Kanye West performs at the Hot 97 Summer Jam 2007. It was recently announced that the rapper canceled his Nov. 8 Columbus tour date. Credit: Courtesy of MCT
This is part of a weekly series called “Pop Opinions” where The Lantern offers its take on the week’s pop culture news.
Kanyes not coming home again
It’s hard to feel bad for an egotistical, multi-millionaire rapper who is married to one of the most beautiful women on the planet and just welcomed his first child into the world, but Kanye West does seem to have run into some foul luck lately.
Kanye’s tour promoting his latest album “Yeezus” has been plagued with misfortune. According to Kanye’s official website, several tour dates, including Friday’s Columbus show at Nationwide Arena, have been canceled due to “routing logistics.”
The “Yeezus” tour rescheduled stops in Toronto, Detroit and Kanye’s hometown of Chicago. The official reason given for these postponements is the destruction of a 60-foot LED screen used in the “Yeezus” show during a car accident with one of the tour’s trucks.
As a longtime Kanye fan, my advice to the rapper is this: For once in your life, don’t let your ego get in the way of your talent. The fans don’t care about elaborate stage shows and massive silver screens. We just want to see one of this generation’s most creative artists go out there and perform the music we all love.
Here’s to hoping Kanye takes responsibility and makes amends with the fans who were hoping to see him. If not, then you can be sure this listener won’t be buying when “Yeezus II” drops.
Nationwide Arena is refunding tickets through original point of purchase.
A long time ago in a galaxy across the Atlantic
Rolling Stone is reporting the producers of the new “Star Wars” sequel are holding open casting in the United Kingdom and Ireland in order to find their two leads for the film. The roles apparently call for a young man and a teenage girl.
While I admire the attempt to promote newcomers by holding the open casting, I feel as if casting more established actors would be a better way to create buzz for the new film in the franchise. Furthermore, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher’s performances in the original trilogy probably wouldn’t have done it for me if they had delivered all their lines in thick British accents.
I’m open to the idea of bringing fresh talent into the franchise, however. Whatever no-names Disney brings in to play the lead roles in the sequel, they can’t possible be as bad as Hayden Christensen stammering his way through the prequels.
The gang keeps growing
And speaking of role casting in major movie franchises, Marvel’s sequel to the “The Avengers,” entitled “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” has reeled in some more cast members.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, star of “Kick-Ass” and “Savages,” has signed on to play Quicksilver, and Elizabeth Olsen of “Red Lights” and “Liberal Arts” fame is set to play Scarlet Witch. These two signings, along with Robert Redford signing on to play Alexander Pierce in the new “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” have added significantly to the already impressive cast list of the “Avengers” movie universe.
I for one love that being in superhero movies has officially become the “cool” thing to do in Hollywood, and I’m hoping to see some more huge signings before production of the “Avengers” sequel begins. Ellen Page as the Wasp maybe?
