Ask not for whom the Yeezy tolls.

Jason Murugesu is having the readers of The New Statesman on:

National Poetry Day seems like a good time to make a suggestion - Kanye West, modern-day rapper and “international asshole” (his words) is the true heir to the 16th-century metaphysical poet John Donne.

West may be known as the man who married Kim Kardashian and stole Taylor Swift’s award, but he is an artist of multiple layers.

Donne only started to be truly appreciated in the 20th century. 

The content of West and Donne's works share common themes: self-obsession, God, delusions, sex, women, paranoia and more sex. 

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Donne's metaphysical poetry is “characterized by conceit or 'wit' — that is, by the sometimes violent yoking together of apparently unconnected ideas”.

If no-one else will say it, I will: looking through West’s cannon, the truth is self-evident- Kanye West is our first metaphysical rapper.