Kanye's White Twisted Fantasy

Kanye’s latest trolling is serving its usual purpose. Is there more to it, though?

Kanye’s latest trolling is serving its usual purpose. Is there more to it though?

At this point, I can’t keep up. Ye has been working overtime the past few weeks, simultaneously upping and tanking his Q rating, depending on what side of the line you fall under. With only the Beehive ranking higher in fanatical fervor and loyalty to their chosen deity, Kanye once again has people talking, infuriated, and because of his latest truths, he is now cementing his legacy as a?

And that is the debate that forever has plagued Ye. What is the method for his increasingly frequent ruminations of madness? Kanye emerged into our consciousness twenty-two years ago, and from the beginning, he showed himself to be talented and driven. He wanted to be the best. In fact, before anyone knew it, he already knew that *he* was *the* best. With every successive project and rung on the ladder traversed on his way to the top, controversy surrounded him. Whether marrying a Kardashian, not letting Taylor Swift finish, falling out with his brother Jay and famously letting the world know during Katrina that “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people,” Ye has never not spoken his mind, rightly or wrongly consequences be damned. And people, especially us, loved him for it. He was the maverick that did and said the things we didn’t have the power to. For the brothas and sistas who love him, they love him unconditionally, flaws faux pas and all. Much of the rationale has been he’s a Black man in America; of course, people are going to hyper-focus on his faults and exaggerate his words to make him look bad. They can’t have a young successful Black man with that much power, that much *freedom*. For the YE supporters, the loyalty is simple to explain; he’s *our hero*, the young Chicago Black kid against all odds (even though he very much was cemented in the upper middle class, but I digress) that was “free.” Kanye’s free! He’s free like white people!

And this is where we begin Kanye’s White Twisted Fantasy. It started with Trump. Actually, it started with, “You don’t have the answers, Sway!” One of the first of many memorable Kanye quotes and moments. On the surface, the conversation between radio host and artist, Sway from Sway in the Morning and Kanye was merely a heated disagreement among brothers on how to gain and achieve success. Ye, the frustrated young prince, striving to be King. Sway the old sage imparting some wisdom that the (relatively) young artist didn’t want to hear. Kanye had ideas! He had plans! He needed support, the capital, the means and modes of production to get us all “free”! Sway’s response in truth, was very much rooted in a radical Blackness that made sense coming from a brotha from the Bay. If you believe in it, invest in yourself. Own your business, self-determination. If they don’t want you at their table, fuck it; build your own table. “NO, Sway! You don’t have the answers, Sway!“ So he got in bed with Nike, Adidas, fashion labels, and any other white power structure that saw his vision. He was free!

And now, Ye is worth a Billy! Success! Ye got power like them white folks. He has ranches and houses and can do and say what he wants! He’s free! Until he isn’t, until his words, whether misconstrued, misinterpreted, or revealing the actual truth (the same anti-semitic “truths” that white supremacists have spouted for centuries), has left him on the outside of the ivory tower that he’s spent so many years climbing. As his proximity to whiteness grew, so did his power. He was free! And when you’re free, you see the vision of MAGA and Trump. Slavery becomes a “choice” because we’ve known that since Regan and the Republicans were making those types of claims in the 80s! Now, when Kanye says it, “White Lives” do matter! Because they do. The rest of us just ain’t picking up what he’s putting down. We’re slaves. We don’t realize what’s really going on. But Kanye knows. Just like his bestie, Candace Owen. The woman who probably has spit more anti-Black rhetoric than David Duke. But this is how it’s done. Until you’re undone, and the proximity and adjacency to whiteness burns you like non-melanated skin on a 96-degree day and no sun tan lotion. To quote the prophet, Kilmonger, “This is your King?!?”

Here are the questions right now that aren't very clear. Is Kanye a renegade genius, gifted musician, and polymath who simply has a prescience we mere mortals don’t have the answers for? Or is he a  fiercely devout father and philosopher wronged by his chosen family and society and the evil corporate overseers who don’t understand him? Is he a Black man who loves his people, and the severe personal traumas that he’s endured finally unravel his common sense? Or, is he an individual who has a deep need to be among the elite and will do so at any and all costs, regardless of the damage it may cause, even to his own credibility, family and empire? The truth is he is an amalgamation of most of these, to greater or lesser degrees, depending on how you view his work or his responsibility and accountability for the actions in his own life. Even billionaires have consequences, believe it or not, and that is a lesson Kanye continues to learn over and over again.