Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
So Kanye is supposed to be officially dropping a new album sometime soon. Yep, here we go. It’s called “Vultures,” and it’s a collab with Ty Dolla $ign. I think it will finally be released on Dec. 31. The album isn’t yet on any streaming platform, but a lot of its songs are on YouTube and the listening parties he’s done are posted, too, so let’s talk about this album. Wait, a conversation about Kanye’s music? I remember those!
Hold on a second there, sport. We can’t just have a conversation about Kanye’s music that ignores his politics. Is it even OK to listen to a Kanye album at this point? After his antisemitism press tour where he made sure to tell multiple interviewers that he respects and admires Germany’s worst leader ever, a lot of people said they could no longer deal with Kanye. I was one of them — I said we really shouldn’t even be wearing his sneakers anymore. Kanye has associated himself with antisemitism so deeply that it’s part of his brand now and embracing him feels like saying you’re OK with antisemitism. It’s like people said about Trump — not all of his voters are racist but none of them saw his racism as a dealbreaker so what does that say about them? Liking Kanye, at this point, doesn’t mean you’re antisemitic but his antisemitism isn’t making you run away. I can’t just be a fan of someone who’s overtly antisemitic.
I can’t listen to Kanye’s music now without being distracted by the antisemitism as well as the MAGA-ism and the “slavery was a choice”-ism. His entire political ideology is offensive and disgusting. It’s hard to just hear the music as music without thinking about how awful he is. It’s not enough to say “Just separate the art from the artist” or “I’m not political so I don’t care.” Kanye has drawn a line in the…
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