Kanye West is no stranger to drumming up interesting publicity for his songs, albums and live performances, but in his latest controversy in New York City, he’s stepping on the toes of the religious once again. Once again, West indulges in one of his infamous rants, and he’s ruffling the feathers of quite a few people. In addition to making strong religious comments, the rapper also continues to drive his record label crazy with his bizarre antics and approach to putting out his new album.
It’s not uncommon for West to take a moment onstage to rant, and he’s known for speaking his mind ”“ but the latest things to come out of his mouth are offensive to many, and getting increasingly odd. His performance in New York was for the Governor’s Ball, and this is where he played classic hits mixed with a few newer tunes, including the latest one ”“ ‘I am a God.’ The crowd was stunned to say the least.
The song is part of his soon-to-be released album, interestingly titled ‘Yeezus,’ where lyrics includes ‘I just talked to Jesus / And he said, ‘What’s up, Yeezus?’ / And I said, ”˜S***, I’m chili.'” If that wasn’t enough, he performed another new song, which was titled ‘Black Skinheads.’ Background dancers dressed in black KKK-style hoods became part of the show. Religious taunting in the song “If I don’t get ran out by Catholics / Here come some conservative Baptists / Saying he overreacting.”
In the middle of the Governor’s Ball performance, West entered a rant that lasted for about 15 minutes.
He warned the crowd beforehand that he was coming to the part of the show where he started to complain about things, and he turned his attention to the radio stations and selling records. With a peppering of expletives, he exclaimed, “I’m just happy to be making music, happy to be able to perform that s*** for y’all. You know with this album, we ain’t drop no single to radio, we ain’t got no big NBA campaign, nothing like that. S***, we ain’t got no cover. We just made some real music and you know like, back when I used to make albums and s***.”
He also said, “”¦when I listen to radio, that ain’t where I wanna be no more. Honestly, at this point, I could give a f*** about selling a million records as long as I put out an album this summer that y’all can rock to all motherf****** summer. And I don’t give a f*** that the label’s saying I can sell more records. And at this point, I don’t really give a f*** about outside opinions. All I give a f*** about is my motherf***ing clique.”
While West’s latest rant sounds like a man breaking away from the grips of his handlers that tell him what to do to sell the most records and make the most money for the industry, perhaps it’s because he considers himself a ‘God.’ This statement has rubbed many religious folks the wrong way, and they’re speaking their minds regarding the situation, including Candace Cameron Bure ”“ a conservative Christian who used to play DJ on the hit television show, Full House.
Bure finds offense in West comparing himself to Jesus, and refers to the album which has a title that is one letter off from Jesus as ‘blasphemy.’ She also took the time to mention that Jay-Z calling himself HOVA (as in Jehova) was too close for comfort as well.