What an absolute tool
Grim shit. Good to see him being called out on it too.
Also
I think itās odd how earnest and sort of humble he seems saying all that stuff in the video. It feels so far from the grandstanding way I automatically read his Tweets out in my head. Does that make sense? Like thereās no feeling from him that he is even aware anything he says might be controversial, which is a shame because at least if there was you could feel it was all an act, even one taken too far. Like this it just feels like his thinking is fundamentally broken.
(That said, I feel hopeful that means he could easily listen to reason and such from people he trusts telling him heās full of shit?)
I think the oddest thing, or most concerning maybe, through this whole thing with him is that the language heās using seems very kind of culty and typical of a certain type of paranoia. Itās the repeated use of stuff like āfree thinkerā and āmanipulationā that sticks with me. And thereās the way, like Theo said above, he seems totally oblivious (or just doesnāt care) to the controversy heās causing and in response keeps parroting the āI love everybody, how could I upset anyondā lines. Iām not sure what itās a sign of particularly, and it might just be my interpretation, but heās starting to sound a bit Scientologyish or something.
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/991459400018624512
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/991459902718492682
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/991460307208847360
thereās like a lot more after this obviouslyā¦
And it ends in that dubious made up Harriet Tubman quote.
My momma was born in the era when
Clean water was only served to the fairer skinned
āAnd having given it a lot of thought over the past few years, that is now what i have decided to unironically endorseā
Gonna stop posting tweets and go to work now, donāt worry everyone
Heās become Noel Edmonds hasnāt he and I guess itās more repulsive because of who he is thus who heās giving this weird āitās all about YOU making the choiceā shit to? I donāt really know the path to becoming that sort of New Age person and previously Iāve only seen it in middle-class, fairly well-off white people.
I mean, heās good and everything, but where is his empire of mindfulness radio stations?
disclaimer: iām not a psychologist and i know it isnāt cricket to diagnose or pathologise anyone from a distance unless theyāre real scum, like nick cohen or Theresa may, butā¦is it possible that the mental breakdown he suffered the other year didnāt actually end, that heās fundamentally unwell, and could do with some proper help so he can get back to making bangers? I canāt square the man who expressed such lucid anger at racial oppression across so many genius albums with this troll who seems to have eaten the real kanye and stolen his skin. maybe Iām clutching at straws, but Iāve gone through periods of delusion and paranoia during which Iāve been more susceptible to some pretty magical forms of thinking.
just a thought, but maybe heās so open to these weirdo reactionary forces because heās in a very vulnerable headspace right now.
Astonishing that the guy who once tweeted BILL COSBY INNOCENT has more stupid opinions.
I mean very poorly phrased, but thereās some logic in what heās saying here, if not the conclusion he comes to. Black slaves were mentally oppressed as well physically. Some of that oppression that remains today. White society does tell black people that they arenāt supposed to dream of or aspire to what white people do. It is a kind of systematic mental oppression.
Trying to say that people can choose to break out of that, is where it all falls apart really. You have to dismantle the system of oppression, rather than challenge itās control by⦠supporting someone whoās trying to deepen its roots? Itās a very troubling conclusion to come to.
Morrisey, Gervais, West
I wonder who the next man to run out of ideas and turn to controversy for attention will be.
Ed Sheeran? Limmy?
Itās bad that all this kind of just makes me all the more fascinated in him and his career trajectory. He seems to be the living embodiment of the corrupting powers of fame, money and power and has been for a while, embracing a figure like Donald Trump seems like a perfectly logical next step in his story.
Itās crazy to have seen the transition happen in front of all of us from fresh-new-thing who is the antithesis of the āhardā image that hip-hop had at the time, comes in rapping about Jesus over chipmunk soul beats. Beefs it up with some fairly ostentatious orchestration for the next record. Gains infamy for correctly stating that āGeorge Bush doesnāt care about black peopleā.
Goes on tour with U2 and decides to make a stadium-rock hip hop equivalent and becomes the biggest star on the planet in the process (whilst simultaneously putting the nail in the coffin of commercial gangster rap). Then his gf leaves him and his Mum dies during botched cosmetic surgery that he paid for. Comes out with a dark, depressive record with barely any rapping on it which turns into one of the most influential records ever for the current breed of confessional rappers. Has the Taylor Swift incident and becomes public enemy number one.
Disappears for a bit, and seemingly has some serious self-realisation that heās turned into a bit of a dickhead. Addresses this realisation by going to Hawaii and making the most absurdly grandiose, expensive record, fucking flies in the likes of Elton John to do backing vocals on a track. Itās an absolute masterpiece that seems simultaneously self-aware and ego-maniacal. Gets his reputation back and ascends to untouchable status that allows him to make an album called Yeezus and a track called I Am A God having started out with Jesus Walks and humble Christianity, even then though the album has got New Slaves which shows that he still seems to have some social awareness.
Marries a woman who he knows at any given moment he could watch having sex with another man (this isnāt meant to be a slam on her or anything, I find it a fascinating fact about him given his past though), makes an absolute mess of a record, constantly fiddles about with it and has a breakdown of sorts. Emerges a couple of years later throwing his support behind fucking Donald Trump and talking about how slavery was a choice.
It is utterly compelling despite being utterly infuriating and really, really sad.
āNext time, on the Dissect Podcastā
Iām very confused by this.
Kanye West also has an unleaked sex tape FYI. Iām sure Kim could source that if she wanted to.
But seriously, youāre totally right, heās one of the most fascinating humans in the world right now, who makes incredible music to boot. This is just the latest controversial episode in a career of controversial episodes.
I thought he had spoken publicly before about being bipolar, maybe Iām wrong on that. Not that it would excuse him saying terrible things, but it would kind of explain how this behaviour manifests in the first place.
I meant it as a point of how he comes across (and a lot of this is probably projection) as someone who would be an insanely jealous partner and somebody who, lyrically, has a lot of issues around women and sex.