Kanye West‘s “new ideas” about slavery sounding “like a choice” have shocked and repulsed practically anyone who’s ever studied the topic — particularly descendants of the slaves he spoke about.
Will.i.am joined the choir of critics chastising Yeezy’s “free thoughts,” saying the comment was “one of the most ignorant statements that anybody who came from the hood could ever say about their ancestors.”
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The former Black Eyed Peas frontman addressed the controversy on ITV‘s Good Morning Britain Wednesday, said the poorly-thought out statement “broke [his] heart” because:
“I thought about my grandma, who was born in 1920, and her connection with her mom who raised her, who was born in the late 1800s. And my grandmother’s grandma, who was a slave. And when you’re a slave, you’re owned. You don’t choose if you’re owned. When you’re a slave you’re deprived of education. That’s not choice, that’s by force.”
The I Gotta Feeling singer added that Kanye’s attempt to promote “free thought” ended up hurting those he was trying to “free” from the shackles of mental imprisonment, because the rapper’s “free” thoughts were spewed out without the proper research:
“So I understand the need to have free thought, but if your thoughts aren’t researched, that is just going to hurt those that are still in conditions where it’s not choice.”
What’s worse than unfiltered free thought, Will warned, was the possibility that Kanye was just creating all this noise to promote new music and products.
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Admitting that it “makes [him] want to cry that we’re even talking about this” when there are other problems that need addressing, Will explained:
“That’s not Kanye. To me, that’s a different person that’s saying that, and I hope it’s not to raise awareness so you could sell a record and some shoes, because that would be the worst thing to do, to stir up this very touchy race situation and you be the benefactor from it. So I encourage you, if you really believe this, give your shoes away for free, give your album away for free. And I don’t like talking about going against my community, but that is harmful.”
Wise.he.is.
Watch a clip of his interview (below):
Musician https://t.co/LVkFhdVrGP says Kanye West‘s comment on slavery ‘broke his heart’.#IfSlaveryWasAChoice
Read more on @iamwill‘s interview: https://t.co/kIy8AD60bJ pic.twitter.com/KeR7m5W7BE
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) May 2, 2018
Kanye has since gone on Twitter to clarify his point, saying that he was trying to illustrate how slaves were “mentally enslaved.”
That may be true, but is mental enslavement any more of a choice than physical enslavement?
Sounds like Y├â┬⌐ doesn’t have as much free thought as he thinks.
[Image via ITV/WENN.]
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