How People in the Music Industry told me supporting Donald Trump and releasing a Gospel Album could hinder my fame – Kanye West

American rapper Kanye West, in an interview
with GQ magazine, implied he will be voting
for President Donald Trump in the upcoming
2020 election in November.
“I’m definitely voting this time,” the singer
said. “And we know who I’m voting on. And
I’m not going to be told by the people around
me and the people that have their agenda that
my career is going to be over. Because guess
what: I’m still here.”
West described how people in the music
industry told him releasing a Gospel album
could hinder his fame, as could endorsing
President Trump’s agenda. West’s Gospel
album was number one on the charts.
“Jesus Is King was number one. I was told
my career would end if I wasn’t ‘with her,’”
West said, referencing Hillary Clinton’s
campaign slogan in 2016. “What kind of
campaign is that, anyway? That’s like if
Obama’s campaign was ‘I’m with black.’
What’s the point of being a celebrity if you
can’t have an opinion?”
After pressing West on wearing a “Make
America Great Again” and meeting with
Trump, the reporter asked West why he would
do that with a large following and as a black
man. West said his parents fought hard for
the freedoms he enjoys now.
“Both my parents were freedom fighters, and
they used to drink from fountains they were
told they couldn’t drink from, and they used to
sit in restaurants where they were told they
couldn’t eat from. They didn’t fight for me to
be told by white people which white person I
can vote on,” West said.
West continued to say he thinks the
mainstream media — largely run by white
people — are emotionally tempting people of
color to join the Democratic Party, instead of
encouraging them to think freely about
candidates.
“Black people are controlled by emotions
through the media. The media puts
musicians, artists, celebrities, actors in a
position to be the face of the race, that really
don’t have any power and really are just
working for white people,” West said.
“We emotionally connect to someone of our
color on TV and feel that this person is
speaking for us. So let me say this: I am the
founder of a $4 billion organization, one of
the most Google-searched brands on the
planet, and I will not be told who I’m going to
vote on because of my color.”
West said if that speaks to his audience,
great, and if not, he doesn’t care.
When the reporter pressed West on his
former statement that, “George Bush doesn’t
care about black people,” West chalked his
words up to a “victim mentality.”
“‘George Bush doesn’t care about black
people’ is a victim statement,” West said.
“That is stemmed in a victim mentality.”
Finally, West alluded to his discomfort with
the Left’s hate for billionaires.
He claims being shamed or not being allowed
to be a billionaire is not freedom.
“I remember when I became a billionaire I
was told not to say out loud that I was a
billionaire. What? What is the point of being a
billionaire if you can’t even say it out loud?
We’re not completely free yet,” West said.