Someone took the time to notice that Kanye West deleted all of his pro-Donald Trump tweets. TMZ is reporting that Yeezy has completely withdrawn his support of the new President in wake of the racist, classist and sexist executive orders he’s proposed and passed in his first two weeks in office. So I’m gonna take the time to write a letter to my old friend, Kanye.
Let me say first, welcome home, Ye. Please take your Yeezy’s off at the door and make sure you don’t bring any of that bullshit you were playing in in here with you.
Don’t be ashamed, bro. The past few months have humbled us all. Trump’s resurrection of the American nightmare has already affected an unknowable number of immigrants, refugees and American citizens; Shaking us all awake to the fact that this land was built on racism and discrimination and it is still nowhere close to outgrowing its roots. Everyone can now see clearly that no one is safe from the far-reaching effects of White Supremacy. No amount of money or social standing can defeat the gangsters that run the U.S. government.
That’s why your support of The Donald was a slap in the face to the millions who supported your rise to fame and fortune. It was an insult to the millions who sang along to your revolutionary lyrics and defended your epic outbursts.
After Trump’s win in November, you told fans at a concert that you supported your old friend Trump and would have voted for him if you had the time. You then suggested that the Black people who were resisting Trump should “stop focusing on racism” altogether. That coping mechanism may have been working for you, your wife and your mixed children, but many of your fans don’t have the resources to maintain false realities that ignore the obvious.
Your comments contradicted the socially conscious brand you’ve been building for years, betraying everyone who’d invested in it; those who believed your to be a pop culture savior instead of a Reagan Republican.
The now deleted tweets proved that your infatuations with money and celebrity were blinding you to the evil truth that stood before you. Thankfully, it took you less than a month under Trump to find your way back home. You know we will forgive you. But it’s still hard to know if we can trust your rhymes or words with the same conviction we once did.
Coming up, you stood out because you were always willing to take a stand, even if it meant you were standing alone. These days, it’s not hard to pick a side to stand on if you just listen or look around. So how did you go from being the first one to call out George Bush to being Trump’s last “millennial” standing?
But as you know, you can always make things right. And if your return from the dark side is legitimate, please consider how you can use your platform to undo some of damage your old friend has already done.
As soon as it launched in summer 2010, your Twitter became one of the most explosive social media outlets in the world. It’s generated news stories for TIME and CNN and boosted obscure mixtapes and music videos into the pop culture strata. After returning from your post-Swiftgate European exile, you made the brilliant move to start using your @kanyewest handle as the only consistent line of communication between yourself, fans and the media.
Aside from softball interviews with allies like Zane Lowe, Ellen Degeneres and Kris Jenner, you transitioned your entire promotional process to social media and it worked wonders. Now, we need you to apply that creativity and vision to defeating Trump instead of being the next Walt Disney.
The racist backlash you got from both fans and press after jacking Taylor Swift’s VMA was enough to convince you that racism was alive and well then. If I remember, you compared yourself to Emmett Till and called the hateful comments that flooded your feeds as a “neo-lynching.”
But those attacks on your character are nothing compared to the dangers facing the humans that Trump’s administration is targeting. You’ve been sounding more like Emmett Till’s accuser, Carolyn Bryant, lately. Still, I have faith that you are back.
You began using social media so your words couldn’t be warped for headlines or used as fuel for America’s eternally burning racial fires. I think the past has proven that at this point in your career, you can’t escape either. But if you really want to undo the tweets and comments that threw you back into the flames, start looking for ways to extinguish your old friend’s ego trip.
https://twitter.com/NathanShorter/status/809174198186897408
I’m praying you prove every doubter wrong. But I have can’t deny that you almost ruined 15 years of revolutionary work with your tweets and comments. There’s no telling how long it will take to repair the damage — just know 2020 and 2024 are looking doubtful.
But, as always we still love you, Yeezy. Welcome home.
