Dear Kanye Omari “Yeezy” West,

I admit I’m not the best person to say this. Firstly, I’m not African American, so I might just be completely wrong. Also, even though The College Dropout was really good, I was never the biggest fan of yours. Maybe it was your attitude.

You have quite the outspoken, impulsive tongue, and sometimes it’s a good thing…sometimes it’s not. But, whenever you did speak, it was for one purpose: to bring the plight of African Americans across America into the spotlight. People may not have approved of the way you delivered it, but at least they approved of your message.

However, you’re no longer the Yeezy I used to know. You still have that loud voice of yours, sure. But, now you’re speaking on the behalf of President Donald Trump?

President Trump has said several things I thought you would object to. One of the former executives of his hotels said President Trump hated “black guys counting [his] money.” Also, he continuously criticizes and insults football players kneeling during the anthem in protest of police brutality. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy whom you would want to associate with.

Yet, I find you online hugging President Trump and smiling with him and even having lunch with him. So, I just want to know Kanye: why did you criticize George Bush for supposedly not caring about African Americans, yet President Trump gets a pass?

Let’s look back on how this all started: the controversy at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs). The night where you humiliated Taylor Swift by taking her spotlight and telling everyone Beyonce deserved the award more. In that one moment, you became the villain of a rising star’s story. Everyone thought you were in the wrong, even then-President Barack Obama, and everyone saw you as a joke.

Cut to years later, now in 2015, and you’re back at the VMAs, receiving the Vanguard Award from, ironically, Taylor Swift. You announced your semi-serious 2020 presidential run, and everyone thought you were crazy! Except for one man who finally believed in you: Donald Trump. He looked at you, and said, “Yup, I trust that guy to be president.” Suddenly, someone with some significant power thought you could do some good and didn’t see you as a joke. And, you believed him.

Years later, in 2016, you meet with your idol in one of his towers. You tell all of your followers that you two talked about multicultural issues, but everyone, for some reason, seemed very hung up on the fact that you were speaking with a guy who has been bigoted in the past. More people were now calling you the villain; and this time, you didn’t care. If this was how you were going to be known, so be it.

Now, whether you truly believe it or not, you have said that slavery “was a like a choice,” and you wear a “Make America Great Again” hat while giving President Trump your unadulterated support. At first, this seems to be an absolute reversal of 2006 you, but really, I see you haven’t changed. You’re still the loud, attention-seeking genius you were before; but this time, you’re speaking about something very different.

I can’t judge you, nor can I fully decry you for your opinions. But, I feel that you have abandoned a section of people who not only supported you but saw you as their voice. You always had a talent with your voice, and if this is what you’re now doing with it, so be it. But, don’t be surprised if you become more and more of an outcast.  

Sincerely,

Confused and Concerned