Kanye West is enjoying the Trump effect, and that’s a problem

This is undoubtedly true. Before Trump ever announced his candidacy for president in the summer of 2015, he was beloved by virtually every member of the hip hop community. The data analytics website, FiveThirtyEight, found that from 1989 to 2014, only 13 percent of all Trump references in hip hop music were negative, while 60 percent were positive.

It would make sense that Ye loves Trump today, as he’s one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Trump effect – the constant barrage of information that involves a central figure as the subject (i.e. Trump) to fatigue the consumer of that information.

In the same interview on TMZ, West claimed that slavery experienced by millions of black people in the United States was a “choice.”

“When you hear about slavery for 400 years — for 400 years? That sounds like a choice,” he said. “Like, you were there for 400 years and it’s all y’all?”

He added, “It’s like we’re mentally imprisoned. I like the word ‘imprisoned’ because slavery goes too directly to the idea of blacks … so prison is something that unites us as one race. Blacks and whites being one race. That we’re the human race.”

TMZ personality Van Lathan took offense to West’s remarks, rebuking Kanye when he said, “Do you feel that I’m being free, and I’m thinking free?”

Lathan responded, “I actually don’t think you’re thinking anything. I think what you’re doing right now is actually the absence of thought.”

West, who most would consider a musical genius, is seriously considering running for president in 2024. He’s also releasing several albums in June, has a line of sneakers that just hit stores, and has a lot to say about “mental prisons” and “freedom of thought.” He even dropped two singles over the past weekend.

He’s been posting on Twitter for the better part of the last two weeks about these things. His tweets go viral almost instantly. His name has circulated through the mainstream media and on television. It’s nearly impossible to escape his name, let alone hear about something he did or said.

This is almost exactly what Trump did to win both the Republican nomination and eventually the presidency in 2016. West and Trump are essentially two sides of the same coin. There’s no such thing as bad publicity, so long as the conversation pervading throughout the nation (or even world) is centered on them.

It’s a win-win situation for them.

Here’s the thing though: As Van Lathan articulated in his rebuke of Kanye (to his face), you’re of course entitled to your own opinion, but you’re not entitled to your own facts. It seems fairly trite to point that out, but it is no less important and appropriate for this situation. Just on Monday, Kanye was tweeting out text conversations about the differences of Republicans and Democrats and where they stood on the issue of slavery, Jim Crow, and civil rights. On Tuesday, he was saying that slavery was a “choice.” At this point, it’s really difficult to discern whether he isn’t just trolling us for the attention.

If West were just an online keyboard warrior, that would be one thing. He has the platform of a mega-celebrity. He entertains millions of people and has sold tens of millions of records. While we like to say the opinions of celebrities don’t matter, they ultimately matter to someone. His belief in freedom of thought is respectable and admirable. But there are real world consequences when his ideas are not only wrong, but devoid of reason.

So, Ye, quit following all of these influencers on what to think, learn to truly think for yourself.