The Case for Kanye West

*I wrote this piece in May 2018, when Kanye first came back to life after his almost year and a half long hiatus. Since then, he has released almost 10 different albums, overwhelmed twitter several times and had an unbelievable (and I mean that in the full sense of the word) meeting with Trump. It's really hard keeping up with this guy...*

If you lived on this planet this week, ANYWHERE on this planet in fact, I am sure you heard or read somewhere that Kanye West said slavery was a choice.

Cringy. Very very cringy and extremely no Bueno for Mr. West’s already sullied reputation (if you lived anywhere on this planet last week you probably saw the picture of Kanye wearing a MAGA hat).

The lines have been drawn, the pitchforks sharpened, the torches lit. and if like me you’re still on Kanye’s side, you better be willing to explain yourself.

So, I shall attempt to do just that. But before I do so, I would like to state on the record that I DO NOT THINK SLAVERY WAS A CHOICE.

1. Kanye has always been a controversial figure, that’s just who he is. There is no Kanye West without the “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people” incident, the Taylor Swift moment and the endless rants on stage. It’s part of what makes him such an exciting artist. He is erratic and impulsive, he says what’s on his mind no matter the consequences, at this point it seems like he is willing to go as far as to destroy his career to do so.

Yes, I completely agree with the many critics who say that a person who is so influential shouldn’t be so reckless with his words, but I also must point out that there is precedent. This is not the first time, nor will it be the last. So, I guess my first point is quite simply: chill. Take his words with a grain of salt. With your very own individual grain of salt. Form an opinion, don’t jump on the bandwagon and remember: THIS IS KANYE.

2. It has been almost a year and a half since we last heard from Yeezy and if you’re a fan you knew he was always going to come back with a bang. In a way he had to. The music industry is ruthless. If you can’t keep up, you are going to be left behind. In Kanye’s absence the stage was clear for others to grab as much of the spotlight as they could, now that he has returned from the dead, he had to grab it right back. Was this the best course of action? Probably not. Did he plan it to go this way? I don’t think so. Is it working? Absolutely.

3. I can’t help it.

Kanye entered my life when I was 14. We had just moved to Toronto, Canada. I was a new kid in a new country in a new school. I was desperate to find a way to connect and belong in this foreign land. On the first day of school, Kanye released his breakthrough single “Jesus Walks” and that’s all anyone could talk about. “did you hear that track by that dude who produced Jay Z’s album?” “He has a weird name” “that song is soooo dope”.

My first conversations with my first friends in Canada were about Kanye.

Since then he never left my side. His music will always find its way into my heart, not just because in my opinion it’s incredible but because I hear myself in his words. I hear my ego, my anxieties, my achievements, my failures, my ups and my downs.

He is human. He is flawed. He is far from perfect and so am I.