Personally, I wasn’t mad at the handful of celebrities who were trying to defend Kanye West last week. John Legend and Chance the Rapper both made statements on social media where they tried to have Ye’s back in the face of his Donald Trump-supporting MAGA-ness. John Legend, I believe, is simply a nice guy and a thoughtful dude who is personally close to Kanye and didn’t want to be like “Kanye is canceled.” And for Legend’s concern – both private and public – Kanye reacted by posting Legend’s texts and messages and basically encouraged the Deplorables to attack Legend. Chance, on the other hand, tweeted these thoughts in the middle of Kanye’s MAGA meltdown:
Black people don’t have to be democrats.
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) April 25, 2018
Next President gon be independent
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) April 25, 2018
The first tweet is correct: black folks don’t *have* to be Democrats. The second tweet is false. The next president is not going to be an independent. But Chance was attacked for stating something obvious about politics: black people don’t have to be Democrats. Many are, because even if the black community is not 100% down with everything Democrats say or do, there’s no denying that the Republican Party in 2018 is the party of white supremacy and neo-Nazism.
Anyway, Chance was widely criticized for those tweets. And in other quarters, he was applauded. Deplorables were suddenly like “yay, Chance is a ‘good one’.” Donald Trump even tweeted @ him.
Kanye West has performed a great service to the Black Community – Big things are happening and eyes are being opened for the first time in Decades – Legacy Stuff! Thank you also to Chance and Dr. Darrell Scott, they really get it (lowest Black & Hispanic unemployment in history).
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2018
To which Chance responded:
Nah that aint it yo https://t.co/hqA1NYGxE2
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) April 27, 2018
And then he responded again, releasing a lengthy statement:
“Kanye West is not just a mentor or a big homie to me. He’s my family. No matter how much I may disagree with him, it’s hard for me to watch people talk about someone I love – even if they are justified in doing so. I didn’t speak up because I agree with Kanye or cause I f–k with Trump, I did it because I wanted to help my friend and cause I felt like I was being used to attack him. Unfortunately, my attempt to support Kanye is being used to discredit my brothers and sisters in the movement and I can’t sit by and let that happen either.”
“My statement about black folk not having to be democrats (though true) was a deflection from the real conversation and stemmed from a personal issue with the fact that Chicago has had generations of democratic officials with no investment or regard for black schools, neighbourhoods or black lives. But again [I] said that sh-t at the wrongest time. We have to talk honestly about what is happening and has been happening in this country and we have to challenge those who are responsible, as well as those who are giving them a pass.”
“If that includes someone that I love, someone who is my brother-in-Christ and someone who I believe does really want to do what is right, it’s not my job to defend or protect him. It’s my job to pick up the phone and talk to him about it.”
[From Chance’s Twitter]
Much like I didn’t blame Kanye’s few remaining friends for trying to defend him, I’m not going to blame Chance for trying to defend Kanye, failing miserably and then apologizing and explaining himself. I’m fine with what he says here because it’s the truth: whatever any Kanye Defender/Apologist can say in his defense will end up being used against communities of color.
Meanwhile, Kanye has released new music and it includes the lyrics “That’s the problem with this damn nation/All blacks gotta be Democrats./ Man, we ain’t made it off the plantation/I was in the sunken pace, then I found the new me.” Gurl, STAHP.
My fault yo pic.twitter.com/TIWhG8o1ST
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) April 27, 2018
Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid.
I believe this was all a publicity stunt to sell music, which I find pretty disgusting. Truly taking a page out of the Kardashian playbook…
I think it’s a really bad one, if it is. It’s put the attention on him, but not in the way he or maybe the K’s wanted to, imo.
You can’t piss off and support racists when most of the people who stream and support you, are black. We are not the same people who support the Klan. And his new fellow MAGA friends won’t buy his things. It makes no sense. People have already decided that IF they have to listen to his music, it’ll be bootleg. People aren’t even paying attention to Kim being basically naked on her IG for the past few days/week (?). I didn’t even hear about his trolling new song until a few hours ago.
Major celebs have unfollowed him, some musical LEGENDS have already shown that they don’t support him. He’s being dragged, Kim’s being dragged for failing to try and defend him. Just nah.
It was all a stunt. Chance’s first tweet is a line from Kanye’s song with Chance featured on it. They just stirred up hype with negative opinion and further twisted it with his past of playing that it could be his illness stirring up.
When in reality it was what most of us said, it’s him being an asshole.
This! They are delusional stunt queens who have lost touch with reality. Chance is worse than Kanye for this he’s acting like he’s this left wing activist whose for the people and then he goes and does this.
I think it was a stunt but they seriously underestimated the backlash. Chance has pulled back cause he gets it but Kanye doubled down like the narcissist that he is.
Kanye is and has always LOOK AT ME. Don’t , as there is nothing to see
“Kanye reacted by posting Legend’s texts and messages and basically encouraged the Deplorables to attack Legend.“
Kanye is a terrible friend and an all-around jackass. I think that’s it— I think he’s just a straight-up asshole and his family is alluding to the mental health stuff via the media to try and excuse his behavior. It’s transparent and disgusting and Kanye can go f*ck himself along with all the other Trump supporters. He’s just a douche, plain and simple, and I agree that this this a manufactured controversy to sell albums— so he also thinks we’re all idiots. He IS canceled.
Yea and the fact that they are still friends is amazing to me. Kanye had a bunch of racist d-bags attacking John and the next day they were all posting selfies and videos together. But that’s the difference between John and Jay Z. Jay Z immediately was like “no you can’t attack my family” and cut him off.
I love John Legend but that was weak af.
That and the video of them boppin to Kanye’s new song on three different beats tells you how trash that new song is.
I don’t take that as John Legend being weak, I take it as him still trying to change Kanye’s mind. Legend walks the walk and has been involved in politics for the last 8 years trying to get Democrats elected. He knows the negative impact on impressionable young African-American voters if Kanye’s “F- the Dems” catches on. We don’t need more voter apathy in the coming elections. Jay Z is not that involved in politics.
OT.C. I believe jZ is very involved in politics quietly. I read when the protestors were getting jailed in Chicago and Ferguson JZ and the B LM protestors were being jailed, I read he bailing out quite a few of those arrested, but his name was not used, it was under an assumed name. Don’t know if it’s true, that’s what I read. Kanye on the other hand 🤚 cricketers.
BNA, I’ve heard that too
Jordan, I also hear that Common and Pres Obamacare are doing some good things in Chicago. Ri ri is also doing some good things out there.
I don’t think it’s weak. I doubt John just left it at that text exchange that Ye posted. And I think it would probably be pretty rude to cancel on Kim and Kanye when they were throwing a baby shower for Chrissy. I’m sure John went with the intention of talking with Kanye, trying to get him to see reason, not just capitulating.
John Legend is more intelligent than that.
My only problem is that it’s not a democrat / republican thing.
Of course not all black people HAVE to be democrats. Thank God for freedom, you know!
It’s just that it’s a democrat / TRUMP thing.
Trump is NOT a Republican. He only represents himself. He’s a party of one (literally). Angela Rye rightfully said that he’s the creature of Frankenstein.
How can black people support a RACIST is beyond me and when all else seems unsure, one truth remains, Trump IS a racist!
When you listen to Paris Dennard it’s like “My God! The mental gymnastics are making me dizzy! It’s veering into Stockholm syndrome territory!”
+100 agree with everything you said. Don’t get me started on Paris Dennard! He looks weaker and older every day and makes a fool of himself by struggling to defending everything Trump says and does. Would Trump defend that gay, black man?
Paris has a girlfriend, last time I checked. I don’t think he is gay. But many people perceive that when they judge his TV appearances. I certainly assumed he was gay.
^^^ THANK YOU! My parents are republicans (and so I therefore have had disagreements with them before, but we love each other). They can’t stand Trump – it was the one political thing we’ve agreed on in a while lol. He’s not a republican, his just HIM, he’s got loyalty to nothing except his own ego.
Mary Mary and Christette Michelle are still suffering from supporting Trump, heck even Steve Harvey’s show declined after his support for 45. Let’s see how Kanye’s carreer goes.
It is just so disappointing that this is the same guy who made those incisive statements about Bush in 2005. I remember being like, wow, good for him for going there!!! And now this is what he has to say about someone far far far worse than Bush? (Kanye, not Chance.) Its sad to see the how the progression of his wealth has corrupted him.
Ugh.
Kanye is all about Kanye. And it seems he’s learned well from his in-laws. Manufacture and create controversy to sell product. I’ve never understood the fascination and support for such an overgrown, narcissistic, egotistical, man-baby. “Poor Kanye” is not misunderstood or a genius. He’s just a jackass like Obama said.
Given what Trump and his administration is doing to this country and in particular to people of color, I can’t be friends or associate with anyone who supports him.
It’s definitely a line in the sand for me— you support Trump, bye.
I think sometimes when you are a person of wealth like Kanye, you can forget how most people live. I don’t think he grew up poor. He mother was a professor, so may have already been at disadvantage in terms of understanding the plights of people in lower income brackets. Combine that with this massive ego, sycophants around him and perhaps a personality disorder for which there is no cure and barely any treatment, it’s not surprising he’s acting this way. It’s possible to be a white supremacist and also be black. I skipped a Kanye song yesterday on Spotify. He’ll live to regret this week, if there is any good in him and if he’s just doing this to promote a record.
Kanye is Kanye. But the real tragedy here is the unbelievable, undigestible, unacceptable fact that the wormtongue Trump has gained real power. Trump is the shepherd of old evils. He attacks the very notion of brotherly love. He tears parents from children and friends from friends. His odious omnipresence in our daily lives is poisonous. Trump attacks our most intimate relationships with one another. He magnifies disagreements we have always had, and makes them grow into grounds for war between each other. Trump is cheerfully rending the fabric of this nation, and our only job right now is to do anything and everything in our power each day to rid ourselves of him and his vile crew.
Wow, adastraperaspera, I love how eloquent and insightful your comment is! Beautifully written.
Thank you! *blush*
Poetry and Flow! Love your way with words.
Wait ~ isn’t John Legend’s wife the very thirsty woman who is besties with Kanye’s wife?
‘Nuff said.
I wish people knew a little bit more about social and political history and then they’d understand why (or at least when) black people as a large demographic vote for the Democratic Party.
Also, it’s very telling that black people (in general) aren’t given the benefit of the doubt for analyzing party positions, policy making and/or for paying attention to party rhetoric or that of candidates then voting accordingly. No, instead it’s all baked down to black incompetence, black bambozzlement, wanting free stuff and living on government plantations. Yep. Those deep insults lodged by republican candidates, their surrogates and fools like Kanye are a very presausive argument for joining the Republican Party.
Finally, where it has been a long time since the federal government under democratic leadership—as well as state and local too where I live—has outright and nakedly used its power and its tentacles to support issues that disproportionately affect African Americans (e.g., incarceration rates, sentencing, prison reform—basically anything falling under the Justice Department’s umbrella), republican candidates are usually against those issues—which brings us right back to history. Historically, it’s always been federal intervention that has liberated black folks from the tyranny of the State. Republican orthodoxy calls for “state rights” and less federal oversight. Fine. However, the usual outcome is trampling on the civil rights of all its citizens but usually (and historically) its black ones.
You know . . . black people have been here since 1617. . . before a lot of white folks and immigrant groups. When will we—black folks—be afforded the rights, the benefits, the dignity and the full deference of citizenship not mandated by law but which is our due? When? That’s what Kanye needs to be rapping about and we as Americans, who support the civil rights of others, should also be talking about when we talk about the black vote.
Well said!
Yes, I agree with all of this. Freedom of choice. Freedom of speech. Freedom of thought. Freedom to love whomever, to defend him, even if your homie is unwell and/or uninformed.
Freedom.
The lyrics on ‘Ye vs the people’ were powerful.
I don’t think Kanye is MAGA, more that he’s still grappling with his mother’s death (see tweet about the surgeon who performed the surgery right before his mother died, he “wants to forgive and stop hating”) and is on this love and forgiveness trip which he’s taking to an illogical conclusion. His part in Ye vs. the People and his 50 kajillion tweets on love/harmony reminded me of Jessica Chastain’s Love is Love is Love tweet after Charlottesville. IMO he doth protest too much on love and forgiveness.
(He also tweeted that Emma Gonzalez is his hero, which pissed the MAGA people off bigly.)
What I can’t understand is this constant notion, like black people are so childlike they can’t make their own decisions about how to vote. Kanye, the genius, has to tell them. I mean, are we even doing this right now? Kanye even tweeted that he hadn’t researched enough to know if he’s conservative – I mean, then WTF are you even doing supporting a candidate who’s pretty openly racist when you haven’t even done your research? Under the guise of what a free thinker you are? Boy, bye. I do feel bad for his friends. It’s gotta be hard to love someone who’s a Trump supporter.
It really does seem like Kanye believes Black people need him to guide them. Like Black people aren’t smart enough on their own. They need Kanye as their savior. It’s ridiculous.
Sorry but to all the folks who have posted that Trump is not a Republican; he’s just Trump and he’s for himself you are dead wrong and crafting a false narrative. The Republican Party got here by putting one foot in front of the other. Nixon’s “southern strategy” gave us Reagan; who kicked off his 1980 campaign in Philadelphia Mississippi, where 3 civil rights workers were killed during Freedom Summer, talked in the coded racist language of “states rights”. Reagan railed against welfare queens and allowed crack cocaine to ravage inner cities. George H.W. Bush era gave us the Lee Atwater Willie Horton ad. George W. Bush gave us the militarization of local law enforcement. Repubs in Congress starting with Gingrich and Tom Delay began the nation wide gerrymandering which has led to the voter suppression of millions. Repubs DO NOT get a mulligan on Trump. Trump says out loud what the country club and trailer park sets of the Republican Party have been saying for years. Just not so openly. Now the nasty racist genie is out of the bottle!!
100% this
You never know. Sanders was an Independant. With politics in America being a dualopoly I think you’ll find more and more
Independents using the GOP and Democrats as launching pads.
Sanders ran as a Democrat. The only thing that 3rd party candidates do is pull off votes from others and lose elections. Ours is a winner takes all system which favors 2 parties and not a parliamentary system of proportional representation which favors multiple parties. The two parties even run their primaries differently. Republicans have a winner takes all primary system. Whichever candidate wins the state, they win the primary in that state and all their delegates; pre convention. Democrats, on the other hand run a proportional system. The Dem candidate who wins the state only wins the % of delegates by which they won the state. Carry a state by 54% of the vote then you get 54 % of the delegates; while the remaining 46% is split among the other Dems running. States who can’t afford to pay for primaries, then the Dem and Repub parties pay for those states to hold caucuses ( like Iowa). States which hold primaries pay for them. Some votes are closed only to members of a particular party and others are open; meaning anyone (regardless of party affiliation) can vote. Until people in this country are forced to learn Civics, which used to be a school requirement, we as a nation are going to continue to lose elections rather than building consensus. We will
lose to Demagogues who promise the sun moon and stars and rarely deliver more than disappointment at best or the fascism of the strong man at worst!!
I didn’t have time or any interest to listen to Kanye’s music because I was busy enjoying the album of another awesome POC artist that was also released this weekend.
“…is my brother-in-Christ ” hahaha. Seriously? Yeah. Kanye a Christian. Come on, Chance.