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Antonio Jackson
Staff Writer
If you are wondering what all the uproar about Kanye West or Ye as he prefers to be called, you need only watch Revolt’s hit podcast “Drink Champs” interview with the music legend on YouTube.
In this interview, Ye made various statements that caused quite the bit of controversy among the Jewish and African-American communities. He accused Jewish people of “owning the black voice” among a multitude of other allegations. He stated, “The Jewish community… will take one of us, the brightest of us… they’ll take us and milk us till we die.”
In addition to this, Ye shared his take on the death of George Floyd. Floyd was an African-American man who died as a result of police brutality on May 25, 2020. Derek Chauvin, one of the three officers who were at the scene, placed his knee over Floyd’s neck, killing him. He was later convicted of the crime and sentenced to 21 years in federal prison.
Despite the backlash gained from his comments, Ye has not festered from his stance on the Jewish community. He believes that since there are black people who are also Jewish and he personally identifies as Jewish, he cannot be called antisemitic. In one interview he stated, “I don’t like the term antisemitic, it has allowed people, specifically in my industry, to get away with murder… I don’t believe in that term.”
The black community was angered by Ye’s disputing the ruling on Floyd’s death. Alluding to the idea that he died from drug an overdose. Ye stated, “He said prayer for eight minutes, they hit him with the fentanyl. If you look, the guy’s knee wasn’t even on his neck like that.”
Although the rap artist and his controversial views seem to grow more outrageous every time he opens his mouth, some Jackson State University students believe that this will not affect his
career.
Kameron Read, a freshman journalism and media studies major from Chattanooga, Tenn., shared thoughts on what seems to be West’s immunity to cancel culture.
“He has already had a profitable career, so all the things he’s saying now isn’t going to change his movement. I used to love Kanye, but I just don’t understand him anymore,” said Read.
Pierce Branch, a freshman English major from Clarksville, Tenn., had a similar take on the matter, noting that his music will still be heard by many.
“No matter what he says or do, people are still going to listen to his music. When he brought up the fact that he had mental issues, we sort of had to give him leeway. But personally, I still don’t support his message,” Branch stated.
In the past, it has been announced that the hip-hop legend was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Adding him to the estimated 2.8 percent of U.S. adults were diagnosed with bipolar disorder in the past year, according the National Alliance of Mental Illness. Some of the symptoms of this illness are delusion, risk taking behaviors, and manic episodes.
Kendal Smith, PhD., an assistant professor in experimental psychology at JSU, said West’s illness could be playing a role in his statements, however, these thoughts are still his own.
“I do believe that a lot of what we are seeing with Kanye’s behavior could be a result of his disorder. When someone who has bipolar depression goes through a period of mania or has a manic episode, it could lead to behaviors that can be characterized as impulsive or aggressive, sometimes marked by delusional thinking…In my opinion, although Kanye’s behavior can be understood in the context of his psychological disorder, that does not excuse his behavior,” said
Smith.
West’s statements have not only caused harm to himself but to others as well. N.O.R.E, a host on “Drink Champs”, has received criticism for allowing him to make those comments on the show and not taking the time to remove them from the interview.
N.O.R.E has since removed the entire interview off YouTube and apologized. It should also be noted that the family of Floyd announced on Oct. 18, that they will be filing a $250 million lawsuit against West for the comments he made and have since sent him a cease-and-desist letter.
And while some say it is impossible to cancel Ye, it is definitely possible to hurt his bank account. According to forbes.com, Adidas, has officially cut ties with the rapper. The popular sports company accounted for $1.5 billion of his net worth, dropping Ye down from billionaire to millionaire status.
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