Credit: Spotify

Cameo parts in films are often hit-or-miss; they have the potential to be iconic, but there are many which end up being absolutely abhorrent. Popular cameos by filmmakers like Alfred Hitchcock or even writers like Stan Lee are still remembered by many as some of the best cameo appearances in history because they fully utilise the true essence of a cameo.

On the other hand, there is a parallel phenomenon involving well-known celebrities who appear in works of popular culture in order to cash in on their illusory “star appeal”. While that can work sometimes, it often transforms into a quasi-surreal experience. The cameo appearances become inadequate metafictional symbols that are designed to evoke recognition from the audience, signifying nothing. Something not usually in the path of Kanye West.

However, the hip hop icon fell victim to the cameo curse when he appeared in the somewhat tragic Mike Myers film, The Love Guru.

The Love Guru is an inexplicable romantic comedy by Mike Myers about self-worth and pop philosophy, featuring hockey. The film keeps regurgitating trash in chaotic patterns but the clouds part for a brief moment when Kanye West pops up to scream: “I love hockey!”

Myers explained: “My father passed away in 1991 and two things emerged for me creatively. One was Austin Powers. And Austin Powers was a tribute to my father for all the British comedy he introduced to me during his lifetime and in my lifetime. The other thing that emerged was the Guru Pitka.

“In 1994 I did a stage show and did five characters. I did Austin Powers for the first time and I did the Guru Pitka for the first time. The Guru Pitka was my kind of my dealing with his death and the one guy I wanted to see my success the universe had taken away from me and it rocked my world.”