Kanye West, one of the most eminent figures in hip-hop and most protuberant icons in pop culture, went from boldly asserting “George Bush hates Black People” to the shocking claim, “slavery was a choice.”
As of late, Black America has stigmatized West, some even going to the extent of dismissing him from Black culture because of a string of questionable actions, statements and gestures he has made, perhaps in opposition to normative schools of thought.
West has been characterized as a “coon,” an “Uncle Tom,” and a “sellout,” particularly for his recent visit to the nation’s capital to have a talk with arguably the most unfavorable president in American history.
On Oct. 11, the Chicago native met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office for a discussion on prison reform. He delivered a lengthy speech on a range of topics and sat alongside NFL legend and Civil Rights icon Jim Brown, who also expressed concerns.
Kanye West’s monologue covered a vast range of subject matters and issues facing the nation and Black America. West and Trump originally met to discuss prison reform and other fundamental issues with the criminal justice system over lunch.
West opened his address by discussing the influence of kingpin Larry Hoover and hopes to free the former Chicago gang leader, then proceeded to highlighting a deceptive Democratic agenda to dismantle the Black family through the welfare program, as he urged Black people to leave the political party.
“Actually, Blacks weren’t always Democrats,” he said on a recent Saturday Night Live episode.
“It’s like a plan they did to take the fathers out of the home and promote welfare.”
“You know they tried to scare me to not wear this hat (inscribed “Make America Great Again”), my own friends. But this hat, it gives me power in a way,” said West as he sat across from Trump.
The famed rapper and record producer said he loves Hillary Clinton but felt somewhat antagonized by her campaign slogan, “I’m With Her,” which according to West, had feminist undertones.
One of West’s more sophisticated, astute critics is Doreen St. Felix, a writer for The New Yorker magazine.
“West’s ten-minute monologue darted chaotically from allusions to Sigmund Freud and Nikola Tesla to claims that he had been misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder. But one theme he kept returning to, during the tirade and in response to journalists’ questions, was that of the disempowered black man, revived and ready to vanquish the enervating effects of women’s influence,” St. Felix wrote in the Oct. 11 article titled “Kanye West’s White House Monologue Flirted with the Language of the Men’s-Rights Movement.”
“West’s tone was one of guileless amazement. But these comments openly flirted with the poisonous rhetoric of the men’s-rights movement,” she continued.
St. Felix’s written expertise deserves the highest respect, but her scathing criticism of West appears to be written from a pro-feminist, pro-liberal angle – movements that have never been advantageous to the Black man. Thus, a Black man’s ideas – whether agreeable or not – probably should not be assessed through a pro-feminist lens.
Prison reform, job creation, mental health and education reform, entrepreneurial ventures, structural issues with the 13th amendment were among the notable matters that West covered, along with universal togetherness, Black fatherhood, liberalism, racial unity and a myriad of other social issues including mental health — a topic that has emerged in the Black community.
“What I need Saturday Night Live to improve on and what I need the liberals to improve on is, if he [Trump] don’t look good then we [America] don’t look good. This is our president,” said West with fervor.
“He has to be the freshest, the flyest planes, the best factories, and we have to make our core be empowered. We have to bring jobs into America… When we make everything in China and not in America, then we’re cheating on our country. And we’re putting people in positions to have to do illegal things to end up in the cheapest factory ever – the prison system.”
After West expressively mused about some of the social issues that bothered him, Trump responded, “I’ll tell you what, that was pretty impressive folks,” adding “That was quite something.”
When asked about crime in Chicago, West voiced disdain with the broken U.S. educational system, suggesting that education leaders should consider integrating “mixed curriculums” and semi-structured learning environments to enhance the academic experiences of students.
“We need to [develop] curriculums from people who really came from the streets, not people who are just trying to set us up to go into a work system or prison system,” he said.
While West may appear to be betraying his people to conform to a corrupt political agenda, is it possible that he is demonstrating his patented ingenuity? Could Kanye simply be playing chess, using the ‘Trump platform’ to get what he needs for his community?
Though Kanye spoke vehemently against Obama while ostensibly pledging loyalty for Trump, the fact that a Black man took time to speak with the highest-ranking official in the United States about some of the most prominent issues facing Black America should warrant at least marginal commendation.
His outwardly abstract approach in expressing to Trump what must happen perhaps gave a distasteful impression, but much of what West presented to the president sounded quite plausible.
While many Black Americans and leaders in the conscious community place unpleasant labels on West for donning the ‘MAGA’ hat and visiting the White House, one cannot disregard his philanthropic efforts in Chicago and his plan to develop low-income housing.
Singer and actor Ray J surprisingly voiced support for West’s White House visit in an interview on BBC Radio.
“Kanye has a lot of great relationships that can help the African American community,” Ray said.
“He’s in the room now. We always wanted to have someone in the room. And if you are talking to the president, that is a big move, that is a big step. So I respect that.”
Trump, in a recent Black Leadership Summit speech on Oct. 26, made a statement about Kanye that holds possible credence: “So I think Kanye may be the most powerful man in all of politics.”
Before the Black community summarily dismisses West from ‘the culture,’ it should be noted that the man might just be using his clout, his cultural influence, his intelligence, his political wit to devise a strategy to obtain resources that Black America has been in dire need of for centuries.
Maybe – just maybe – Kanye is on to something.
