Kanye West has been the center of attention these past few weeks and it is not just because of his music or his fashion commitments but because of his remarkable statements that have caught the attention of the public, in a pretty negative way. The Grammy award-winning rapper has proved how much he actually supports United States President Donald Trump in a series of tweets that he posted a couple of weeks ago, some people on social media even compared the two and narrow down the things that make them alike, hence they understand each other so much.
However, his love and support on Trump is not exactly what got him into this issue, it was the statement that he said while he was in the newsroom of TMZ, wherein he said that slavery sounded like it was a choice since it lasted for 400 years. This remark gained so much attention especially on social media, but a lot of celebrities have also shown their dismay on West just like when Will.i.am made an appearance on Good Morning Britain, wherein he mentioned how the Kanye he knew wouldn’t say that.
West’s own wife, Kim Kardashian was also shocked by the remarks her husband made and find it absolutely unacceptable and that she wasn’t aware that he would say things like that. Veteran musicians Stevie Wonder also called out West and said that it was such “foolishness” by saying that slavery was a choice. The singer even pointed out how maybe the rapper didn’t really get a chance to mourn over his mother who died more than 10 years ago.
Aside from the celebrity reactions, a senator from Nigeria has actually invited West to go to Africa and pay a visit to its slave ports, continue reading to find out more about it.
Study African Slave Ports
The huge waves of criticism is literally overflowing because of what West said while he was at the TMZ newsroom, but senator Shehu San took a hit at West by posting a tweet that said the rapper should take a trip to Africa and he would be given a free ticket as well as a free tour so he would be able to find out what he obviously does not know regarding the slave camps back in the day. The senator was obviously referring to the relics in the western part of Africa wherein people at that time were sold to white people as slaves.
The Nigerian senator isn’t the only one who is taking a hit at the rapper, became a radio station in Detroit had officially banned West’s songs. The Bounce 105.1 did a Facebook live video last week wherein the hosts of the said radio station has announced that they will no longer play the music of Kanye West after his remark on slavery being a choice. This was actually supported by their listeners and some of them are pursuing the said boycott by using the #MuteKanye.
The producer of the radio show said that they have asked their listeners first before officially making the announcement and the fact that they just announced it means that the people support it and it is not just because the hosts and the producers want it.
If @kanyewest thinks Slavery was a choice,we will offer him a free ticket & tour guide to visit slave routes and camps in Badagry Lagos,Ouida Benin Republic,Ghana & Goree Island in Senegal to ‘experience the choices in chains’.Kanye defecated on the graves of victims@nytimes @AP
— Senator Shehu Sani (@ShehuSani) May 4, 2018
Adidas No Say On The Issue
Despite all the backlash, the rapper is clearly not paying attention to any of it since he is too busy working and promoting on his newest Yeezy shoes. The rapper signed a contract with famous shoemaker Adidas back in 2015 with his official shoes.
However, people have been urging and even signed a petition for Adidas to drop Kanye’s brand because of his slavery comments a few weeks ago. However, it would seem that the German brand does not want to have anything to do with the criticisms and just want to do business with West. They even said that they simply never had a conversation with the rapper regarding the issue.
approved 700 V2 color way Q4 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/IWAzItCnEK
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) May 10, 2018
The CEO of Adidas Kasper Rorsted said in an interview with Bloomberg that they simply do not want to comment on the said issue since West is an external creator. Rorsted admitted that the rapper has indeed been a great creator and partner especially by helping them with their marketing strategy so he would leave it right there and chooses not to meddle with the issue any further.