On Popular Music: Adorno v. Kanye West’s “Gold Digger”

In 1941, T.W. Adorno used his essay “On Popular Music”² to contend that pop music’s “fundamental characterization” lies in standardization (17).  The word “standardization” implies its meaning: the careful structuring of songs so that, despite the occasional change in pitch, beat or subject matter, all popular music can be characterized by a distinct formula that must be followed if a single is to become a mainstream hit.  “Gold Digger,” a hit single by Kanye West, remains at its number one position on the Billboard charts for the tenth week in a row.  For the purposes of critiquing and exploring Adorno’s ideas further, I will examine “Gold Digger” and the way in which it influences the media audience to learn whether Adorno’s theories still apply today.

Among the most visible characteristics of standardization is repetition.  Per Adorno’s argument,³ a pop song repeats its title at least three times in the song’s duration in order to market itself while the audience listens to it.  Indeed, Kanye West repeats “gold digger” around eight or nine times, and the gold digger herself is a common prototype in rap narrative.  Jamie Foxx’s adaptation of the hit Ray Charles song “I’ve Got a Woman” adds an additional marketing aspect to the song.  His appropriation of Ray Charles’ style for the “Gold Digger” chorus rides the success of his most recent film “Ray,” in which he depicts Ray Charles’ personal struggles and rise to fame as the lead actor. 

Adorno addresses the revival of “famous old hits,” noting that because they do not have the “outworn character” of current popular singles, artists may tap them as a source of “free competition.”  He refutes this practice by addressing revival songs as “the golden age of the game rules,” explaining that old hits perpetuate existing patterns in standardized music (23).  Jamie Foxx acknowledges Ray Charles in his adaptation of “I’ve Got a Woman,” but he changes the words to suit the context of “Gold Digger” and essentially only revives Ray Charles’ beloved style. 

Foxx’s use of Charles’ gospel-and-blues brand of singing does not serve to perpetuate this musical style or any existing pattern; rather, he converts the old hit into an instrument for use in ways it has not been used before.  Far from exhausting the media audience with an offering just like the ones that came before it, Kanye West and Jamie Foxx succeed in creating a hybrid of hip hop, gospel and blues that introduce innovation to an industry long sustained by overtly violent and sexual gangsta’ rap.

Adorno’s idea of “glamour,” a gimmick of standardization intended to distinguish one song from all others with a “now we present” attitude (28), still exists today.  Indeed, a sped-up sample taken out of its original context and accompanied by “musical flourishes” acts as a common means of introducing the latest hip-hop song.  Kanye West exhibited this tendency with his breakout single “Through the Wire,” in which he used a sample of Chaka Khan’s “Through the Wire” to introduce and serve as the chorus to his piece.

In “Gold Digger,” Kanye breaks contemporary standards of sampling as glamour.  Instead of directly clipping from Ray Charles’ “I’ve Got a Woman,” West uses Jamie Foxx’s appropriation of the Charles tune and style – neither the actual lyrics or the actual song are utilized.  He also refuses to stylistically speed up Foxx’s revival, and he does not open up his song with a flourish of explosive instruments and sound effects.  Foxx opens “Gold Digger” unaccompanied and, true to Charles’ style, his voice sometimes cracks.  The imperfections lend authenticity to Foxx and to the song itself, and the low-key opening effectively distinguishes it from other rap hits.

Adorno primarily argues that “structural standardization aims at structural reactions” (21).  He not only accuses popular music of churning out “pre-digested” hits (25); he also implies that perhaps an audience of “jitterbugs” (47) wants music that does not challenge them intellectually.  Observing a generation in which “crunk” music serves as hip-hop’s most recent innovation and American Idol’s proudly-manufactured pop stars top charts regularly, perhaps Adorno’s perceived audience of “jitterbugs” does not stray too far from the truth.  Luckily for the contemporary audience, “Gold Digger” suggests a different type of audience is out there.

I mentioned earlier on that Kanye West positioned himself as both emotionally and morally ambiguous.  After naming him “the smartest man in pop,” Time Magazine even went so far as to call his music “a witty catalogue of his schizophrenia.”⁴  This “schizophrenia” serves him well in “Gold Digger,” and perhaps throughout his career thus far, because Kanye’s popularity indicates that audiences are able to think.

By refusing to directly condemn a gold digger and even siding with her at the end, his music forces the casual listener to ask himself what Kanye’s moral position is.  While considering that, the listener may also ask what his own position is.  According to Time, the self-reflection he sparks in his audience by virtue of his own self-reflection is the quality that may explain his cultural significance.  For example, Kanye addresses a provocative contradiction inherent in most people when he recites the comedic lines, “But I'm looking for the one, have you seen her/My psychic told me she'll have a ass like Serena.”⁵  The line expresses his desire for a woman with whom he can share a deep connection – but, of course, it would be nice if she had a great body, too.

Jumping unapologetically from position to position is unpopular in pop music.  Ambiguity is exactly the opposite sensation an artist wishes to convey when trying to lead a musical revolution.  Interestingly, Kanye’s mix of sincerity and superficiality force consumers of his work to question him and question themselves in order to come to their own conclusions, promoting growth and not mere “pre-digestion.”  This characteristic, a strong aspect of “Gold Digger,” counters Adorno’s assertion that an audience of “jitterbugs” accepts standardized material solely for purposes of mindless entertainment.

While many aspects of Adorno’s critiques remain valid, such as the use of title repetition in the body of a song for marketing purposes, Adorno severely underestimates the willingness of a pop culture audience to seek its own self-growth and create its own conclusions about topics that range from “gold diggers” to “the one.”  Kanye West’s “Gold Digger,” number one on Billboard for the tenth week in a row, serves as a telling indication that a media audience does not just consume the ideas and exhausted musical techniques offered to them.  In fact, they want just the opposite: an acknowledgement that they can make their own decisions about what they value.  Kanye West is the artist that validates this desire, and his popularity speaks for an audience willing to embrace critical thought, rather than merely jitterbugging their cares away.