I am sure that it is not news to anyone that Kanye West has a long history of being problematic.

In 2005 he says on live TV 'George Bush doesn’t care about black people.'
The 2009 VMA's he interrupts Taylor Swift's award speech to say Beyonce deserved the award.
In 2016 he says that he would have voted for Trump in the election.
The change in tune from 2005 to 2016 is highly hypocritical and causing people to be very unsure on what the rappers true believes are, is he doing all this for press or is he even in his right state of mind?

'The Track “New Slaves” tackles issues facing contemporary African Americans: racism, capitalism, American society’s legal and economic systems and the culture of commodification, all of which, Kanye raps, are exploiting black people.'
- Katie Goh for The Independent

Kanye has always been a huge advocate for black people, especially in the area he grew up in Chicago. His album released in 2016, The Life of Pablo, included many songs that referenced these beliefs. The quote above highlights exactly how it had influence especially in the song, "New Slaves."



After a hiatus on social media lasting just over a year Kanye popped back up with a bang in the last month, so many inspirational messages about believing in yourself and some announcements of upcoming music drops. I was so excited to hear all of this and really hoped Kanye's return to social media would provide a bit more of that connection modern day artists have with their fans. I would say this lasted a good week or so before Kanye's problematic side showed it's ugly head again.

For a man of Kanye's position to be posting about Donald Trump, especially after Kanye's frequent previous statements on how presidents don't care about black people, I see it as hypocritical. Trump cares about no one other than himself and other old white elite men. For a black man with a wife and daughter to be so publicly supporting of a man so disrespectful to women and people of colour it is upsetting and infuriating. To be honest, I see it all as a thing of money.

Do you remember when OJ Simpson said "I'm not black, I'm OJ," I think it is like that. Kanye is above all our 'real world' issues because he has the money and the influence to do whatever suits him best. He can vote for whoever without real consequences. He has healthcare, he has stable income and this gives him the stability which the majority of the population can't access. He can support these people because his wealth and status allows him to avoid the real effects of the people in government.

After recent admittance of an oppiod addiction I am imagining that all recent news has been due to this, however will Kanye ever truly explain his recent behaviour? I think it is fairly unlikely but I'll be watching with keen interest.