On Sunday, Kanye West held a rally in South Carolina, ostensibly to launch his bid for the Presidency but more likely as a way to promote his upcoming new album named for his mother. During the rally, though, Kanye returned to one of his familiar, frustrating talking points from his 2018 promotion cycle: the topic of slavery.
This time, rather than saying slavery “sounds like a choice,” he took issue with one of the more historical figures in American history, Harriet Tubman, saying that the well-known freedom fighter “never actually freed the slaves, she just had them work for other white people.” His latest statement not only prompted an immediate reaction from those in attendance, it also sparked a wave of responses from his musical peers online once video began to circulate.
One of the first to chime in was 50 Cent, who posted a rip of the video to his Instagram and joked, “This is all Jay-Z fault.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CC1xUbQnr80/
Meanwhile, Snoop Dogg was more subtle, posting a photo of Harriet Tubman herself with the caption “thank you, queen Harriet,” and addressing Kanye directly, “[Praying] for you, brother.”
Over on Twitter, a diverse array of musicians including art rapper Jpegmafia, Billie Eilish producer Finneas, and more expressed hopes for Kanye’s help, with Finneas positing that the producer is “going through an episode and needs love and care from his friends and family” and Jpegmafia hoping “Kanye is ok.” See more responses from the music world below.
Let’s completely disregard politics. Kanye is going through an episode and needs love and care from his friends and family
— FINNEAS (@finneas) July 20, 2020
https://twitter.com/darkskinmanson/status/1284996480911073280
Kanye is a prime example of not having enough ppl around him that care enough to tell him the truth. This shit is sad and I feel for him. Prayers up, hopefully he gets the help he needs.
— REASON TDE (@reasonTDE) July 19, 2020
Kanye need better people around him
— SENSEI FLY (@CJFLY_) July 19, 2020
