Kanye's Late Registration Sales Soar after 'George Bush' Rant Tuesday - September 6, 2005 by Carl Chery Kanye West's first week sales are expected to reach the 900,000 mark following the super producer's off-the-cuff rant about the president during MSNBC's recent Concert for Hurricane Relief. Last Thursday, early reports indicated that West's Late Registration was poised to scan between 800,000 to 850,000 units in its first week. But today, reports show that Late Registration is headed towards 900,000 units sold, after Kanye's scathing remarks about the president were broadcasted to millions during the MSNBC telethon and later re-broadcasted across the internet and news media. advertisement Kanye's sales spike is being attributed to support for the Chicago rapper/producer after his comments during MSNBC's Concert for Hurricane Relief last Friday. During an impromptu rant with Austin Power's Mike Myers at his side, West went off his prepared statements and sharply criticized the media for calling Black people 'looters' and condemned the president's failure to respond to the Katrina Crisis. "I hate the way they portray us in the media. You see a black family it says they're looting. You see a white family it says they are looking for food," Ye stated in reference to Yahoo! and other media outlets showing photos of Black people captioned as "looters" while white people seemed to "find" food from grocery stores. A shocked Myers continued following the teleprompter, when West exclaimed, "George Bush doesn't care about Black people." Despite some criticism, many people including Al Sharpton, David Banner, and several others in the Hip-Hop community, have expressed their support for West's statements, saying it represent the views of many frustrated Americans. Internet chatrooms and bulletin boards have been ablaze with discussions on the comments, with many calling him a 'hero' and vowing to purchase his album in an expression of support. In other Kanye West news, the Chicagoan shocked students last week when he served as a "Stand-In" professor for one day at his former college, Chicago State University. The visit was part of "Stand In," a show on mtvU, MTV's 24-hour college network. "Just a few years after he would have graduated, Kanye West is at the epicenter of new music, at the top of his game as an artist and producer," stated Stephen Friedman, GM of mtvU. "Who better than Kanye to inspire and educate the next generation of student talent." As part of his duties, West taught a master class in song writing and arranging as part of the school's music program. The mtvU "Stand In" episode featuring Kanye West is slated to premiere on air and online at mtvu.com September 19th at 12 p.m. Question is....Will this help the victims of Katrina more? Hmm......
Or the latest Gulfstream? Nah, from what little I know of the individual, it sounds like he'll put money back into NO relief.
