So, let me do a bit of story time on @KanyeWest, since he thinks he's out of The Sunken Place. And I can't thank @JordanPeele enough for his metaphor.
*stirs tea in teacup*.
*stirs tea in teacup*.
I have a confession. The only reason why I am not mad at @KanyeWest right now is because I have held a petty grudge against him for many years because he had a mother with a Ph.D. who taught Literature at Chicago State University, yet he named his first album, "College Dropout."
I did not mean to hold the grudge that long; but it just continued because of everything I would feel every single time I saw that album and thought about not only his Mother but everything at Chicago State University, home of the Gwendolyn Brooks Black Writer's Conference.
Kanye's access to some of the best and brightest Black minds, not only in Chicago but, specifically, at Chicago State University and at the Gwendolyn Brooks Writer's Conference was like being in #Wakanda in the United States of America. Yes, it was THAT good.
I generally felt that Kanye's "College Dropout" was incredibly disrespectful to his own Mother's legacy, the Black scholastic excellence at Chicago State University, as well as the legacy of African civilization (from Timbuktu to Egypt) and that of the African Diaspora.
Just think about it. At Chicago State, alone, Kanye could have listened to, met and learned from: Gwendolyn Brooks, Haki Madhubuti, Walter Mosley, Amiri Baraka, Alice Walker, Ntozake Shange, Michael Eric Dyson, bell hooks, and many more members of the Black intelligentsia.
The other part is that I always felt Kanye was saying that he was so smart, he did not have to go to school and it was okay to be a "College Dropout." And while it's true, college is still a privilege in this country, Kanye was privileged, and could go to school for free, so nah.
All of this is not Kanye's fault, as America has a very strong anti-intellectual culture but, quite frankly, Black Americans cannot afford to participate in it. Further, our ancestors took every opportunity to learn how to read and get educated, as it was our ticket to freedom.
Hip Hop music and culture is one of America's greatest exports, so capitalism is bound to reward rappers with more money than the Black intelligentsia (or ANY intelligentsia) but, quite frankly, you are a fool if you make any rapper your #1 SOURCE of information. Read a book.
His emotional damage and troubling behavior aside, you know who was a well read rapper? Tupac Shakur. Know why Tupac could write lyrics so fast? Because he was well-read. Know why Tupac is considered revolutionary? He learned from Black revolutionaries / thinkers. It matters.
It's pretty obvious that Kanye West does not read much. He has lost touch with his cultural roots of Black intelligentsia. And while he is smart and creative in some ways, what he shares with DT is narcissism and always thinking he's smarter than everybody else. Well...nah.
So, yeah, you're in The Sunken Place, Kanye, and it would behoove you to remember that Chris became vulnerable because he was haunted by the inability to help his Mother when she needed him the most. Get some help, bro. I'm letting my petty grudge go, now, in honor of Your Mom.
PSA: I'm looking up Chicago info; but for those of you in and around the New York City Area, the National Black Writers Conference occurs at Medgar Evers College, annually: centerforblackliterature.org
Somebody who has a friend who's a TSA Agent, please, please come and save Kanye. Like, he, literally looks like he's about to go up for bid. "Now, SINK INTO THE FLOOR."
This is a really beautiful, compassionate and smart thread from @JohnLegend, so I'm including it in mine because, hey... #SaveKanye
I'm adding this interview to the thread. I told y'all that @KanyeWest does not read and should not have been a "College Dropout." This is tragic beyond words. BEYOND. #Slavery #Prison #ReadaBook
Speaking of Kanye West and reading, literature, slavery and choices, enjoy this great sci-fi and historical fiction! #IfSlaveryWasAChoice #KanyeSyllabus #GeorgeWashington
When a White American journalist has to tell the son of a Black American woman with a Ph.D. that the Willie Lynch theory is mythology and he can’t even spell “Lynch” correctly... I’m undone! #IfSlaveryWereAChoice #KanyeWest
I’ve been unable to breathe, my abs hurt and the tears are falling. I am screaming so loud, too! LOL!!! Great curation, @HipHopWired!! xoxo #KanyeWest #IfSlaveryWasAChoice #BlackTwitter
But seriously, it’s just sad, considering, once again, that Kanye’s Mother was a college professor and he had access to his one of the top Black Literature Conferences in the World. #KanyeWest #IfSlaveryWasAChoice
I’m adding the homie, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ article to the Kanye thread. Because he deserves... #IfSlaveryWereAChoice
You know what, @KanyeWest, you are just SUCH a POS, you hear me?! You go and PAY $85,000 to disrespect Whitney Houston's legacy in the name of your trash "art" but you can't spend a dime on the organization in your own Mother's name??!! theshaderoom.com/dondas-house-s…
Welp! Good choice!
