‘I pray for Kanye’s health,’ says his friend

HIS CAREER HAS been defined by controversy – from his long feud with Taylor Swift to his ‘love’ of Trump – but last week Kanye West faced a growing backlash after he claimed that slavery was a ‘choice’. ‘ When you hear about slavery for 400 years... for 400 years? That sounds like a choice,’ he told TMZ, adding, ‘ You was there for 400 years and it’s all of y’all? It’s like we’re mentally imprisoned.’

Will.i.am and director Spike Lee were among the A-listers to publicly disavow the rapper, who has since been unfollowed on social media by Ariana Grande, Drake, Katy Perry, Zayn Malik and Nicki Minaj.

Now, speaking exclusively to Grazia, Kanye’s childhood friend and Jesus Walks co-writer, Rhymefest, has expressed fears for Kanye’s wellbeing. ‘I think the pace of music is driving artists crazy. People often look at entertainers and they’re waiting on a train crash,’ he said. ‘ Whatever he does, I just pray for my friend’s peace and health.’

Rhymefest (born Che Smith) quit working with Kanye two years ago, amid fears he was heading for a breakdown. In November 2016, Kanye was admitted to hospital suffering from ‘temporary psychosis due to sleep deprivation and dehydration’, and spent over a week being treated at the UCLA Medical Center in LA. Shortly before Kanye’s admittance, Rhymefest tweeted, ‘My brother needs help, in the form of counselling. Spiritual & mental. He should step away from the public & yesmen & heal.’ Today, Rhymefest says, ‘I just want my friend to be healthy. I was saying it before he went to hospital. People came down real hard on me for speaking out. Not him, but the public.’

Following Kanye’s slavery controversy, speculation raged that it may have been a publicity stunt or bizarre performance art. But defending his comments on Twitter, he wrote, ‘ The reason why I brought up the 400 years is because we can’t be mentally imprisoned for another 400 years. We need free thought now. Even the statement was an example of free thought… Once again I am being attacked for presenting new ideas.’