(Photo Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)
The conversation continues.
Yesterday (April 26), Kanye West revealed a text message conversation from John Legend where the singer asked his friend to reconsider aligning himself with Donald Trump and his recent rhetoric.
I tweeted the John text to show that there are people around me that disagree with me and voice their opinion. I respect everyone’s opinion but I stand my ground.
— ye (@kanyewest) April 26, 2018
if you feel something don’t let peer pressure manipulate you
— ye (@kanyewest) April 26, 2018
I really appreciate this dialogue with John Legend because I’m actually very empathetic. Im still the kid from the telethon. I feel when people think of MAGA they don’t think of empathy.
— ye (@kanyewest) April 26, 2018
I imagine there’s some comfort in imagining a future without racism and projecting that onto the present. Thinking if we just deny the truth, it doesn’t exist. If history is erased, we don’t have to deal with its consequences. However…
— John Legend (@johnlegend) April 25, 2018
Far too many people don’t have the luxury of closing their eyes and ears. They feel it in their lives and can’t act like what they see and know doesn’t exist.
— John Legend (@johnlegend) April 25, 2018
They know their family was destroyed by deportation or incarceration. They know their loved one was denied safe harbor because of their religion. They know their son or daughter was shot because their skin color evoked fear
— John Legend (@johnlegend) April 25, 2018
They see the statistics about black applications for real estate or loans or employment being turned away because their name was Jamal and not James
— John Legend (@johnlegend) April 25, 2018
I love that great, brilliant artists have the power to imagine a better future. But artists can’t be blind to the truth.
— John Legend (@johnlegend) April 25, 2018
The defining trait of Trump’s campaign and political profile was his embrace of white supremacy. He made it clear every time he spoke. Some serious cognitive dissonance to ignore that for the other x{76ab7490b8e9be71c5480191979192cd4897c17224853a88644dbfa54813b669} you might find appealing. I guess I agree with >1{76ab7490b8e9be71c5480191979192cd4897c17224853a88644dbfa54813b669} of anyone’s thoughts though
— John Legend (@johnlegend) April 25, 2018
After being respectfully shut down by West, John Legend ended up getting into a conversation with Ebro in which they broke down the situation.
“I was shocked when it happened. Then I was like well I’m proud of what I said. It can’t be that bad. At least I didn’t say anything I didn’t want other people to know that I thought. I felt like I’m not mad that people saw it because at least they know where i’m coming from. I didn’t actually mind it when I thought about it for a second, but I was shocked when it first happened.”
“Kanye when he talks about Trump, I feel like he is thinking about him more in as a marketing triumph. Like, I think he sees certain aspects of himself in Trump. He sees how brash he is, and that he don’t give a f***, nobody believes he was going to win, and with a simple message ‘make America great again’ defied all the odds and beat the establishment. I think that’s appealing to Kanye, and I understand why that’s appealing to him, and I understand what’s appealing about it. But politics isn’t just branding and marketing it’s actual policy and it affects people.”
“It’s not a game. This is people’s real life. And if you’re operating from love, and you’re operating from empathy,a nd you’re looking at what this man [Trump] is actually doing, and trying to do…I don’t see how you align yourself with that and say you’re operating yourself from love.”
“I get how nobody wants to feel like they are in a box. I get how people want to feel independent. You can still be an independant thinker, but at the end of the day if youre going to vote, you should vote for somebody who reflects your interest, and the interest of people you care about.”
“We’re not all moping around about slavery all the time. We’re at the forefront of the culture making music, making fashion, making all these things that make up America’s culture so cool. Black people are responsible for so much of it. We are like the most creative people in America per capita. We contribute so much to American culture and global culture. So it’s not like we are moping around. We are out here creating and making America more fun, more exciting and more interesting. We are going to keep doing that.”
Watch the full conversation below.
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