Kanye West is best known for his unique production and lyricism in the the hip-hop/rap realm, having produced several Grammy Award winning albums and working with the biggest names in the music industry. West has not only revolutionized how rap has developed to what it is today, but he has made marks in fashion with his Yeezy collaboration with Adidas. At a net worth of $145 million, West has been unstoppable with is ventures. West, however, has a history of generating controversy from his 2009 MTV Music Video Awards stunt to his stance his in politics now.
West first brought politics as a point of interest in 2015 when he announced that he would be running for the President of the United States in 2020. As Trump was elected into office, West expressed his support stating that Trump was a ‘brother’ and that Trump proved that anyone could run for president despite the ridicule that is received. This seemed to spark the beginning of West’s descend as he canceled his Saint Pablo Tour in 2016 after an extended rant about his friendship with Jay-Z. West was admitted into the UCLA Medical Center and diagnosed with bi-polar disorder.
Following the years after his diagnosis, West has been seen on Twitter ranting about the abolishment of the 13th amendment and meeting with Trump at the White House early in October 2018. During his meeting, he mentioned how wearing the ‘Make America Great Again’ felt like a cape for a superhero. In a way, it seems that by wearing this hat, West develops a platform for his political standpoints. West has expressed before of how neither political parties fully support the rights of black people in America, and by supporting Trump, he’ll be able to be the voice of Black Americans. He briefly touches upon this subject during his interview with President Trump while discussing the abolishment of the 13th Amendment stating, “The four gentlemen that wrote the 13th Amendment, they didn’t look like the people they were amending. Also at that point it was illegal for blacks to read, or African-Americans to read, so that meant if you actually read the amendment you’d get locked up and turned into a slave.”
West even developed a clothing line that emphasized ‘Blexit’ which he encouraged his followers to wear in support of Black Americans leaving the democratic party. West described the clothing line as a representation of Black Americans breaking the stereotype of supporting the Democratic party. Blexit has since inspired the youth of African-Americans to speak of their experiences and why they support the Republican party.
Shortly after the launch of Blexit, however, West voiced that he was taking time away from politics as he feels that he has been ‘used’ and didn’t want to encourage anything that he did believe. Although West had started a new generation of political freedom for Black Americans, West still fails to realize the corruption of his beliefs. Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote a beautiful article for The Atlantis discussing the ignorance of West’s political standpoints.
Maybe it’s best that West sticks to music.