The only other similar ‘conversion’ by a popular artist that I can think of that seems comparable to the attention Kanye West is receiving was that of Bob Dylan in the 70’s.
Of course the immediacy and ubiquity of media in contemporary times elevates the situation to something of a fever pitch.
Current culture does not allow a lot of margin for reflection before its attention moves on to the next thing, which creates an expectation for the next thing before the last thing has really stopped echoing.
Anyway, I can say I’ve posted a Kanye track (and an instrumental by Kenny G, of all people) on my blog.