The ##

@KanyeWest has tweeted the phrase “it’s a process” three times so far. All three times it has been in all caps, which he’s been restraining himself from doing too often on Twitter— a departure from his past forays in to Web 2.0. And the second and third times were actual hashtags. 

The first occasion was in just his second tweet.

Lol I spelled Silicon wrong ( I guess I was still thinking about the other type of silicone ITS A PROCESS!! : )

A correction from his first tweet a little an hour before.

“Silicone“ 

–noun 

Chemistry. Any of a number of polymers containing alternate silicon and oxygen atoms, as (–Si–O–Si–O–) n , whose properties are determined by the organic groups attached to the silicon atoms, and that are fluid, resinous, rubbery, extremely stable in high temperatures, and water-repellent: used as adhesives, lubricants, and hydraulic oils and in electrical insulation, cosmetics, etc. (Dictionary.com)

Kanye was referring to the area in California known as Silicon Valley. 

Silicon Valley is in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California, United States. The region is home to many of the world’s largest technology companies including Apple, Google, Facebook, HP, Intel, Cisco, eBay, Adobe, Agilent, Oracle, Yahoo, Netflix, and EA.[1] The term originally referred to the region’s large number of silicon chip innovators and manufacturers, but eventually came to refer to all the high-tech businesses in the area; it is now generally used as a metonym for the American high-tech sector. (Wikipedia)

Now, one could certainly see that the “PROCESS” as learning to spell, or learning to pay attention to spelling on Twitter. However his parenthetical gaffe immediately proceeding the phrase, “I guess I was still thinking about the other type of silicone,” seems to poke fun at the dirtiness of silicone being used for breast implants.

Maybe he was implying that the misspelling was a Freudian slip. If that’s the case we could interpret the PROCESS as learning to associate words that look like “silicon” or “silicone” as a part of California associated with technology rather than a polymer used for, among other things, enlarging female mammary glands.

Alright, so that might be a stretch until we look at his second use.  

I copped this to eat cereal out of turning the crib real Kingish #ITSAPROCESS http://twitpic.com/29mo5p

This was not his first twitpic (pictured above), and he didn’t make any errors in the previous tweets (three consecutive twitpics), thus here the hashtag is not referring his process of learning how to use Twitter. Instead, especially if taken on its own, it looks as if the “PROCESS” here is making his “crib real Kingish.”

The twitpic is not a photo taken by West, but rather a stock photo of a lavish teal bowl with gold trim and two lions facing each other. (NOTE: the previous tweet is also a twitpic of a stock photo, so he’s not referring to that as the first.) Clearly the “PROCESS” here could be refining his daily activities, in this case eating cereal, to be more “Kingish” or lavish.

His third use ofthe phrase seems to return to his spelling

sometimes my spelling is atrocious #EDUCATIONISTHEMOTIVATION #ITSAPROCESS

Interestingly none of his recent tweets before this one contain any spelling errors. He correctly spelled “paparazzi,” “expensive,” “addiction,” “education,” “motivation,” “Napoleon” and “credenza.” True, his first tweet had the misspelling of Silicon— as in the Valley— but he already corrected that in his second tweet.  

In conclusion, the #ITSAPROCESS hashtag is really about becoming sophisticated. Many of Kanye’s other tweets thus far have been pictures of antiques, fine wines or nice clothes. He’s also given financial advice such as “CASH IS KING” and “Make sure your accounts receivable are faster than your accounts payable.” Money and status is very important to him. Just take his latest album, 808s and Heartbreak, where Kanye says he can’t hear a Dad joking with his kids all the way in first class or having to leave a significant wedding early. #classproblems.

Will Kanye ever “finish” the “process”? How many antiques will he have to “twitpic”? Is it a process?