Before you balk at the notion, give it pause. Don’t try and compromise his campaign size. Kanye is America. His family represents the diversity of our great country. He is in touch with the concerns of the youth, as a millennial at the age of 38. He will energize the base. Even though those of us who purchased Yeezus deserve a tax rebate, but that’s neither here nor there. We all know he can fill a stadium, unlike Donald Trump.

As far as policy? Yeezy got this. Since he admitted he “smoked to take the edge off,” it’s no doubt that the legalization of marijuana is high on the priority list. We don’t have to wonder if he inhaled, either. He can totally outdo Francis Underwood’s “America Works” program with his own “Good Ass Jobs” initiative. Foreign policy? He’s been to France and Italy. That’s enough. Worried about a stolen election? Fear not. We all know Mr. West would throw a tantrum if they pulled an Al Gore on him.

performs/speaks onstage during the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards held at Microsoft Theater on August 30, 2015, in Los Angeles, California.

What’s that you say? Mr. West is not qualified because he never finished college and only holds an honorary degree? Well, neither does 2016 Republican Presidential candidate Scott Walker. So let Yeezy rock. All he needs is the right team. Lupe Fiasco has to be his Vice President. Rhymefest the speechwriter, and Common should stump for him. As long as Sway is not the debate moderator, everything should be alright.

[Originally posted at Polite On Society]

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No joke, lately I’ve been listening to Kanye’s radio station interviews; which, though they may be all over the place as far as message, they pretty much all come back to the same conclusion: Kanye is a victim and “the man” as represented by corporate world. If you’re to believe Kanye, corporate America won’t allow him to be great — or, a billionaire like the “creative genius” believes he should.

Which, I can kind of sort of understand, but then comes the story that he’s being investigated by p[olice this week for attacking an 18-year-old for hurling racial slurs at his girlfriend Kim Kardashian, as she walked into a Beverly Hills chiropractor’s office as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

Kardashian, West’s fiancee and the mother of his child, was going to an appointment in a medical building on Wilshire Boulevard and, as usual, had a load of paparazzi in her wake. The victim tried to help her manage the photogs as she entered the building, then went into the building also, according to TMZ video. “They’re whack, dude. You have to deal with that every day?” he can be heard saying on the way in.

 

Then, according to an account on TMZ, the 18-year-old directed the N-word and gay slurs toward the paps. When Kardashian told him not to use the N-word, he allegedly turned his rant on her, telling her to shut up and calling her, among worse things, a “stupid slut.”

 

Kardashian called West via cellphone, and when the man realized it was Kanye on the phone, he allegedly shouted the N-word at the rapper as well.

 

West then arrived at the building, and witnesses said he and Kim entered the waiting room of a chiropractor, where the man was sitting, and West allegedly punched him.

Now you may say that Kanye was justified in punching this guy. Yes, he was defending his girlfriend’s honor, and I totally get that — after all, this is Kanye West; and, well, he loves his baby momma. I mean, to hear him tell it, Kim Kardashian is hotter that Michelle Obama. Not that there’s anything wrong with thinking that way; but, again, this is Kanye West we’re talking about; and, of late he’s been dropping turds from the mouth; because, we’re “bound to fall in love,” with his ass.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not into disrespecting women, and I doubt I would give any man a pass when it comes to me and mine. I may have some not-so-kind words for the gentleman in question if I were Kanye. But to assault the guy? Yeah, I doubt I’d take it that far. But not Kanye the “new slave” being held down by corporate America. This is Kanye, the guy who isn’t afraid to insert himself into conversations. The same Kanye who on national television had no problem with telling the world that “George W. Bush doesn’t care about black people,” which to me was a signal that Kanye does.

But above all, this is the same Kanye who had no problem with selling $150 t-shirts as well as apparel emboldened with the Confederate Flag. Yes, he loves controversy. But if I had the opportunity to speak to Kanye today, I’d ask: How are you gonna sell clothing with the image of the Confederate Flag which is a symbol of oppression and hate, but yet punch a guy in the face for calling your baby momma, Kim Kardashian, a “nigger lover,” son? I dunno, but that sounds fucked.

I don’t know what he would say in response; but hey, like my man Sway, I don’t have the answers. Hell, maybe I should visit the church of “Yeezianity” to get ’em. But clearly to do so would mean I’d have to compromise my blackness and stan really hard for a white chick, yes?

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Kanye has worked very hard since to justify that put down.

The other day he said in an interview his bleached blonde bobblehead swerlie, Kim Kardashian was “more influential than Michelle Obama” and that Barack’s bunkmate, “cannot Instagram a pic like what my girl Instagrammed the other day,”

Kanye puts down Michelle Obama for not putting up pics of her sticking her butt in the camera like Kim. Let that thought sink in for a moment. Then laugh at the utter absurdity of a silly Negro like Kanye who actually thinks The First Lady of the United States has less going on that a brain-dead bimbo whose only claim to fame is screwing horny idiots with more jism than brain cells and making a sex tape.

Michelle Obama does not Instagram pics of her ass, Kanye. You do understand she is the First LADY, not the First Ratchet, right?

I can’t even get mad about this. One must pity not scorn those attempting to navigate life when they are mentally challenged. Kanye is about to be Kardashianed and he is doing it freely and of his volition. I’m happy for the brother. Things have gone too good for him and he found a whole new way to mess that up.

Remember when The Knack came out with “My Sharona?” Music critics creamed their jeans over them only to find out they were just another overhyped one-hit wonder. There are landfills all over America full of records, tapes and CD’s of shooting stars that shot their wad. Kanye gets the love because the pool is so shallow and he comes off like a whale in an ocean full of minnows. Whether he deserves the critical love is another matter.

Upon closer inspection, the brother peaked with Late Registration. Maybe Graduation, but when he dropped 808 and Heartbreak he jumped the shark with a jet-ski. The brother is running on vapors and there’s no gas stations for 100 miles.

Rappers specialize in bragging, babbling and b.s., but Kanye has completely abused the privilege. In ten years he’ll be playing state fairs while Kimmy K. will have taken her Tasty Kakes on to the next fool.

It’s 2013 and Kanye is so far removed from “genius” status it ain’t even funny. Stevie was a genius. James was a genius. Miles was a genius. Prince was a genius. Michael was a genius. Aretha was a genius.

Kanye is a poseur with a big mouth. That’s not genius. He’s old news. Next?

As for the love of his shallow life, If Kanye’s happiness comes from banging a talentless skank who dumped the last sucker after a sham 72 day “marriage” and will DO EXACTLY THE SAME THING to Kanye when Mama Kris gives the order, then he deserves the royal reaming he’s going to get when they extract his wallet by pulling it right out of his ass. I wouldn’t tap Kim if I were dying of a disease and the cure was stuffed up her hot dog-in-a-hallway semen dumpster.

Who wouldn’t want to be her and live the life she lives? Only any woman with class, confidence, intelligence, goals, self-respect that doesn’t want her “fame” to come from perverts rubbing one out to a video of her gobbling the nuts of some fake-ass rapper like a oversexed squirrel.

Kim Kardashian is a fame whore, a vagina on two legs and a perfectly good waste of skin. If that makes me a sexist, I plead guilty. She’s still been the downfall of more Black men than diabetes.

Many have theorized Kanye’s descent into self-parody coincides with the death of his mother. Possibly, but I’m not a therapist. However, he is wealthy enough to afford an army of good ones. Or at least he is until Kim and Kris clean out his accounts. Kanye should really take his own advice: Get a pre-nup.

[Originally posted at The Domino Theory by Jeff Winbush]

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Singer, Terius “The Dream” Nash also came to the Gwyneth’s defense, initially absorbing blame for the tweet…

The Dream then resorted to the “We give too much power to that word!” argument to further defend Lady Paltrow’s honor. An argument that only seems to surface when their favored non-Black friends come under fire for using the word liberally. I hardly ever hear rappers use that convoluted defense when “Nigger” is used with malicious intent to slight them or when they feel as if they’re being discriminated against in some way, however.

And since The Dream, Beyonce, Jay-Z, et al have reached the pinnacle of the “Class-ceiling” and cultivated a friendship with their privileged friend in the process, it wouldn’t serve their personal interests to explain to Gwyneth why it probably wasn’t a good idea to tweet the picture with that caption. And some would probably even argue that the onus should fall on Jay-Z and Kanye West for titling a song “Niggas in Paris” to begin with. Fair enough I suppose, since some rappers aren’t really known for tact and thinking of anything other than money.  And since Gwyneth’s Handbook for All things Epicurious and Goopish probably didn’t come equipped with a chapter on: The politics of navigating urban lingo and etiquette, and since rappers see no monetary value or incentive in checking their White protégés and/or friends (see here and here) when they commit racially insensitive infractions, perhaps I can try to offer a bit of insight about why it wasn’t entirely cool for Gwyneth to reference her “Watch the Throne” experience the way she did, without branding her as a racist…

When Lady Gwyneth drones on and on about her privilege and wealth, she’s already illustrating how out of touch she is with the rest of the country, particularly about those navigating the trenches of the urban jungle. Paltrow definitely may not have had ill-intent with her tweet, but the fact still remains that it came from a place of unfamiliarity with a world she knows nothing about. Some of the responsibility should fall on Kanye and Jay-Z for brazenly titling the song “Niggas in Paris” while being far removed from their former lives and (maybe) expecting their newly acquired, wealthy White friends to find creative other ways to reference the song — (although the tweet did seem to reference the actress literally being on stage with some Niggas in Paris“for real”). The Dream’s shoddy excuses and rationalizations for the tweet…

 “A word means something when u react to it! … Context is everything. Meaning it in the context as a Song which is how we Sold it to the world!!!!!! It is what it is … And actually N—az was in Paris! LOL. Stop wasting God’s time and do something with your life. Love not war.”

…  make him and his rap cohorts just as complicit in its gross misuse when “Nigga” suddenly turns to “Nigger”. To me, you can’t have it both ways; you can’t defend your White homegirl’s or boy’s right to use it while in the presence of Black people and then get upset if they then turn around in a moment of anger and hurl the epithet in its original, hateful context.

Niggas in Patris 4 Real: Gwyneth Paltrow pictured backstage in Paris with Kelly Rowland, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Spike Lee, and The Dream

There is definitely no need for the type of alarm that would call for boycotting Goop (other than it’s just an annoying newsletter) and creating online petitions. Calling the actress out with a warning, since her nouveau riche Black friends won’t, should suffice just fine; if she shrugs if off, then perhaps we need to examine the fact that her rich, Black friends wrote a song and titled it “Niggas in Paris” and told her to go ahead and repeat it as liberally and as often as she chooses to.  Hip Hop Mogul, Russell Simmons also rushed to Gwyneth’s defense, with a somewhat disingenuous argument of his own …

“It was this explosive expression that spread out of the inner cities of America into the walkmans of kids like Gwyneth Paltrow during their childhoods in 1980s and 1990s. It allowed white kids to begin to sympathize with the plight of many in black America. And these kids have overwhelmingly become progressive in their politics and their social concerns. Having any Hollywood starlet at your concert was unimaginable, and having her quote your lyrics as a badge of honor that she was hanging out with you, you never would have dreamed of that – until your poetry hit the market and changed the world.

So, for Gwyneth to tweet out her excitement about hip-hop taking over the planet is a good thing. She didn’t mean any harm, she just was trying to ball so hard, and like Jay-Z says, “motherf*ckers can’t fine” her. (Source)

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Y’all knew they were gonna flood in, didn’t you? The analyses of Kanye West’s new “Monster” video, that is. Kanye’s latest music video, featuring Bon Ivor, Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj & Rick Ross, is stirring up quite the controversy. Some communities are arguing Kanye’s video is blatantly misogynistic, claiming they even refuse to watch it again. To that I say, “How stupid!”

To refuse to engage with media representation is a highly dangerous task for any person committed to justice or liberation of a peoples. Media is an accessible “tool” that allows all of us to experience arenas of the world we aren’t necessarily always allowed access into. Albeit, these representations are usually limited and inaccurate in that they never fully contextualize people, places, things, etc.

To get back to Kanye, I agree–on the surface of this video and the lyrics–this song is entirely misogynistic. For that, we need to hold him accountable as a man but also as an artist. However, I refuse to dismiss the “Monster” video as anything other than brilliant. Mr. West brought us a narrative on the exploitation of Black bodies by the same tool that’s being used by these purported liberation advocates and/or “feminists”–whiteness.

Take a look at the video. You will see the only “dead” women are white women (I put dead in quotations because this is an artistic representation and no one is *actually* dead). The women of color who are represented in this video are all zombie-esque. I will get back to this point later. Now, just hear me out.
Kanye is offering us a story here, whether we listen or not is our choice. Given some bold interactions that have taken place in the public sphere between Mr. West and, ahem, Taylor Swift…I think it’s important to analyze how he is using this video to continue stirring “controversy.”

Given my interests in how Lady Gaga uses Blackness to perpetuate racial tropes in media and exploit Black bodies, I immediately put Kanye’s “Monster” video into conversation with Gaga.

On Gaga’s Fame Monster album, she has two tracks “Just Dance” and “Monster” that are crucial to my analysis of Kanye’s video. On “Just Dance”, Gaga was praised for her commentary on date rape amongst some groups. Gaga and Akon–a Black man–share drinks and a friendly exchange that suggests they will be having sex later on that night–drunk sex.

Her “Monster” track goes on to give “Just Dance” a shout-out when she blurts: “I wanna just dance but he took me home instead. Uh oh, there was a monster in my bed.” Gaga’s “monster” is a sexual predator–he takes advantage of her. In short, he rapes her. A monster is a rapist to Gaga.

Now this all seems like great commentary until you take into consideration the fact that she has Akon on the “Just Dance” track as the supposed sexual predator–not a new trope for Black men in the media (think: “Birth of a Nation”). Though Akon is not on the “Monster” track, her reference paired with the fact she has male vocals of someone who is perceivably Black leads us to assume the predator is Black (Please reference Dr. E. Patrick Johnson’s “Appropriating Blackness: Performance and the Politics of Authenticity” for more on the sounds of Blackness).

Essentially what Gaga’s narrative gives us is a little bit of history, whereby white women fetishize Black bodies and after exploring their sexual desires cry wolf. It should come as no surprise that Black men were imprisoned for the supposed rapes of white women that were later found out to be inaccurate (think: Scottsboro Boys). I presume this “pretending it didn’t happen” is due to the social taboos and pressures of not subscribing to interracial exchanges.

Bringing this right on back to Kanye, I perceive his “Monster” video to be a direct response to not only Lady Gaga–after all, they share a title name–but history as well. He responds to this idea that Black men are sexual predators. Essentially, Kanye’s response is his defense for Blackness. If you want to portray him as a monster, fine. But here’s his side. Not only does Kanye give a brilliant narrative on the demonization of Black men but also of late capitalism, whereby bodies become commodities. If anyone is addressing the “fame monster” it is Kanye, not Gaga.

He opens the track by having Bon Iver state: “I shoot the lights out, hide til it’s bright out.” Some of the most profound Black artists and poets have used the symbolism of a light/dark dichotomy to address racial politics. He closes the video by stating, “I crossed the line. I’ll let God decide.” Kanye knew there would be a backlash–because anytime someone comes to the defense of Blackness or Black issues, there is always a backlash.

Even when you incorporate Nicki Minaj’s verse, this video is still in defense of Blackness. Nicki is interrogating herself as Barbie–a figure that long since put burdens upon women’s bodies, especially Black women. How long did it take to get a Black Barbie? Just sayin’. She depicts the multiple personas women in the media have to portray. You can be the vixen or the pure, innocent virgin. But you have to choose. Back to Kanye we go when we consider the Taylor Swift incident whereby Beyonce was placed in direct opposition to Taylor Swift–vixen versus virgin (though, I give Beyonce much more respect and credit then to reduce her to a vixen).

The zombie-esque nature of the video’s women of color could highlight the internal battle some women feel as they’re compartmentalized. But that’s precisely why Blackness is at the root of this argument. Blackness is more than skin color. Blackness is ideology. Those zombies and monsters represent a eager and willingness to fight back.

This video was so–Kanye. We all know Kanye West has his moments, trust. However, I don’t think this is another one of Kanye’s moments. I think this is all part of his beautiful, dark, twisted fantasy, when Black people start to tell their side of the story and gain the respect they deserve to address the injustices placed upon them.

We should not excuse the misogyny of the video or the lyrics. The usage of words like “bitch” and suggesting violence against women is unacceptable–especially when the male privilege that consumes them goes unchecked. If we should be addressing anyone, it should be Jay-Z’s verse when he talks about raping a village of women and children. But again, I think this goes right back to responding to the trope of “Black men as sexual predator.” We need to be willing to allow multiple narratives to co-exist and work through the problems together. He is not excused to paint white women as she-devils, but he is allowed to respond to history.

I would hope that the video’s viewers would take a minute to analyze the video from another lens.

Check the video out for yourself.

Johnathan Fields is a DePaul University alum with a B.A. in African & Black Diaspora Studies and Philosophy. His areas of interest include: media representations of race, gender, and sexuality in popular culture, Black feminist theory, Diasporic literature and critical race theory. He is also the latest addition to this site’s family of contributors.

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So George Bush and Bill Clinton have been out putting in work; they’ve been raising funds for the people of Haiti, who are still suffering even two months removed from the tragic earthquake that rocked their country. Yesterday, they both visited one of the many “tent cities” on the ground and shook a few hands in a meet the natives sorta moment. Their visit was slated to be an effort “to remind donors of the immense needs facing the recovery effort.” Good idea; but take a look at this following clip and tell me what else we were reminded of. Oh and here’s a hint: pay attention to George Bush’s right hand after shaking a few hands:

Now I don’t wanna pass judgment, nor mention the obvious “message” or perception – Kanye West already covered that angle. But I’ll say that from what I read, Bush is somewhat of a germaphobe; he once infamously used a woman’s shirt to wipe off his glasses. So in-spite of him reportedly having an aide give him “a big dollop of hand sanitizer” after shaking Barack Obama’s hand. I won’t be my usual race-baiting self and suggest that he has a problem with black people. Now his mother? That’s a different story; and I wouldn’t dare suggest the notion that the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.

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Can any of y’all tell me what the hell is wrong with Kanye? OK, OK, OK, forget that question. It’s not like we don’t know his problem. I’m sayin, everybody knows that he’s a midget with a Napoleon complex hence that whole calling himself the Louis Vuitton Don n’ all. I swear this Negro is more of an attention whore than a latchkey kid. And you know what? Have you heard his music lately? His shit is garbage, and I’m willing to bet that even that is by design just to get attention. Somehow after watching the above clip I kinda wish the ghost of his mother would have walked on stage and slapped the Black off of his ass for coming out there like he doesn’t have any home training.
OK, so he couldn’t just fellate Jay Z backstage at the VMAs. No, that would be too homo; can’t have that in hip hop. Instead, he had to jump on stage and protect the honor of Jay Z’s wife and totally scare the shit out of that poor white girl Taylor Swift (you know she probably hasn’t been that close to a Black man before). When her and the rest of them saw a Black man jump on stage they thought it was gonna be a robbery, right? If you watch the clip again I’m sure you can see someone tucking their chain and trying to hide it from “Debo”. Poor chile’, I feel so sorry for her and what she had to endure at the hands of one of our uncouth cousins. Now she has to have counseling and shit like that just to get through the rest of her life.
What he did was distasteful, immature and selfish. But what else is new when it comes to Kanye West. He lost me as a fan a very long time ago, and he almost had me back with the whole “George Bush don’t like Black people,” thing. But he fucked up when he continued to run his mouth at every opportunity. You know, like he was the dude everybody was checking for as to get an opinion. Make music dude and shut the fuck up and just walk like Jesus as you carry the cross that is your ego.
What gets me is that his Black ass would have never pulled some shit like that at the BET awards. Yeah Kanye, pull that shit on stage with Keisha Coles getting and award if you want to. Yeah, do that shit and see how fast her crackhead momma and sister beat his ass as Suge Knight stomped on his neck. Aww come on, you know how “we” do at “our” award shows.
So now America hates him more than ever. No seriously, you don’t interrupt an up and coming female country singer and think you’ll get away with it. He obviously hasn’t been paying attention to the news to see all these angry white folks who are all pissed at Obama. As if it hasn’t been hard enough for Barack Obama lately, Kanye had to go and do this…Damn, this Negro is everywhere! What is he a republican now? Listen Joe Wilson…oops, I mean Kanye, here’s some advice. Of course I know you’re not gonna change, nor is that swollen ego gonna shrink anytime soon. But be that as it may, from one brother to another, just listen to me…the next time you get on national TV to pull a stunt like that, people would appreciate you more as a man if you mentioned the kids. You see, mentioning the kids would help you out big time. When you mention the kids, people would be less apt to think that what you did was all about you, like it always is. Surely they didn’t think it was about Beyonce and your love for her video.
Next time, do it like my man did it several years ago…

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