Why has Kanye West been in the news so much recently?

How has one of the greatest HipHop artists became one of the most controversial and talked about figure, but for all the wrong reasons?

Kanye West, now known as Ye, has been in the public eye since the release of his debut album College Dropout on February 10th, 2004, for both positive and negative reasons. Ye's antics have highlighted the striking contrast between a brilliant musical genius, an innovative clothing designer and model for businesses like Adidas, Gap, and Balenciaga, and a problematic character with ties to alleged white supremacists and anti-semitism.

Ye's jekyll and hyde-like personality has remained in the spotlight so much that a recent survey conducted saw that 100% of the surveyors had been exposed to his recent and past antics. This research, which surveyed people of the ages of 18-30, found that 83% of the surveyors don't even listen to his music quoting that 'rap isn't my style of music' and they are 'put off by the whole celebrity thing'. This contrast of people who don't even listen to his music yet are still engaged with his antics could suggest that his music has stayed in the past, but this couldn't be further from the truth. Although there is a stormcloud of controversy surrounding Kanye, he still has 49.5million monthly listeners, 19.2 million followers and is the 34th most popular artist in the world according to Spotify ranks.

Kanye has always been a presence on social media sites like Twitter and Instagram, whether for humour or controversy. He had previously gained notoriety as a sort of comedian, especially on Twitter, where he had posted messages like "I no longer have a manager, I can't be managed," and "Have you ever thought you were in love then realise you've been staring in the mirror for 20 minutes''. However these tweets have recently become overshadowed by anti-semetic tweets on the 8th of October 2022, saying hes going 'DEFCON 3 on Jewish people' and 'the funny thing is I can't be anti-semetic because black people are jew also' and the jewish community has 'blackballed anyone whoever opposes your agenda'. These remarks about DEFCON 3 refer to armed forces that are prepared for deployment and use in less than six hours; the power of DEFCON 3 implies increased strength and troop ranks as well as a quicker deployment time. In Kanye's perspective, this threat of violence is then obscured and justified since he believes that because he is black, he cannot be anti semetic. He concludes his barrage of anti-Semitism by expressing the conventional claim that Jews control many companies and businesses, such as the music and entertainment sector. An interview on the far-right conspiracy theory and fake news website InfoWars, hosted by the already contentious Alex Jones in early December 2022, quickly escalated this anti-Semitic outburst. Ye was joined by alleged white supremacist Nick Fuentes, who also attended a dinner with Ye and former President Donald Trump. During the hour-long interview, Ye began rambling, wearing all-black clothing and a black mask. Ye began glorifying the Nazi governments, saying he admired their inventions like the highway and the microphone. Ironically, the microphone was invented by a black American named James West, despite Ye's attempt to pass off this inaccurate information as a twisted "thank you" because his career wouldn't have progressed as far without the invention. Ye continued to insist that he "loves hitler" after declaring that he "loves everyone," even the dictator. Even the notorious and divisive right-wing personality Alex Jones appeared terrified and surprised in the interview, signalling that Kanye has once again gone too far. Kanye later that day was suspended from Twitter by Chief Executive Elon Musk for inciting violence after Kanye posted a Star of David, the recognised symbol of Judaism, inside a Swastika, the notorious Nazi symbol. His relationships with clothing firms Adidas, Gap, and Balenciaga were severed as a result of the entire issue, which lost him over $1.3 billion. Since then, Kanye has appeared to have disappeared both online and in person, raising the issue of whether he has learnt to be cautious promoting his controversial opinions online.

Despite the fact that the Coodie and Chike documentary Jeen-Yuhs trilogy mostly focuses on Kanye's early career, rise to fame, and development of his music from the streets of Chicago to billions of listens annually, he has always had a certain air of control about him. This consistency appeared to diminish as a result of his mother Donda West's sad passing on November 10th, 2007, at the age of 58, from coronary heart disease. This was undoubtedly distressing and couldn't have happened at a worse time since his third studio album, Graduation, concluded the college trilogy and solidified his success and, as a result, his presence in the public eye. Since his mother's passing, Kanye has frequently been pictured and documented in extremely poor mental health states, including extreme evidence of insanity, despair, and mood swings. The National Health Service (NHS) states that all of these symptoms that Kanye possess suggest that Kanye might suffer from Bipolar Disorder. These claims, however, are just rumours, until Kanye sat for an interview where in a humorous tone said he was placed on Bipolar medication directly after making comments on an interview that 400 years of systematic slavery against black people 'seemed like a choice'. After being married since May 2014, these manic episodes lasted into a highly public divorce with celebrity and clothing designer Kim Kardashian in early 2021. Kim's current boyfriend, comedian and actor Pete Davidson, was the target of Kanye's rants on Instagram. The public's opinions were sharply divided. While some, primarily supporters, stated that his mental health had once again spiralled out of control, others said that there was no justification for his emotional abuse of his ex-wife.

Given his godlike image, Ye has generally been painted as a villain in the music and entertainment sectors, which is a genuine shame. Fans and sceptics can debate about whether it is appropriate to continue listening to, supporting, and purchasing his products, but the age-old saying "separate the art from the artist" is raised. Overall, it should be ok to keep doing these activities, but it is obviously difficult with all the drama that is surrounding Ye right now.