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Typically, I would keep my thoughts to myself, but my inner Black girl magic is saying “NO.” Kanye West has once again decided to use his platform to degrade Black Americans and perpetuate stereotypes, this time stating we have no culture. Mr. West has always displayed delusions of grandeur that were simply overlooked as “eccentric or creative genius” Guess what? Not, today.
He encourages the idea of love and understanding as his reasons for his alignment with Trump and the MAGA team, all the while bashing Black Americans, democrats and anyone that disagrees with his actions. His ideas, behavior and verbal diarrhea often feed into the racist and inaccurate propaganda that surround the Black community in America, like his recent statements on our culture or lack of culture.
He claims we have no culture, yet his entire career has been funded and initiated through the culture of hip-hop — a genre of music created for us and by us, a style of music that dominates fashion, media and entertainment. He insists we have no culture while his first foray into the world of fashion was a Nike sneaker, a piece of footwear that has been heavily influenced by Black American athletes and our penchant for streetwear.
He proudly proclaims we have no culture but creates an album and a “Sunday service” using influences from gospel music, a genre that stems from Black spirituals, hymns and sacred songs. I won’t even touch on the fact that almost every popular form of American music was initiated, cultivated and mastered by us. No need to dwell on the Harlem Renaissance, soul fool … the list goes on.
The larger issue is that Kanye, like many others, have no true understanding of the word "culture." They have no idea how dangerous it is to deny that we have created a culture and a way of life in this country. Which probably explains his constant co-signing of his in-laws cultural appropriation via his silence on the matter. A people’s culture does not have to be thousands of years old to be considered one. We aren’t culture-less because our ancestors were stolen from their homes in Africa. We have a culture, we are a culture and this rhetoric is what facilitates the thievery of what is rightfully ours to hold on to.
Kanye West continues to disrespect the Black community and we give him excuses to continue to hang us with his sellout rope. Why? It's simple: he is a not only a man, but a Black man, and we must support him at all cost.
Well, I say f**k that s**t.
