Michael McDonald Criticizes Kanye West and His GRAMMY Remarks

Kanye West’s controversial statements at this year’s GRAMMYs have garnered him a boatload of both positive and negative critique. The latest to speak on the topic is five-time Grammy winner Michael McDonald, best known for his work with Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers. In an interview on The Dan Le Batard show, the singer-songwriter went on to criticize Kanye for his lack of knowledge and ability to play musical instruments, his affinity for his own voice and his general tendency to over-criticize other artists. Read his a segment below and have a listen to the full criticism here.

“I don’t think it even really bears too much thought, it’s pretty obvious what Kanye’s problem is. When Kanye gets to a point where he can actually put a couple of notes together either vocally or two bars of valid music playing an instrument, then he might have a right to criticize somebody else. Until then I think he’s just talking to hear the sound of his own voice. The whole kinda cut-and-paste thing is a certain kind of artform all by itself. I don’t know if I call it songwriting from a musician’s standpoint. Beck is obviously a consummate musician. He plays instruments, many instruments. He can make his own record without having a fleet of computer operators onboard.”