Stick to rap, Kanye

I miss the days when rock stars didn't care about having their own fashion labels.

Being a rich and famous musician used to be good enough - more than good enough.

Even guys like David Bowie - who's always been super into fashion - were too busy partying and chasing girls to worry about starting up some dopey clothes company.

He simply wrote a hit song called Fashion and got on with the debauchery, which is what it should be.

Shouldn't these guys be more concerned with getting models OUT of their clothes than INTO clothes?

These days, the fashion world has managed to co-opt some of our greatest musicians to the absolute detriment of music.

For your consideration: Kanye West.

MASTERPIECE

The US rap star's 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is a masterpiece.

I hate rap, as any right-thinking person should, but I ADORE this record.

Out of all the people on Earth, only West could create this sound as he possesses a rare and beautiful gift.

But now having conquered the world of music, he's set his sights on a lesser target: Apparel. Rags. Duds. Clothes.

Sigh...

West and his baby's mama, reality TV star Kim Kardashian, are on the April cover of Vogue magazine (above), and one gets the sense that it represents a sort of apotheosis for the pair.

West has been trying to earn recognition as a designer for years - he's collaborated with the likes of Louis Vuitton, Nike and A.P.C.

But nothing much has come of it.

He's also had some unpleasant run-ins with the fashion powers that be.

West is apparently pals with Vogue editor Anna Wintour and it was reported that he was very upset when she gave Girls star Lena Dunham a previous cover instead of Kardashian.

It wasn't the first time West had been snubbed by a fashionista.

Late last year, he called for a boycott of Louis Vuitton after the head of the company declined to meet him.

The funny thing about all this is that when it comes right down to it, West is a TERRIBLE fashion designer.

Have you seen the merchandise he created in collaboration with artist Wes Lang for his Yeezus tour?

It's all skulls and Native American head dresses and Confederate flags, and this is probably the most cliched sort of iconography that you could imagine.

Worse, it's UGLY. Then again, what do I know?

I'm just a lowly music fan who isn't good enough to comprehend shirts.