Pop Culture Death Match? Steven Colbert Takes on Kanye West

A year ago, on the heals of his release, ‘Graduation’, Kanye West stood relatively silent on a 50 Cent confrontation. However, it appears he could not resist the bait of an even more savvier pop culture icon: Steven Colbert. Political ‘funny man’ Colbert recently quipped about his poor iTunes chart position, then leveled the blame on the draw of Kanye West’s latest effort, 808s & Heartbreak. The following is a video history of the battle that just may prove more than Kanye West can handle. (Notice Colbert’s emphasis of Kanye West’s questionable statement: that “He’s the voice of the generation of this decade“… priceless.

Note to Kanye West: You should’ve taken the joke in stride. As unique, introspective, and utterly smart pop culture goes, you and Steve Colbert are actually on the same side. Colbert makes jokes at the expense of public figures (typically icons), that’s what he does; it’s nothing personal. So he ribbed you for your fashion sense and mocked your latest musical output. Big deal. You’ve been gettin’ the fashion knocks for the past several years. And right now there is debate about your latest album; substantial criticism for and against it…
But yo, here’s how you can turn this around to your advantage. Grab a couple of your throw-away beats, get with Colbert, and do a ‘Year In Review’ themed album, with both you and Colbert rhymin’… I’m serious.

Kanye’s Initial Response (allegedly):

Which lead to Steven Colbert’s Response:

-Sa’id