Kanye bombastic as ever on return
Uproar over star’s slavery comments
SINCE re-emerging last month from a year-long absence, Kanye West has sparked outrage by throwing his lot with Donald Trump and calling slavery a choice. Yet the rapper has succeeded spectacularly in one key goal – staying at the centre of attention.
If West’s newfound politics have baffled some longtime fans, the 40year-old has clear stylistic affinities with Trump – a bombastic round-theclock presence on Twitter, with musings that appear to be stream-ofconsciousness but manage to commandeer each news cycle.
A self-described Renaissance man with interests in music, fashion and politics who has unironically compared himself to Michelangelo, West had long been given a pass by the entertainment world for his rowdier tendencies such as disrupting award ceremonies as few dispute his talents.
Since breaking through in 2004 with The College Dropout, West has produced lavish hip-hop albums that blend in soul and electroclash.
But whereas West’s early work explored his insecurities, the Chicago native has come to epitomise the Los Angeles celebrity lifestyle and in 2014 married Kim Kardashian.
After the chaotic release of his last album The Life of Pablo, West suffered a mental breakdown and cut short his tour. He reappeared in public in December 2016 when he walked into Trump Tower in New York to meet the president-elect.
Returning last month to Twitter, West revealed that he feels “love” for Trump and sported one of his “Make America Great Again” caps.
Trump quickly cited West as evidence of rising support among minorities.
West – whose first visible foray into politics came in 2005 when he said president George W Bush “doesn’t care about black people” after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans – acknowledged he has not followed Trump’s policies closely.
But the rapper said he admired the real estate mogul’s audacity to run.
“When I see an outsider infiltrate, I connect with that,” West told radio host Charlamagne tha God.
But West made bigger headlines during an appearance at TMZ Live.
“You hear about slavery for 400 years. For 400 years? That sounds like a choice,” West said.
In another Trumpian touch, West later took to Twitter to criticise media coverage of his remarks, saying he meant “we can’t be mentally imprisoned for another 400 years”.
West also for the first time explained his hospitalisation. He said he had been suffering stress for factors that included low airplay for The
Life of Pablo and the armed robbery of his wife in her Paris hotel room.
Calling his hospitalisation a “breakdown – or breakthrough,” West said his experience was incredible and that he wanted to draw awareness to mental health issues.
“Best believe, I’m going to take the stigma off the word ‘crazy’.” — AFP