Where does one even start? Kanye stopped by the set of TMZ Tuesday (May 1) to express his love for Donald trump, and then the conversation took a trip into the unknown, and dark recesses of Kanye’s mind.
What’d he say?
Kanye began talking about slavery and offered his thoughts on the subject by telling the hosts, “When you hear about slavery for 400 years? That sounds like a choice,” West went on to say, slaves were mentally imprisoned and expressed his affection for the word prison because saying the word slavery relates directly to "the idea of Blacks."
Without regard for the awkward silence and tension in the room, Kanye kept going.
He began categorizing ethnic groups and tragedies like the Holocaust and Jews. This was his poor attempt at making a correlation and teaching a new concept. However, it would be his second correlation to prison that would floor the TMZ crew.
Kanye, without a break in cadence, told the newsroom that "prison is something that unites us as one race," referring to Blacks and Whites. TMZ staff members watched incredulously as Kanye flailed his arms moving about the studio trying to make his point with comments that were not only offensive but uninformed.
Feeling empowered perhaps because all eyes were glued to him, West continued his soliloquy and even asked the newsroom if they agreed.
He also asked if they felt he was “thinking free?” Sportswriter Van Lathan was so taken aback that his reply to Kanye’s odd behavior said as much. He told Kanye he wasn’t “thinking anything” and what he was actually doing was displaying the "absence of thought.” He also acknowledged Kanye was entitled to his own opinion, but he didn't hold back the dose of reality.
Schooling Kanye
Lathan explained what it’s like being a Black man in the US when you’re not well known. He also put the truth on display for Kanye to really understand what he is doing. Lathan told Kanye, that his words have "real-life consequences" and that Blacks who are not famous have to deal with the "threats" that come as a result of Kanye's ideas and words.
Van also brought up the fact that Blacks have been, and continue to be marginalized, as this is the result of slavery in the US, something Kanye mocked. As Lathan wrapped his powerful retort, staffers stood frozen in time as silent disbelief hung heavily in the newsroom.
Kanye tried to apologize for offenses he caused, but it was too late. It looked like Kanye had a lapse in memory and forgot he was Black?
Losing followers and fans
Kanye took to Twitter later that afternoon to clean up his comments. However, the damage was done. A social media frenzy ensued, and even mainstream CNN’s Don Lemon tried to make sense of it all but he could not. He like Lathan and millions of other Black and Brown Americans are disappointed.
In fact, Lathan went further in expressing his feelings about Kanye telling him that he was not only “disappointed” but “appalled and unbelievably hurt” by his comments.
Van speaks for many of Kanye’s fans and nonfans when he professes his pain because Kanye has “morphed into something...not real.” His fans have dismissed many of Kanye’s antics over the years, but as of recent late, it has become almost impossible. One main reason is that Kanye has decided to align himself with Trump who has openly offended minorities and supports Neo-Nazis. This alone has driven a wedge between him, other artists, and his fanbase.
Just last week Kanye lost over a million social media followers for his tweet calling Trump his brother.
And now this. America hopes Kanye listened to Van Lathan's message including the one at the end of Kanye’s interview which was to 'be responsible.' And perhaps if Kanye picked up a history book that would help too.