Kanye’s fine art of antisemitism divides critics

Kanye West is a “delusional”, “attention seeking”, “unreputable geopolitical” rap artist stirring the pot with his rampant fire of blatant antisemitic posts on X and offensive T-shirts advertised to his more than 20 million followers, according to local critics in the music industry.

While some may say that vomiting out antisemitism is a strange way of drawing people to his music, others are horrified that anyone can say what he does and get away with it.

Two weeks ago, West bombarded X with antisemitic remarks. Among them, he posted, “I’m a Nazi” and “I love Hitler.” His provocation continued on his online store, Yeezy, where the only item on sale was a T-shirt with a large black swastika on the front.

This isn’t the first time that West, a Grammy Award-winning artist, has spewed hatred. He was initially banned from Twitter for eight months in 2022 after writing, “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On Jewish People.” West said his heightened awareness of Jewish people resulted from Jews trying “to black ball anyone whoever opposes” the Jewish “agenda”.

West has a massive international fan base praising his artistry and musical genius, and critics say there’s a danger of his followers taking his word as gospel.

Members of the music industry and Jewish community are, however, split over whether it’s essential to separate the art from the artist, and if that means ignoring his comments.

“You can still enjoy their writing, their music, their creations without having to endorse them as people,” said Gareth Cliff, one of local radio’s most prominent personalities.

“There’s a complicated relationship between an artist, their art, and how society understands their art,” said acclaimed musician Jesse Clegg.

But, said former music producer and songwriter, Alan Glass, “The average person who follows Kanye for his music, by default, or ignorance, his opinions are likely to be of value to them.”

Said Cliff, “There’s probably not a lot that I like about so many people in history because they’re all so fallible,” pointing out the imperfections of even impressive people and how he believes that two sides can exist in one person. He believes that the “mature, sensible approach” is to be able to separate art from artist.

Clegg said that, like many, he didn’t look to West for his “geopolitical commentary”. He spoke of “being able to hold two thoughts at once” about a person, and said one can acknowledge that West’s personal behaviour is “disgusting and worthy of criticism” but “his music has already had an impact on a generation of musicians.

“It’s up to each individual to have a perspective on how they want to engage with the art,” he said. Though he doesn’t believe someone should be “ostracised for listening to Kanye West”, Clegg said he could also “understand how people, especially in the Jewish community, can feel about not wanting to listen to his music”. He believes “it’s a difficult thing to draw a red line on, and we have to respect people’s preferences”.

Arthur Goldstuck, media analyst and commentator, is of the opinion that, “When you know so much about a person and they spew the kind of vile hatred that Kanye West spews, then you have to think carefully about how you support that person’s work in any way or form.”

West is known for “doubling down on hatred”, Goldstuck said, “and anyone who supports his work is in effect enabling him to double down”.

His actions have had consequences. Said Cliff, “He was some sort of savant, creative genius, but he’s ruined his reputation with sensible, generous people.” His talent agency, 33 & West, removed him from its roster by no longer entertaining a working relationship with him. The online host for his store, Shopify, took the Yeezy website offline. His antisemitic rhetoric caused him to lose lucrative business deals as well. Adidas dropped its Yeezy collaboration after West’s remarks in 2022.

Greg Landau, an up-and-coming 20-year-old DJ, said he “can’t dispute that Kanye’s early albums are masterpieces”. However, having once been a fan, he no longer listens to West’s music or plays it as a DJ after his “disgusting” remarks.

“Obviously you want to separate the art from the artist, but at the end of the day, the art is a product made by this person who’s said despicable things,” Landau said.

Clegg recognises how “offensive” to himself, his family, and community West’s thoughts are, but at the same time, the artist’s goal of garnering attention isn’t lost on him. This is nothing new when it comes to West, he said, and it’s “important to note that he often makes these kinds of statements before an album release . The more attention it gets, the more we play into his media strategy.”

He’s achieving his agenda, Clegg said. “The more publicity he gains, the more he is part of the cultural conversation even if it’s in a negative light. There’s a whole ulterior motive that Kanye West has to get his album to number one.”

“Once art is out in the world, it’s up to the audience to interpret that art typically,” Goldstuck said. However, he believes it’s different for someone like West when his “persona is tied to his music, and it drives his statements and therefore his art”.

Cliff, however, believes that too much attention is given to the likes of West. “Too much of a focus on unimportant people saying unimportant things tends to trivialise the important stuff,” he said.

In a post-7 October world, Cliff said, there are far more dangerous and threatening members of society who have gone to greater lengths to harm Jews than West has. West’s following isn’t a vindictive or volatile force endangering Jewish existence, he said. Rather, at the very most “we know where we stand with them”.

Glass isn’t so convinced, saying the danger with West is that he has a far-reaching platform and the influence of a pop culture celebrity.

“Unfortunately, the fame and notoriety of the performing artist is going to be followed blindly, and his opinion taken as being of value even though it might be slanderous,” Glass said.

“We have always been the scapegoat,” Glass said, and West is relying on his rants against Jews to gain traction in the media. Unfortunately, antisemitism is always a quick and easy go-to for people to get others to listen to their voice.

Goldstuck maintains that “streaming his music or buying his merchandise is in effect supporting him financially, and therefore endorsing and normalising his behaviour”, which he doesn’t believe people should do.

However, Cliff said, “If you think a pair of Yeezys are nice shoes, you shouldn’t not buy them in solidarity with Jewish people. No-one will see that or care.”

While West is using hatred towards Jews to cause controversy, he has yet to release music that expresses this opinion. However, many local critics believe nothing could excuse the hatred he spews.