Kanye West has often been cited as a polarizing figure. But his massive impact on not just Black culture, but the world at large is undeniable.
That is not an opinion. It is a quantifiable fact.
Yet on the warm January afternoon when he sat down with Jason Lee at the Hollywood Unlocked Studios in Los Angeles, gone was the flashiness that one would expect from someone of his celebrity, replaced by the earnest candor of a loving father, demanding to be heard.
“They act like people just can’t be human. They actually strip me of my humanity when they label me and put me in a box. That’s the issue that I have with paparazzi a lot,” the multi-hyphenate entertainer explained while discussing how the narrative about his mental health is often weaponized against him.
A perfect example of this is the recent hoopla surrounding the 44-year-old’s attempts to attend his daughter Chicago’s fourth birthday party. What should’ve been a fun afternoon with friends and family quickly snowballed into headlines and public debates about if his desire to be present that day were justified or crazy.
“Crazy” is a word that has often been thrown at West, who now goes by Ye. But he maintains that if you took away the cleverly constructed controversies fueled by overzealous publicists, there’s actually nothing wild or unhinged about a Black father wanting to actively co-parent his children.
“This is the reason why I wanted to sit down and talk to you directly and talk to the world about exactly what happened,” he told Lee. “It’s just no communication, and I never had like a Solange in my family that was really like, ‘I feel what you saying,’ even though I take care of 300,000 people in my family.”
One of the most striking things about the 45 minute sit-down is how relaxed Ye appears when speaking about his estranged wife Kim Kardashian who is currently dating SNL vet, Pete Davidson. There is an unexpected tenderness in his voice as he outlines their relationship struggles, and then casually drops a jaw-dropping bombshell about her sex tape scandal.
“This is the most transacted upon human being, other than Santa Claus or Jesus Christ. She’s the most famous person in the world,” he boasts at one point, unable to contain how highly he still thinks of her.
This is a stark contrast to the messaging from the Kardashian camp who sources allege are determined to paint Kim as the stoic matriarch, patiently waiting for her manic ex to “calm down.”
Replacing “Cancel Culture” with Accountability Culture
To be fair, Ye is certainly no angel and has played his part in creating this enigmatic myth around himself; a fact that he even concedes to.
But when it comes to his in-laws he counters, “We are not going to be playing these little games, these little throw a stone and hide your hand moves. You know what you did, but then if I scream or react or something, it’s like, ‘Look at him. He’s so crazy.’ I wasn’t crazy when I put the creative director SKIMS. Was it crazy when you made a temp $2 billion?”
To his point, there is a huge difference between disagreeing with someone and dehumanizing them altogether. Although Ye is often painted as a hysterical egomaniac, business wise his reach has never been wider.
Which begs the question, “Who does it actually serve to make a Black man with this much power an ongoing punch line rather than leveraging his influence to feed and uplift his community?”
Although a lot of celebs have a reputation for being aloof and resistant to feedback, Ye’ has made it a point to be more accessible lately, particularly with Black media outlets who’ve historically been deprioritized by A-listers.
“I wish that we could just get to a place where we just appreciate people while they’re here,” he explains while recalling the night he, Lee, Floyd Mayweather, Madonna, Antonio Brown, Evan Ross, and Julia Fox were all snapped hanging out in an instantly viral video clip.
And while some would call that wish idealistic, it’s a sobering reminder of all the living legends who have already passed away in the first few weeks of this new year. None of them perfect, but all of them still incredibly beloved for their contributions.
In the midst of so many reminders about our shared mortality, do we honestly want to get into the habit of only showing people grace after they’ve passed away?
Instead of complaining about how we “want the old Ye back”, it may be time to call the new Ye in to have more courageous conversations like the one he had with Lee. Throwing away successful Black people who sincerely care about their communities just doesn’t sit right with me anymore.
Because ultimately, no one wins when the family feuds.
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Blue Telusma is a columnist whose viral think pieces have been featured on CNN, HuffPost, Buzzfeed, USA Today, BET, and several other national news outlets. Her work mainly focuses on dissecting pop culture, promoting emotional intelligence, and fostering activism through the arts.