Kanye West has the number-one album in the world despite being blacklisted and having no record label.
After a year of touching the third rail of controversy with antisemitic comments and antics that cost him dearly, including very lucrative business deals, Kanye West has proved himself invulnerable with his new release, Vultures 1.
This album, the first of a planned trilogy in collaboration with Ty Dolla $ign, “has reached the number one spot in at least 100 countries on the Apple and iTunes charts,” reports UnHerd. Kanye accomplished this “despite the fact [the album] was independently produced and wasn’t initially available on Spotify and YouTube. “
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The implication here is that West has gained a level of success and fandom that cannot be erased or reversed. Kanye is, so to speak, uncancellable. He still has tens of millions of listeners and daily streams on Spotify alone. And that was before his most recent album.
Vultures 1 is already proving contentious, with its original album artwork accused of carrying Nazi connotations. On the lyrical front, Kanye raps, in reference to artists convicted and accused of sexual abuse respectively, that “I’m Ye-Kelly bitch…Now, I’m Puff Daddy rich (Ha), that’s ‘#MeToo me’ rich (Ha).” And in a nod to accusations of antisemitism, another West lyric goes: “I’m not antisemitic, I just fucked a Jewish bitch.”
In January, West did apologize for his bigotry, but I doubt that apology had anything to do with his current success.
Listen, I’m no Kanye fan, and I’m pretty sure he’ll be spewing indefensible garbage again soon. The guy has some serious issues. But that doesn’t make blacklisting him okay. I’m sorry, but this is America, and in America, you have a right to be a bigoted jerk without losing your livelihood and access to the public square of social media. And let’s not forget that in all that hateful and indefensible garbage spewed from the mouth of Ye, he never called for violence against Jews. Unlike the leftists and academics taking it to the streets on behalf of Hamas, he hasn’t advocated for Jewish genocide.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not defending West’s behavior. All I’m saying is that if leftists can remain employable after openly siding with Hamas and their cause of Jewish extermination, why not West?
Another reason I want West’s free speech protected is purely selfish. The further away the free speech line is from me, the safer I am.
Overall, here’s another story that reminds us to be thankful for the Internet. If multinational corporations still controlled distribution, we would never hear from Kanye again. Same with comedian Louis C.K., who’s a sick pig, but a sick pig who’s served his #MeToo jail time and then some.
No amount of free speech is anywhere near as damaging as restricting speech.
Think of it this way… If Kanye West wasn’t allowed to speak his mind, we would never know what a jerk he is.
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