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Kanye West as deal-breaker? The polarizing rapper generates a Coachella revolt

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Kanye West still isn’t in everyone’s good graces -- to say the least.

After The Times revealed that the rapper would be headlining the final night of the 12th Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, you could almost hear the boos and groans emitting from some of the bitter comments that poured in from our readers.

Coachella fans have always closely scrutinized the lineup they await so anxiously -- and why shouldn’t they? They drop major money to attend the three-day festival (weekend passes are $269, plus surcharges, and camping passes are $75).

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But the addition of West to a lineup that also includes Arcade Fire, Kings of Leon, Duran Duran, the Black Keys and the Strokes could be a non-starter for most, judging by the complaints.

“Great lineup this year.....but Kanye West is a definite deal killer for me, so me and my girlfriend won’t be going for the first time in 4 years,” reader cabeachguy wrote, while reader oldskool57 thought it was a “real disappointment that loudmouth Kanye West is gonna’ be there. What a goof that dude is.”

West certainly is no stranger to the Polo Grounds, having played Coachella in 2006. But a lot has changed since then. Although he released one of 2010’s most critically acclaimed albums, “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” some quarters remain exhausted by his outrageous behavior and controversial statements, which reached critical mass after West so eloquently crashed young Taylor Swift’s 2009 Video Music Awards coronation (or thrust her into more stardom, depending on whom you ask). To say nothing of his Twitter antics. (But then, there was a lot of complaining when Jay-Z was announced last year too.) Still, while some readers argue that West is still a “musical genius” despite his behavior, it’s too much for other Coachella attendees.

“yeah kwest is a deal breaker and thats saying a lot with the lineup they have but i dont want to support him in any way,” reader silas wrote.

Another commentor went all Kanye on us and became friendly with the caps lock key to get his point across: “THIS LINE UP IS NOT WORTH IT $300 !!! THEY BETTER HAVE SOME SURPRISES UNTIL THE FESTIVAL! I’VE BEEN CHECKING EVERYDAY COACHELLA WEB SITE TO SEE THE LINE UP OF 2011, NOW I’M SO DISAPPOINTED AND I MIGHT NOT GO. FIRST TIME IN YEARS THAT I’M THINKING OF NOT GOING TO COACHELLA...SO SAD!,” reader WILLIAM wrote.

It’s not all hate, though. Reader dockevoc urges upset festival-goers to “try listening to the album before you bash Kanye...Quentin Tarantino is a [jerk] too but his movies are still sick...it’s art, not real life.”

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Reader Kanyesnotspoilingmyfun looks at it more plainly.

“Why would anyone let one man be a ‘deal killer’ or have him be a ‘real disappointment’ to their whole Coachella experience? There are so many acts and three days of performances. If you don’t like Kanye, don’t go to that particular show. I don’t care if he is the supposed headliner.”

There are a ton of arguments for both sides, which you can read here. Get into the action. Is Kanye West a deal-breaker or a deal-maker for your Coachella experience?

-- Gerrick D. Kennedy

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