Kanye West

Ye, Yeezy, Kanye Omari "Dragon Energy"[2] "Slavery Was a Choice"[3] "Imma Let You Finish But"[4] West is a gay fish an American rapper, attention hound, and on-and-off Donald Trump fanboy.

“”I'm giving this lasagna a massage while preparing to announce I'm joining ISIS! Thank you for your interest.
—Kanye West, being mocked on Family Guy for something that may happen in the future.[1]
Time to put on some
Music
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Political stunts and views

West grew up in a left-leaning household; his father had been a member of the Black Panther Party and his mother had been a professor at Clark Atlanta University, a historically black college.[5]

He notably accused President George W. Bush of "not caring about black people" in 2005.[6]

Following his infamous interruption of Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Awards, Barack Obama referred to Kanye as a "jackass" in a behind-the-scenes interview on CNBC,[7] which Kanye took in stride, saying that he was perfectly willing to be the "butt of all of [Obama]'s jokes if it someway helped his overall mission."[8]

In 2013, West claimed that the reason President Obama was having trouble pushing his policies in Washington was, since he was black, he wasn't as well connected as Jews were, and that black people "don't got family that got money like that. This earned criticism from the Anti-Defamation League, after which West apologized for said statements, where he claimed he meant it as a compliment.[9]

West sold merchandise that had the Confederate flag on it in promotion for his 6th studio album, Yeezus, released in 2013. He was also seen wearing a jacket with a Confederate flag patch on the sleeve and was photographed draped in a large confederate flag. However, this was not, technically, in support of the flag, but rather a way of trolling neo-Confederates by showing them a black man sporting the Confederate flag. Considering where West stands now, this can be considered ironic…[10] Buzzfeed has reported he has been ripe for radicalisation[11] and that people are getting worried that Kanye is getting radicalized by the far right.[12]

West has been an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump ever since Trump became President of the United States. Interestingly, this conflicted with his wife Kim Kardashian's support of Hillary Clinton.[13] However, he (temporarily) rescinded his support for Trump in the aftermath of the Muslim travel ban.

In April 2018, West appeared to be back on the Trump Train, referring to Trump as his "brother" on Twitter and also tweeting a picture of himself wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat.[14] He has also complimented and is friends with Candace Owens, a noted far right[15] Gamergate[16] nut and Turning Point USA's director of urban engagement who regularly criticizes Black Lives Matter, referring to them as "overly privileged Americans" and "whiny toddlers pretending to be oppressed for attention." Whether or not Kanye's support for Owens qualifies him as full-blown wingnuttery remains to be seen.[17]

Like any pseudo-intellectual rightist, West is a fan of Jordan Peterson's videos and Uncle Tom's female counterpart.[18][19]

The Setup

West had floated the idea of running for President since at least 2015, though he remained ambiguous, if not contradictory, on when he actually would run.[20] While we at RationalWiki would welcome another black president, we'd prefer one who was better grounded.

West announced his campaign President July 4th 2020. Although this was too late for him to get on the ballot in some states, he could still get on many states' ballots and there remained the possibility of write-in votes in all states.[21] His suggested policies included opposition to the death penalty and abortion, and on education to put "the fear and love of God in all schools and organisations" (which appears to conflict with the First Amendment). His supporter Elon Musk would be placed in charge of the US space program.[22]

The reasons behind his run are anyone's guess, which has prompted theories ranging from self-promotion [23], to an attempt to syphon minority voters away from Democrats to benefit Trump's candidacy, to just plain nuttery. For a brief period in his extremely tumultuous campaign, various news outlets reported that West had dropped out of the presidential race [24].

Kanye Being Kanye

In interviews conducted shortly after West announced he ran for president, Kanye revealed many of his current beliefs (subject, of course, to rapid change). These beliefs included an anti-vaccination stance regarding future COVID-19 vaccines (he prefers the power of prayer and believes that vaccines are the "mark of the beast... they want to put chips inside of us, they want to do all kinds of things, to make it where we can’t cross the gates of heaven"), support for pro-life positions (from a "black genocide" perspective), that his support for Donald Trump was due to a combination of Trump somehow being the only president "allowing God to still be part of the conversation", and liking "Trump hotels and the saxophones in the lobby", that God told him to run for office, that Black History MonthFile:Wikipedia's W.svg was "torture porn", that inner city violence in Chicago was caused by removing "the fear and love of God in all schools and organizations", and that this presidential run absolutely positively is not a promotion angle for his upcoming album, nuh-uh, no sir-ee! [25]

This was but the beginning of West's bumpy campaign trail, dedicated to churning out at least one controversy a week, taking inspiration from another longshot candidate.

In a July 19th, 2020 rally West did a rant on Harriet Tubman, saying that she "actually never freed the slaves, she just had the slaves go work for other white people.". This understandably created a backlash in the crowd. [26] West followed up the rally with a bizarre Twitter rant on the night of July 20th, 2020; [27] there is widespread worry that these bizarre events may relate to West's bipolar disorder, and there is concern about West's mental health. [28][29][30]

As of July 9th, 2020 Kanye West is facing backlash from Planned Parenthood over his abortion rights rant. [31] Also there is a report that West when he becomes president wants to model his White House cabinet after "Black Panther" [32]

He also revealed his extensive policy plans on important matters (such as foreign relations, taxes, the economy, and the COVID-19 crisis) that he will implement if elected president, as summarized below:

The End?

In the end, West was able to get his name on 12 states, and earned around 60,000 votes in the election [33]. He hastily conceded, showing that even he was quicker to accept reality than the Big Cheese. However, Kanye being Kanye, he remains ambiguous as to whether he will run again, tweeting out "Kanye 2024" immediately after conceding[34].

Religion: There and Back Again

West is an Evangelical Christian. His pastor Adam Tyson, a Calvinist preacher and graduate of well-known conservative Evangelical John MacArthur's seminary, The Master's University, has preached at his meetings.[35][36] His 2019 album, Jesus is King,[37] centers around his newfound faith. Before this, West had referenced his faith in a few songs, including "Jesus Walks". These are all of course coming from the same person who released a song called "I Am a God".

West once claimed that he believed that he was "like a vessel, and God has chosen me to be the voice and the connector."[38] In addition, he has also claimed that slavery was a choice,[39] though he has since apologized and recanted this claim. He has also stated that he wants to "abolish the 13th amendment".[40] West later clarified that he "misspoke by saying abolish, amend is the right language."[41][42] West explained:

the 13th Amendment is slavery in disguise meaning it never ended We are the solution that heals[43]

In 1865, the 13th Amendment stated that no man is destined to slavery or involuntary servitude unless convicted of a crime. This translates to in order to make a freed man a slave all you have to do is convict them of a crime.[41][42]

That last bit is quite right: he's referring to a loophole that the South used to re-enslave black (and a few white) Americans after Reconstruction; it's how the South was able to rebuild its economy after the Civil War.[44]

Other

West has compared himself to almost everyone you can think of, including Adolf Hitler (an unusual case of self-inflicted Godwin's Law),[45] William Shakespeare,[46] Walt Disney and Steve Jobs (at the same time),[47] Axl Rose, Jim Morrison, and Jimi Hendrix (all three at the same time),[48] and Leonardo da Vinci,[49] just to name a few.

On his 2018 album Ye, West talked about his mental health issues, including bipolar disorder. The album cover also referenced this, saying "I hate being / Bi-Polar / its [sic] awesome" in green handwriting.

gollark: Prove it by induction.
gollark: Something seems to repeatedly be sending me this.
gollark: I'm really worried about why I'm getting these emails.
gollark: This sort of thing is, of course, why more effective law enforcement is actually bad.
gollark: The average of at least 783 of them, uploaded into a LyricLy™.

References
  2. https://www.newsweek.com/dragon-energy-donald-trump-kanye-west-901759
  3. https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/01/entertainment/kanye-west-slavery-choice-trnd/
  4. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/kanye-west-storms-the-vmas-stage-during-taylor-swifts-speech-83468/
  5. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/04/25/kanye-west-from-bush-doesnt-care-about-black-people-to-praising-trumps-dragon-energy/?utm_term=.c9672ca8ee33
  6. http://www.chicagotribune.com/redeye/redeye-kanye-west-katrina-telethon-george-bush-black-people-20150902-htmlstory.html
  7. https:// youtube.com/watch?v=078BGtKNL1o
  8. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/04/25/kanye-west-from-bush-doesnt-care-about-black-people-to-praising-trumps-dragon-energy/?utm_term=.24fa881af3dd
  9. Kanye West wants to take back 'ignorant compliment' about Jews, Jerusalem Post, Dec 22, 2013
  10. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2015/06/21/kanye-west-once-wore-the-confederate-flag-what-does-he-think-about-it-now/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1d02e6b85274
  13. , Washington Post, April 25, 2018
  14. Kanye West Calls President Trump 'My Brother' Then Tweets a Selfie in a MAGA Hat, Time, April 25, 2018
  15. López G., Cristina. What to know about Scott Adams and Candace Owens, the right-wing commentators Kanye West promoted. New Media Matters, April 24, 2018.
  16. Jesse Singal, The Strange Tale of Social Autopsy, the Anti-Harassment Start-up That Descended Into Gamergate Trutherism. New York Magazine, 16 April 2016.
  17. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/kanye-west-donald-trump-candace-owens-twitter-a8319296.html
  18. , Fox News, April 23, 2018
  20. Kanye West reaffirms vow to run for president in 2024, The Independent (UK), April 25, 2018
  21. Kanye West says he’s running for president, Politico, July 5, 2020
  22. Kanye West takes anti-vaccine, anti-abortion stance in US presidential bid, The Guardian, July 8, 2020
  23. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrolli/2020/07/18/kanye-west-announces-new-album-donda/#1ebf98ed1523
  24. https://kfor.com/news/report-kanye-west-dropping-out-of-2020-presidential-race/
  25. "Kanye West Says He’s Done With Trump—Opens Up About White House Bid, Damaging Biden And Everything In Between" by Randall Lane, Forbes, 2020 July 8
  26. https://www.newsweek.com/kanye-west-says-harriet-tubman-never-freed-slaves-during-campaign-rally-1518949
  27. "Kanye Goes on Twitter Rant Following Campaign Rally: 'Kim Tried to Bring a Doctor to Lock Me Up'" by Abel Shifferaw, Complex, 2020 July 20
  28. "Kanye West presidential ‘campaign’ has people worried about his mental health" by Katie Scott, Global News, 2020 July 20
  29. "Kanye West's presidential bid needs to end now – for his sake, and ours" by Neil McCormick, Telegraph, 2020 July 20
  30. "Kanye West Sparks Massive Mental Health Worries During First Presidential Campaign Appearance" by Mike Walters, The Blast, 2020 July 19
  31. https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/9415830/planned-parenthood-slams-kanye-west-abortion-claims
  32. https://www.foxla.com/news/kanye-west-says-hed-model-his-administration-after-wakanda-government-from-black-panther
  33. https://deadline.com/2020/11/kanye-west-gets-60000-votes-across-12-states-in-u-s-presidential-race-1234608903/
  34. https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54849605
  35. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDUmbkdQksU
  36. Who is the Master’s Seminary grad now preaching at Kanye West's Sunday Services?, Christian Post, Oct 6, 2019
  37. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiE0QL9d9I8
  38. http://www.vulture.com/2013/06/does-kanye-west-really-think-hes-god.html
  39. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=g854dJu5KBs
  40. this represents good and America becoming whole again. We will no longer outsource to other countries. We build factories here in America and create jobs. We will provide jobs for all who are free from prisons as we abolish the 13th amendment. Message sent with love, @kanyewest, Twitter, 11:27 AM, 30 Sep 2018
  41. Kanye West explains his 13th Amendment comments. CNN. October 2, 2018.
  42. TMZ: Kanye West Clarifies 'Abolish' 13th Amendment Remark. YouTube. October 1, 2018.
  43. the 13th Amendment is slavery in disguise meaning it never ended We are the solution that heals, @kanyewest, Twitter, 1:00 PM, 30 Sep 2018
  44. See the Wikipedia article on Slavery by Another Name.
  45. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/kanye-west-compares-himself-to-hitler-at-british-festival-20110808
  46. https://pagesix.com/2013/11/27/kanye-baby-north-is-just-as-royal-as-prince-george/
  47. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/kanye-west-praises-this-generations-steve-jobs-and-walt-disney-himself-2018-04-25
  48. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/kanye-west-im-the-number-one-living-and-breathing-rock-star-20130624
  49. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/21/kanye-west-leonardo-da-vinci-glastonbury
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