I find that in the Black community, the more ‘iconic’ a celebrity is or the more impactful their music/artistry, the more likely we are to give them a pass for the way they act (ref. R Kelly). Kanye is no different. It’s as if we so desperately want to keep our old image of Kanye intact, the ‘George Bush doesn't care about Black people-Kanye’ or the Kanye that gave us The College Dropout. So desperate to keep that image that we try to excuse the anti-black and confusing rhetoric he keeps putting out. While his mental health should be taken into account, I do feel like we’re also allowing this to be his pass and ignoring the extremely problematic views he’s been expressing for the past couple of years.

Great read; thanks for sharing!