Patina

Recently I heard the word used in an interview between Kanye West and Zane Lowe via BBC-Radio 1. The renowned artist dropped knowledge and used very colorful language to get his message across. Mr. West wasn’t all sailors tongue, as he was sure to enunciate even the swear words despite a layer of diamonds and gold on his bottom row of teeth.

In this interview, Kanye used a lot of words and among them was patina. According to the 1996 Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary, patina is “a film or incrustation, usually green, produced by oxidation on the surface of old bronze and esteemed as being of ornamental value”.

This is the way in which Mr. West used it:

So it becomes all of this thing where all of the musicians- the musicians try to get more money by promoting other products, right? So you'll say 'Hey, you know what? I've got this water and we've got, you know, we've got this red version. We got a red bottle, and we've got a David Beckham version here, then we got a blue version'. So my opinion is no more than the patina on top of it, when I understand the reason from my core of why something should work all the way through.

And again:

…when someone comes up and says something like, 'I am a god', everybody says, 'Who does he think he is?' I just told you who I thought I am, a god! I just told you! That's who I think I am! Would it have been better if I had a song that said, I am a nigga? Or if I had song that said, I am a gangsta? Or if I had song that said, I am a pimp?--all those color and patinas fit better on a person like me, right?

How I understood Mr. West to use the word was in the simplest form, a covering or growth over something old; a topping.

When Mr. West brought his idea to a fellow designer, it was suggested that instead of being original, why doesn't he just support something that already exists, the naysayer referencing Lady GaGa and her plight with Polaroid. As an inventor, one of the many labels he carries, Kanye has come up against great opposition on his journey to higher plateaus, not only because of the bad boy reputation, but because of his race as well. Being met with questions like, Why is he still trying? Why is he doing this?’ “They like, diss me as a person for trying”, Kanye exclaims. So, truly, it becomes less about a great product and more about who’s actually creating it.

Already making his mark in the fashion world, Kanye now wants to surpass where a lot of haters say he’s forbidden. He doesn't desire to push an existing product, but rather “create a better product for the real world". And how will it benefit his purpose to support an aging product, whereas a birth can take place instead. Critics consider Mr. West’s motivational speeches as rants but he we can be assured he knows is his ABC’s.