Fellow rapper Common says West "always spoke his mind. He would just say anything out of his mouth, like a child would. That's just his way". But he says West "helps people. He will put you on a project, connect you with this person, and he has done that. Honestly, I love and respect that".

Alan Light, author of says: "Whatever you make of [West], there's an ambition and sincerity to his creative side we respond to. There's a segment of his audience that wants to focus on the music without the rest of the noise. But the noise is part of the project. I think [West's] answer is, 'You don't get to choose. I get to choose.'"

For many fans, particularly the millennials, West's contradictions are part of what makes him compelling, says Anthony DeCurtis, a contributing editor at . He teaches a class called "The Arts and Popular Culture" at the University of Pennsylvania, "and my students are obsessed with Kanye. When you bring up critiques of him, they understand, but they see the overall context of what he does, and that communicates to them. The unpredictability, the impulsiveness, the confusing flip-flops - it all works in a world where you're constantly checking updates on social media, and never know what you're going to find," DeCurtis says.

Erik Nielson, an assistant professor at the University of Richmond who teaches courses in African-American literature and rap music, says West's messages as a rapper, too, can be paradoxical. "His lyrics do draw attention to materialism and consumerism and their impact on the black community, as well as the way white corporate culture profits," he says. "In the next breath, though, he'll celebrate that same materialism and consumerism. But those contradictions and inconsistencies characterise everyday life."

Race is, many agree, a factor in perceptions of West, who was raised by educated, accomplished parents (who divorced when he was young). DeCurtis has noted "a lot of coded racism in objections to Kanye. People suggest he's uppity, or see him as out of control."

For Light, race is relevant in the clear emphasis that West puts on "controlling his messaging, making sure that it's not mediated, that he has the ability to speak his own piece. That statement alone from a black man is an important statement - that no one's going to tell him what to do or say".

If there's flagrant self-promotion, that's just part of the hyperbole endemic to hip-hop culture. "I think Kanye's like Muhammad Ali - he wants to be the greatest," says Reggie Rouse, vice-president of urban development at CBS Radio. "People can hate on Kanye and his wife [reality star Kim Kardashian], but not many people affect pop culture like they do. Does a week go by that you're not talking about Kanye or Kim?"

Certainly, West uses social media to his advantage. He has 11.8 million followers on Twitter, where he gives shout-outs or waxes philosophical. He used the platform to tease his upcoming album, .

Although he has popped up only occasionally on his wife's reality show, , West has been "friendly and polite, and a gentleman", executive producer Jeff Jenkins says. "He completely supports his wife and lifts her up."

With the new album "coming soon" (that's as specific as West's camp has been), there is more speculation about the medium that made West famous. West enlisted Paul McCartney on two of the four new tracks he has released this year, and he's teaming with other stars, including Madonna and protegé Big Sean, on new projects.

"Musically, he's always pushing himself to the edge," says Rouse. "With the people he works with, the people he mentors, Kanye always takes things to the next level. When he releases music, everyone's listening."

Even before he launched his recording career, West was establishing a signature sound, fusing revved-up samples from classic R&B with his own instrumental flourishes and working with stars such as Alicia Keys, Ludacris and Jay-Z, whose 2001 album secured West's status as a producer.

As West progressed from his well-received 2004 debut, , to 2010's classic and 2013's , his distinctly soulful style evolved, incorporating elements of dance and electronic music as well as lush orchestral textures. "When it comes to production, there's no question Kanye is pushing the game forward as many others are allowing it to stagnate," says Nielson.

Since the Swift episode, though, the rapper has remained a greater provocateur outside the studio. Part of this can no doubt be attributed to the exponential growth of forums for celebrity gossip, now far greater in number than they were when West observed, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, that "George Bush doesn't care about black people", or posed with a thorn of crowns for a 2006 cover titled "The Passion of Kanye West".

Nowadays, West is just as likely to get attention showing off his new Adidas collection and his 21-month-old daughter, North West, at New York Fashion Week or canoodling with his wife during Paris' sartorial celebration.

Rouse notes that his latest single, the groove-driven , is "totally different" from his previous efforts with McCartney: "Kanye's always challenging himself, ever-evolving."

Light agrees. "The thing that made hip hop most exciting in the beginning, and gave it the greatest potential musically, is that every week brought infinite possibilities, a sense that you could do anything. And [West] still has that, where he's not predictable from song to song or album to album.

"In a world where people consume stuff so differently, maybe consistency is not the name of the game," the writer says.