Ye, what’s good, man?? If there’s one thing we’ve all learned from the media this week, it’s that the Kanye West tweets have gotten out of control… again. Yeezy fans and haters alike are totally thrown off guard by the artist’s actions these past weeks. As a long-time Yeezy fan, I am completely distraught and frustrated.
How could Kanye, one of the greatest artists of our generation, sit in an interview and say “When you hear about slavery for 400 years … for 400 years? That sounds like a choice.” How could Kanye, the man who’s album was the first album downloaded on our first iPod, outwardly and loudly support Donald Trump? How could Kanye, the loving husband to Kim and father to North, Saint, and Chicago, be so ridiculous as to say he’d rather see Michael Jordan on the $20 bill than Harriet Tubman?
Kanye is becoming not only an internet troll, but a life troll. And I, along with so many other die-hard Ye fans, are not having it.
Oh boy what a place to begin. Well, Kanye, very good of you to say “I don’t agree with everything anyone does.” Yeah, most people feel that way about most people. Good job. But before that you said you love Trump and called him your BROTHER. That’s some pretty intense support and love you are spreading to a man who is harming so may American people of color (POC), immigrants, Muslims, women, and all other minorities. Yes, Kanye. You have a right to independent thought. You have a right to tweet your mind. But damn. This is saying a lot about how you want the world to be.
This tweet is probably the most ironic thing I’ve ever seen. Let’s begin with the MAGA hat: he’s captioned this picture, “we got love,” when many people associate Donald Trump’s campaign hats with hatred, bigotry, racism, violence… need I go on? Irony at its finest. The two people with him are veteran music executives, who are “just trying to support Kanye.” It’s hard to believe they’re still supporting him, as most of the world is finding it pretty hard to support someone who is diminishing the importance of black history in America…
This is where Ye lost most of my respect. I can deal with someone supporting Trump loudly and proudly, the first amendment is legit and real and I support it. But I’m having a hard time getting past this ignorance. From him blatantly stating he thinks slavery was a “choice,” to him falsely attributing Harriet Tubman (and later deleting that tweet), to him refusing to talk about history, it pretty much seems like Kanye wants to forget about the Civil Rights movement and black history in its entirety. He wants to erase slavery and black suffrage from the conversation. This is absolutely ridiculous. We talk about history to ensure that history doesn’t repeat itself.
We need to bring light to these issues so that we can progress and grow from it. I am a white 20-year-old girl from New Jersey, and I’ll admit I definitely consider myself privileged; I find it so important to check my privilege, and part of how I do that is learning about the history that brought me to this point, and created a divide within this country. I find it so important to learn about the civil-rights era, along with the rest of American and world history and all the racism that still exists today to fully understand where this all came from. As a citizen of America and a citizen of the world, I need to make sure that we learn from our mistakes and we do not repeat history. I need to ensure that all my friends and fellow citizens that are POC are treated fairly and equally. I am shocked that Kanye is seemingly trying to diminish these actions. Is Kanye, a black man from Chicago, against this? It’s unlikely he’s against equal rights. But he’s sure speaking like he wants to forget about what we have to grow from, and he is siding with some historically racist and hateful people… *cough* TRUMP *cough*.
Kanye has become rather buddy-buddy with right-wing pundit Candice Owens. Owens loves that Kanye is trying to help African-Americans ‘forget’ about slavery, as she has spoken outwardly about her opposition to the Black Lives Matter campaign and encourages African-Americans to remove slavery from modern day narratives. Not only does Owens disagree with the Black Lives Matter movement, but she called the Women’s March On Washington “a joke.” Her mindset on taking away movements that empower minorities is seemingly very attractive to Kanye as he expressed that on Twitter, and took a meeting with her to help spread this ridiculous mindset.
John Legend– that’s right, the beautiful, the role model, the charmer, John Legend, is one of Kanye’s dear friends, and he’s desperately trying to get Kanye to change his attitude. Kanye recently tweeted out a text exchange between the two, and, well, just look at it.
Legend went about this text with poise, grace, and professionalism. Kanye’s response– he’s accusing his friend of manipulating him. Go back and read John’s text. Do you see ANY sign of manipulation? Sure, Kanye is free to think and speak whatever he wants (that good first amendment jawn)! But John’s text holds true… Kanye is losing a lot of fans, myself being one of them. Kanye, I beg you. Listen to John.
Kanye West trolled EVERYONE with his new song “Lift Yourself.” This 2:28 second song is a total bop for the first 2 minutes, and we hear Kanye come in just before that to tease what we expect to be a dope verse in true Yeezus fashion. BUT NO. WE CAN’T HAVE NICE THINGS, CAN WE. Kanye proceeds to spit complete jibberish. Talk about disappointment. What could have been an incredibly motivating and meaningful song has turned into what most people are calling a joke. Seriously, just look at the lyrics to his verse:
Personally, as much as I love Kanye’s music and artistry, I cannot bring myself to listen to his new music, as now I feel like I know his true colors. Kanye has fallen off the deep end, and it’s no longer a joke. Kanye West tweets are very powerful and get a lot of attention, and he seems to be using that power in a very interesting and controvercial way. Take a look at Kanye fans on the internet– a lot of them are NOT happy. One of his new projects is literally called “Ye vs. The People,” which is fitting because a lot of people seem to be against him right now.
This could all be a publicity stunt, sure. But it’s a bad one. It’s certainly a problematic one. Kanye West tweets without a care for the fear he may be instilling in people– fear that he is going to so something even more outlandish and crazy, fear that he’ll run for president, fear… that is learned?
Kanye’s music has been with me since I first heard 808s & Heartbreak when I was 10 years old. His music is legit fire, but I won’t ever be able to bump Graduation on Saturday mornings when I’m cleaning my room or work out to Hell Of A Life and Power the same way ever again, knowing who the man behind the music really is. I cannot bring myself to support this man in any way. His blatant ignorance and ego are intolerable, and his affiliations with people who are trying to create such a divide in this country, and prevent racial, gender, and social equality in this country are deplorable. I’m definitely not going to be listening to Kanye much (if at all) after learning about his actions these past few weeks. I’m absolutely crushed and a little terrified by his recent outburst, and I’m hoping that he makes a change sometime soon. I’m sorry, Mr. West. But this is goodbye.
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