Disclaimer: This is the opinion of one young writer, and does not reflect the views and opinions of KingOfReads.com or its proprietor.
I’ve spent a lot of time with Kanye West’s music. I was born in 1994, so Kanye arrived on the scene at a time when I was a developing Queer boy. I had so many feelings, these uncontrollable hormonal emotions, that Kanye’s music really spoke to in some ways. That said, he was trash. Like most of our heroes, he was trash. But we ate it up, didn’t we? Now, some of us have outgrown him. Some of us need to grow up.
Kanye has, yet again, let his ego do the talking. Whether you believe he is serious or not, he wants us to believe that he is running for president. He also wants you to believe he loves Black people. It’s dangerous for you to believe either. Kanye has a non-Black wife, whom he has allowed to scold and threaten the Black people running the foundation named after his Black mother. Kanye was (is?) an ardent supporter of Donald Trump. Kanye implied that slavery was a choice. Kanye’s given you every indication that his interests lie with his current state of mind and y’all (spelled: Black cishet men) ignore the fact that said interests consistently cause harm. That makes you complicit. So let’s talk about it.
As JustLatasha once said, “I’m sorry your fathers never came home.” Kanye is not your long-lost Daddy. Neither is Nas, Jay-Z, J. Cole, or Robert Kelly. These men are businessmen. Their allegiance is to the money they make. Don’t get me wrong. I’m anti-capitalist, but I understand that Black people need money to survive, and in order to leverage capital for progress against oppressive systems. All these men have enough money to survive for several hundred years. Yet, instead of redistributing it or supporting the work of people who have been fighting toward Black liberation for decades, they sprinkle a few tax-deductible dollars into organizations that may or may not actually appropriate these funds correctly, or give you a soundbite that makes you think they’re on your side. Then, they turn around and say things like “we’ve moved past kneeling” and “400 years?! That sounds like a choice.” They spew rhetoric, not backed by facts or even well-thought-out opinion, that undermines people who have done the reading, who have done the research required to participate in the discussion. The problem is, at every turn, Black cishet men want to believe that they’re “playing chess not checkers” when it’s clear they aren’t even on the board.
Y’all have this faith in these men, as if they somehow are providing something substantive in your life. Let’s take a look at a few of the “chess” moves Kanye performed today. He told you vaccines were “the mark of the beast”. He said one of the police officers who aided in the murder of George Floyd didn’t deserve to be in jail. He implied that God was punishing us with COVID-19 and that prayer was all that was needed to stop it. But when he was asked about taxes, this man who’s worth more than some small countries said “I haven’t done enough research on that yet. I will research that with the strongest experts that serve God and come back with the best solution.” And the worst part is that he doesn’t have to answer for any of this. You’ll all do it for him. You’ll defend him until the day he dies because you see him as a patriarch, a father-figure, here to guide you through life in the way your father never could. Guess what, Tiger, daddy isn’t really out for a pack of smokes. He’s in Wyoming with his White wife and a whole lot of money he doesn’t want your dirty little fingers to touch.
Do you feel attacked? You should. Toyin is dead. Tony McDade is dead. Trans women are dying at such a rapid pace, I have lost track. George Floyd’s gasping death is still playing in my mind, and Breonna Taylor’s killers are still not answering for their crimes. These are our chess pieces. You, not Kanye, should be moving them, but your fingers are too preoccupied defending a man who doesn’t know you exist and never wanted to.
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In a story published Tuesday evening, Page Six is reporting that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are getting divorced, with the two already in settlement talks. The news comes after the couple spent the holiday season separately – Kanye at his ranch outside Cody, Wyoming, Kim and the kids with her famous family in southern California.
A source close to Kardashian was quoted saying, “Kim got Kanye to go up there so they could live separate lives and quietly get things sorted out to separate and divorce. She’s done.” Kardashian, 40, and West, 43, are said to be splitting because of marital problems directly related to Kanye’s very public mental health struggles.
For several years the rapper’s various antics have caused fans to worry. After coming out as a Trump supporter, West then announced his own 2020 presidential bid under a new political party: the Birthday Party. At a campaign rally in South Carolina, he was seen rambling, debating individual audience members, and at times, crying. In various interviews, he has rambled on almost incoherently, and his tweetstorms are now infamous.
For her part, Kim has always supported her husband and has openly discussed the difficulties of their marriage. Back in June, she shared on social media, “Anyone who has [bipolar disorder] or has a loved one in their life who does, knows how incredibly complicated and painful it is to understand… People who are unaware or far removed from this experience can be judgmental and not understand that the individual (has) to engage in the process of getting help no matter how hard family and friends try.”
It appears she has finally reached her limit in the union with the unnamed source saying, “She is serious about taking the bar exam and becoming a lawyer, she is serious about her prison reform campaign. Meanwhile Kanye is talking about running for president and saying other crazy s**t, and she’s just had enough of it.”
Separately, a source close to Kanye alleges the rapper is sick of his wife and her family, which might have some truth to it since he has tweeted some pretty nasty things about them in the past. “I been trying to get divorced since Kim met with Meek at the Warldolf [sic] for ‘prison reform,’” he said in a now-deleted July tweet. Recently, he hasn’t been featured on his wife’s Instagram and has largely remained out of the public eye.
With the news yet to be confirmed, the “divorce is imminent” reports are just rumors for now. We’ll be following the news as more information comes out.
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