After premiering his controversial “White Lives Matter” T-shirts, Kanye West is looking for all the support he can get. Ye dropped the shocking pieces during a surprise Yeezy section of the Balenciaga fashion show in Paris. And since then, West has been on a mission to defend his design and explain its meaning.
The “Hurricane” artist possibly thought he had found a supporter in Yasiin Bey, formerly known as rapper Mos Def, after he reposted the artist in his Instagram story. But it seemed that Bey made a few alterations to the shirt that West overlooked.
In the post, captioned “AyYa @yasiinbey @anuarkhalifi HEGEL 2022,” Bey showed off his interpretation of the shirt.
In the first slide, the rapper stands in front of a green screen showing the back of a shirt with the words “White Lives Matter.” But in this design, the “V” is blacked out, changing the statement to “White Lies Matter.”
The front of the shirt features an image of the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Hegel’s eyes are covered with a black bar.
West’s original design has an image of the Pope. Bey’s redo of the shirt was designed by Spanish-Moroccan artist Anuar Khalifi.
Although nowhere close to the outrage about West’s shirt, Bey and Khalifi’s rendition has received mixed reviews.
Jessica Care Moore, the founder of Black Women Rock, thought the shirt brought “some beautiful balance” to the situation.
View this post on Instagram
Many Twitter users like @WhateverOG thought they could have done a better job of snubbing out the “V” to make the message clearer.
This is "White Lies Matter", they could've did a better job of blacking out the "V". But yeah… https://t.co/1wEessLSWZ
— Almighty (@WhateverOG) October 7, 2022
This may be a little beyond you but you’re supposed to still see the V still, the message is reactionary movements like “white lives matter” are a part of white lies
— Tay (@Tayoneill77) October 7, 2022
Bey posted the shirt just hours after West attempted to justify his design during an interview with Fox News’s Tucker Carlson.
“The answer to why I wrote ‘White Lives Matter’ on a shirt is because they do,” West said during the interview that aired Thursday. “I do certain things from a feeling. I just channel the energy, it just feels right. It’s using a gut instinct, a connection with God, and just brilliance.”
Do you think Kanye reposted Yasiin assuming he was showing support or taking a shot?
