Kanye West Uses ‘Beep Sounds’ and Not Words to Connect With Friends
Since his transformation into a born-again Christian, Kanye West seems intent on changing everything about himself, and the world around him. His music has evolved, his style is shifting to fit his new ideas, and he’s even creating a brand-new sense of community with his Sunday services, and on his new ranch in Cody, Wyoming. The billionaire rapper is a dominating force. He’s more than capable of shaping the world and the way others think. And as he recently revealed, West even wants to change the way we communicate.
Kanye West considers words to be the ‘lowest form of communication’
As an artist, West knows there are many ways to transmit an idea. Music, body language, and symbols are all effective ways to communicate, even though our first instinct is usually to use spoken language. According to West, however, words should be our last choice.
“I think words are one of the lowest forms of communication,” he told GQ. “Music, sound, food, dancing are all nonverbal forms of communication. We get so wrapped up into words. We got to make things speechless. We have to make things to the level where no one can say anything.”
This may sound like a crazy idea, but West is already practicing communication without words in his everyday life. Instead, he’s using his music, clothing, and even architectural choices to communicate ideas. And then there are other, less traditional methods, like beeping and swapping memories, which West is experimenting with, as well.
Kanye West uses alternative forms of communication
West envisions a world where ideas are communicated in other ways, and he’s starting that transition already with the way he interacts with those around him.
“The greatest freedom is to challenge the vernacular,” West said, before explaining an example of how he’s making that change in his own communication. When he came across Matt Williams, an Alyx designer, in a hotel lobby, it gave West the perfect opportunity to create an alternative exchange.
“Right when I saw him, I started communicating in, like, beep sounds,” he said, likening the discussion to the beginning of a Bobby Digital song. It’s unclear whether Williams understood the beeps, but when asked if he beeped back, West said their conversation transitioned into yet another form of communication.
“We hugged and started using memories to attempt to communicate the future,” he said. Unfortunately, West doesn’t remember what their conversation actually entailed. Instead, he just remembers “the way that it felt.”
Kanye West is creating ‘a paradigm shift for humanity’
In the last couple of years, West has certainly surprised the public with a number of interesting ideas. His concept of communication is only a small part of the changes that he wants to see take place in the world. Currently, West shares his ideas during his weekly Sunday services, but he’s working on another option as well.
Last year, West purchased nearly 4,000 acres just outside Cody, Wyoming. He’s been busy converting the property into an area where he, and many of his followers, can live out the ideals that West proclaims. In the GQ interview, he refers to the ranch as “Yeezy campus,” and a place where people can focus on creating “a paradigm shift for humanity.”
In order to bring his ideas into reality, West has recruited several celebrity architects to help design the ranch’s buildings and structure, including legendary light-and-space artist James Turrell, Belgian designer Axel Vervoordt, and Italian architect Claudio Silvestrin. Together, West says they are focused on developing a “new architectural language” for the ranch.
This appears to be another non-verbal way that he’s communicating his ideas with the world. It may be hard for some of us to understand, but West appears to have a clear idea of what he’s trying to accomplish, and he’s very focused on making that a reality. The rest of us will just have to wait to see how West’s ideas unfold.
