We Wouldn't Leave Kanye, But Should We?

Almost one week after Kanye West released his eighth studio album, "Ye," we wonder what to do with artists who displease us. Going back to 2004, we take a closer look at Kanye, the artist, who questioned the role of higher education, called out former president George Bush after Hurricane Katrina on live television, and publicly grieved over the untimely death of his mother. We also examine Kanye, the problem, and try to understand how the same person who seemed to champion black solidarity in the early 2000s is now calling slavery a choice and aligning himself with President Trump. From "The College Dropout" to "808s & Heartbreak" to "Yeezus" to "Ye," we've kept listening to Kanye, but we ask ourselves: what will make us stop?


Discussed this week:
"Ivanka Trump, Samantha Bee, and the Strange Path of an Ancient Epithet" (Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, June 1, 2018)Rebecca Traister's tweets about Samantha Bee calling Ivanka Trump the C-word (2018)"Running Up That Hill" (Kate Bush, 1985) "The Man Who Ate Everything" (Jeffrey Steingarten, 1998)"Julián is a Mermaid" (Jessica Love, 2018)"O Superman" (Laurie Anderson, 1982)Kanye's comments about former president George Bush after Hurricane Katrina (MTV, 2005)"Ye" (Kanye West, 2018)"The Life of Pablo" (Kanye West, 2016)"Yeezus" (Kanye West, 2013)"My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" (Kanye West, 2010)"808s & Heartbreak" (Kanye West, 2008)"Graduation" (Kanye West, 2007)"Late Registration" (Kanye West, 2005)"The College Dropout" (Kanye West, 2004)