Kanye West’s peers react to his controversial Trump statements

Kanye West has once again been causing headlines with his latest tweeting spree. This time the artist/designer has doubled down on earlier comments in support of US President Donald Trump.

For a full run down of what he said go here. Long story short he tweeted a lot of support for the President including “You don’t have to agree with Trump, but the mob can’t make me not love him,”. Kim Kardashian West apparently felt a bit worried by this so he followed it up with another tweet saying “My wife just called me, and she wanted me to make this clear to everyone. I don’t agree with everything Trump does. I don’t agree 100% with anyone but myself.”

Naturally this became a big topic of conversation in the music industry with many of his peers weighing in. His wife responded by condemning those in the media who were reporting on his mental health through this.

Artists within the music industry – including past collaborators of Kanye West also weighed in. Chance The Rapper responded to West’s tweets and the backlash with a simple statement: “Black people don’t have to be democrats.”

Lupe Fiasco also responded, calling Trump a “terrible human being”, but stating he had no ill will towards West himself. A past collaborator of Kanye’s, he was also quick to point out the fact that Kanye is powerful enough that he can get the President’s attention.

Other responses were more lighthearted. Questlove and Vince Staples joked about it, pushing each other to find something inspirational to say. Jordan Peele joked it was time to start writing Get Out 2:

*Gets inspired
*Starts writing ‘Get Out 2’ https://t.co/zqOW6Xxx9v

— Jordan Peele (@JordanPeele) April 25, 2018

The standout response though, comes from Janelle Monáe. In an interview about her forthcoming album Dirty Computer, she was asked about the tweets. Watch her incredible response below:

https://twitter.com/chrstnavelli/status/989188533574422529

In case you missed it: “I believe in free thinking, but I don’t believe in free thinking if it’s rooted in or at the expense of the oppressed. If your free thinking is used as fuel by oppressors to continue to oppress black people and minorities, I think it’s bullshit and it’s not OK, and I will speak out against it and I will think freely and tell you that I don’t agree with you.”

The singer later tweeted a video of the segment with the caption “Quote me”.

Kanye West having polarising opinions is nothing new or shocking. However, Monáe was right when pointing out these statements are now fuelling oppressors. Laughing about the tweets is ignoring the fact that it has an effect. When Donald Trump responded, it showed that people are taking West seriously.

Thank you Kanye, very cool! https://t.co/vRIC87M21X

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2018

The damage has already been done, but it is up to those around West to make him aware of his actions and their effects. Monáe’s response was a moment of truth and reality.  These moments are so desperately needed when it comes to Kanye West and how the world views him.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.