve G. of the YP