There’s a lot more going on in the world right now than Ye and his ongoing public divorce drama slash endless online attacks. Which is what he probably needs to acknowledge. However, we’re one step closer to not having to be privy to it all, with Ye’s Instagram being suspended yesterday. In case you miraculously missed it, Ye has taken to Ye has moved on from his Twitter-rant days to take to Instagram to post all of his thoughts, feelings and emotions, shining a whole new light on the term ‘photodump’.
Whilst he’s been using the platform to intermittently ask for Kim back and promote the Stem Player, things really kicked off when he @’d Billie Eilish a few weeks back, demanding her to apologise for ‘shading’ Travis Scott at her concert, and saying that he would need an apology before performing alongside her as headliners at Coachella. Since then, he’s burnt bridges with longtime friend and collaborator Kid Cudi, released a music video which shows him decapitating Pete Davidson, and posted the name of his daughter’s school, amongst other things.
The straw that broke the camel’s back (for Instagram, anyway) though was Ye’s comments about Trevor Noah, in which he used a racial slur. Prompting Instagram to serve the musician with a 24-hour suspension, it was a well-overdue silencing, but will it actually change anything?
Probably not. Although, as mentioned, Kanye still has a dedicated legion of stans who will come to his defence, his recent antics have also driven lots away. From once-superfans who resented him for driving Cudi away, to one’s that just think this time he’s gone a bit too far, we’re not sure we blame them.
And yes, there’s the whole ‘separate art from artist’ argument, which is valid in some ways but also far too complex to cover in a reporting article. However, when the artist is making sustained death insinuations, as well as using prejudiced and harmful language, we’re not sure it applies here. Julia Fox seems to think differently though, telling TMZ that Ye is actually “harmless” and “wouldn’t hurt a fly” when asked if she thinks Kim and Pete should be worried about his recent actions. Hmm.
We’re sure by the time Donda 3 or the next instalment of YEEZY x GAP drops Ye can expect to see a few more of his fans flocking back, though. And anyway – if you wanted to get into the subject more deeply, you can always enrol at Concordia University, Montreal, where they are soon to launch a course titled ‘Kanye vs. Ye: Genius by Design’, which will explore themes of “community, creativity, responsibility, accountability, fame and mental health, dreams and nightmares – and more importantly, self-actualisation” according to Professor Alsalman. Get on the phone to student finance, and see you there.
