Awesome Genius
Yesterday I watched Jay-z’s concert dvd Fade to Black and was able to watch genius in action. The reason I got the dvd off of netflix is because of a youtube video I saw that had Timbaland and Jay-z collaborating to make Dirt Off Your Shoulder. The youtube video is easily one of the coolest videos I have ever seen on youtube. It is truly watching genius at work. Jay-z immediately knew which beat was perfect and just like that he started composing the rap by performing and arranging on the fly.
So I got the dvd. And its amazing to watch. Throughout the dvd they cut away from his retirement concert to show the creation of the music. His process is incredible. The way he sees the music is incomprehensible to me. He was born to be what he became. The concert itself is another kind of genius. As I was watching all I could think about was how it must be the best feeling in the world to stand up on that stage. The crowd goes wild during the entire concert which would obviously be awesome to be a part of but the part that was truly sweet was that the crowd knew every word to every song. Jay-z would often say just one line and then let the crowd sing the rest. I can’t imagine much that would feel better than having an arena full of fans celebrating your words like that.
There is something about watching genius even if you aren’t a total fan. I’ll admit that while I like Jay-z’s music and this dvd has made me revisit a lot of it, I was never a huge Jay-z fan. But I appreciate his genius and that makes him a pleasure to watch and listen to. I feel like right now I’m a bigger fan than I ever was before and that is in large part due to watching his process. It is similar to how I feel about M. Night Shyamalan. I love watching his movies because it is watching genius even if I don’t always enjoy his movies the most. Perhaps the best example for me is when I read Don Delillo books. I don’t especially enjoy his stories. When I put down the book I’m not constantly thinking about when I’m going to have a few minutes free to push further into the fictional world. I love his writing though. His words are amazing. Each line counts. Its amazing to read. He is such a good writer that I will read a novel by him just for the writing even if I’m not interested in the story. It is a very different reading experience when you are more engaged in the writing than the reading. It ceases to be about suspending belief and entering the world of imagination and much more about being conscious of the words. I can’t say it is the most enjoyable experience or one that I actively pursue except on occasion but it is a way to experience genius. There are some people who are just so good that who they are and how they do what they do transcends what their actual product is. I don’t know if that’s a good thing but it is certainly something that inspires awe in me.
