We have a tendency to inflate our superiority such that our natural grandiosity is elevated. In the lyrics to the song, False prophets, J Cole talks of how an artist he idolizes has fallen from grace. Something expected when our ego is inflated and grandiosity gets the better of us. But as much as it is in our nature, how does it feel when it happens to somebody that we look up to? Is the problem on us for looking up to them as gods or on them for not living up to the standards that “we expected”?
Of course the latter is asking too much from somebody who probably has no idea of who we are. But then again, do we ignore the fact that somebody inspires us so much that they give us hope in life when we might have lost our own?
However, we got to have “limits of admiration” (for lack of a better phrase). I mean, do we need to take everything that they give? We do not have to be exactly as they are. Their successes and achievements should just be a mirror to show us the possibility of our success. Sometimes we already got what we achieved but are blinded by the achievements of our idols.
I got a homie, he a rapper and he wanna win bad
False Prophets – J Cole
He want the fame, the acclaim, the respect that’s been had
By all the legends, so every time I see him, he stressing
Talking ’bout, people don’t fuck with him, the shit is depressing
And I know he so bitter he can’t see his own blessings
Goddamn, homie you too blind to see you got fans, homie
And a platform to make a classic rap song
As in the above lyrics, we sort of lose sight of who we are before we knew our role models, or who we will be in their absence. It could be the reason we get so disappointed by their failures. Forgetting that they are no different from us. That we might have the same thoughts as the things that get them in trouble, only that we neither have a platform or no one to cancel us.
The danger of looking up to our idols is expecting them to forget their human nature and live as we expect. No one has a manual of life and if they are better than human then they must be gods. Are they even aware that they have a responsibility to you? That each move they make affects the choices you make in your personal life?
Whatever they do becomes subject to criticism by the people that look up to them. Don’t they have a free will to do as they please without feeling a responsibility to the public. Can we separate the art from the artist? Furthermore, their artistry is what made them or idols, right? However, the same artistry could be a depiction of who they are or their train of thoughts or simply their view in life. We just find ourselves sharing in their thoughts and beliefs.
The lyrics to false prophets is an experience that we get when we eliminate the “godness” of our idols. When we see their mistakes and discover that we held them on a way too high pedestal. We might forget that it is in their nature to be as wayward as we are. That at some point, we might have elevated their grandiosity by highlighting the perfect art that we take from them, while ignoring their humanity.
In all, we can choose who inspires us, keeping in mind, “the real god is in you, not the music you copping”.