I hate to be the one to say it, but are we really surprised at this point?
Let’s start from the beginning. Kanye West has been a icon in pop culture for a long time now. From being a musician, to a business man, and even a presidential candidate at one time, I would say he’s made himself a household name. Though, in the past week, he’s become a bigger name in the worst way. Kanye West is notoriously problematic. We’ve all seen his twitter, and as I was reading, I could see his PR team getting more and more stressed. He tends to not have a filter, a lot of us are guilty for that. With the way social media culture has been growing, it seems that oversharing on the internet is getting more and more popular. Though Kanye took it to another level.
If I wrote about every single controversial things that Kanye has done, it would be a novel. So, naturally, I’m going to start where it gets juicy. In February, Kim Kardashian filed for a divorce, and the internet wasn’t the only thing going crazy. If you’ve been on Instagram at all during the last few months, you’ve probably seen a few of his posts. Now I’ve seen some crazy feuds go on, but I have never seen a man crash and burn so terribly when it comes to “exposing” someone. Kanye posted private messages sent between all members of the Kardashian-Jenner family.
Kanye’s main motivation seemed to be that he wanted visitation with his family, though Kim was not granting him as much as he would’ve liked. So, instead of being a rational human, he tried to “expose” the family to the rest of the world. Most of his posts have been archived, but even if they were still online, I wouldn’t be able to explain them. I’ve read chemistry textbooks that are easier to decipher. With a completely new string of screenshots and photos being posted every day, it was getting harder and harder for the internet to take his side. Then, Pete Davidson came into the picture and everything got worse.
Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian started dating right after her episode of Saturday Night Live premiered. With the rebound time only being a few months, I can see how that would make him upset. More and more posts on Instagram were made, some tagging Pete Davidson, some with Kanye screaming about not wanting Davison to meet his kids. Understandable, but get a lawyer instead of posting on the internet. This got him into a feud with Kid Cudi after making a public announcement that he would not be on the album “Donda” due to his friendship with Davidson.
The posts kept coming, though each one was more controversial than the last. He has made plenty of offensive comments, including one that undermined the Queen’s death in September. No one thought he could reach a new low, including Kanye himself. But, yet again, he proved us wrong. Over the past two weeks (at the time of writing), Kanye has posted a string of antisemitic tweets as well as making insensitive comments about black men and women. He has made very ignorant comments about the black community before, as well as many other marginalized communities. After looking at his past, and now the future of his career, one has to ask, why is he doing this?
Well, in my opinion, I think it could be him feeding off the attention. Kanye has always thought he was untouchable by both the media and public opinion. This is not the first time Kanye has been insensitive and lacked a filter. The only difference is that this time, there isn’t much more to defend. Many people think of Kanye West as a lyrical master and an excellent rapper. I can’t lie, he does make good music. However, it’s time to stop separating the artist from the art. Many people (including myself at one time), have brushed aside his actions due to the fact that he has made many good songs. I mean, even I can’t skip “Gold Digger” when it comes on in the car. We as a society have perpetuated the idea that Kanye can’t be cancelled. Well, until now.
Not only are fans beginning to see his true colors, but his affiliations as well. I know we were all shocked when Kanye got dropped from Adidas, which means that “Yeezy” will no longer be made. Adidas wasn’t the only thing Kanye lost over the past two weeks. Kanye’s Instagram and Twitter accounts have gotten restricted, he got dropped by his talent agency, and countless other brands have cut off their ties with him (I’m sure I could count but I don’t know them all of the top of my head). So, what does this mean for Kanye in the future?
One of the biggest things Kanye lost was his status as a billionaire after being cut from Adidas. Yeezy was a shoe that gave Kanye his billionaire status. It was one of his most iconic successes. For what comes of his music career, I don’t think its possible to predict yet. The internet has a bad problem of supporting artists that are supposed to be “cancelled.” While I do have my own opinions on cancel culture, I think that this goes farther than being “cancelled.”
I know I’m able to live without hearing Kanye’s music again. But, choices of who and who not to support are personal. You can’t make anyone stop listening to his music, and frankly you shouldn’t have to. As the next generation, it is up to us to set a standard for what is acceptable in pop culture and what isn’t. The world has to set that bar, and it obviously won’t be a unanimous decision. If I’m being honest, I hope that two things will happen in the coming months, even going into next year: I hope that society is starting to shift and understand that even celebrities have consequences. I also hope that Kanye West finds help. Divorce is tough, and I’m sure that he has been going through a rough time. That doesn’t justify his actions or excuse them, but I hope that this is a wake up call to whoever needs it. I use to love Kanye as an artist. It always does break my heart when a person can be so talented while also being just cruel.
I never wish harm on anyone, so I hope he works through all of his stuff and has a change of heart. But, for now, I’ll take Kanye off my playlist.