Russell Simmons Tells Ye Make Up With Jews, Build Your Own Legacy
The best thing Kanye can do now is take Russell’s advice, partner with those who have similar interests and build the future as he sees fit.
Kanye West, now known as Ye, beloved by many and yet, incorrigible, has set the world ablaze again and his latest fire dive surely will not be his last. If there is one thing Ye is good for, it’s stirring up the hearts and minds of the public with his brash and unapologetic speech.
The twenty-one time Grammy award winning musician, fashion icon, and father of four has recently taken news headlines by storm with comments he’s made about the death of George Floyd and the Jewish community.
In this piece, I won’t discuss whether or not he has a mental illness (although this is certainly a relevant conversation). I won’t discuss his latest round of inflammatory comments as they are subjective (read: his feelings). Instead, I want to rise above his commentary and speak to what the future could look like for Black people, Jewish people, and America at large.
Kanye West, Gadfly or Derelict?
There are any number of cultural analysts, political talking heads, and company CEO’s set to punish him for his comments. Countless others have distanced themselves from him in the wake of his most recent speech tirade. Fair enough. Do what you have to. Especially if you truly believe Ye is a Hitler supporting, Jew-hating anti-semite (he is not, but I digress).
What I wish to bring attention to is the fact that so many people are triggered by his statements and that he has caused a divide in the waters (biblical imagery intended) of American capitalism.
Whether you love, hate, or are indifferent to him as a person and artist, you most likely have some thoughts on his speech, every time he speaks. When he supported Trump in the 2016 presidential election, denounced George Bush in 2005, and hopped on stage during Taylor Swift’s award ceremony at the 2009 VMA’s, Kanye likely incited a barrage of thoughts in your brain.
Whether we like it or not, Ye is a factor in public opinion. As much as people wish to write him off as an imbecile, the guy matters. If he didn’t, syndicated radio talk show host, Howard Stern, who has admitted openly that he doesn’t follow the rap scene or keep up with hip-hop much, wouldn’t have expressed so much disdain for Ye recently.
The Black and Jewish Connection
While the average person says, “Oh Kanye? He’s crazy,” or, “He’s just never been the same since his mother died,” I’d like to invite you to consider that, if nothing else, his incendiary speech has introduced the need for dialogue on topics people prefer not to discuss; namely, long frowned upon music industry practices, the relationship between Jewish and Black people (economic and cultural differences, and historical similarities), and the meaning of free speech in a global milieu of public cancellation.
While companies rush to ban Ye and terminate his corporate contracts, we should take the time to try and understand his views and how he has come to have them.
When Nick Cannon made comments about the Jewish community in his conversation with former Public Enemy member, Professor Griff, Rabbi Abraham Cooper came on to Nick’s podcast, Cannon’s Class, and spoke with him about Jewish history.
Russell Simmons seems to be the only one doing anything remotely similar to this at the moment. Simmons seems to understand what needs to happen in order for everyone, Kanye included, to move on from this situation peacefully. Whenever someone promotes hateful rhetoric, I believe it is first the job of those who have the knowledge of truth to speak up and correct ill-formed or inaccurate pronouncements.
Blacks and Jews Need Dialogue
From the outset, Jewish people should have been the first to welcome Kanye to discuss his assertions. They should have said, “Hey Kanye, look, we can see you’re upset. Where does your discontent come from? Who specifically in the music industry has done you or others wrong? Maybe we can work to fix things together.”
It is clear that Jewish people (and there are many different ethnic variations of Jew) as a whole are not evil. No group of people is entirely evil. There are evil people in every group however. Kanye’s recent comments should have reflected this, but they did not.
If he was unhappy with certain individuals within the Jewish community, fine. That’s understandable. Plenty of people have problems with Black people individually, yet, they don’t hold their sentiments against all Black people. Both Blacks and Jews have been the victims of hatred and violence, so there is a common bond shared.
Is Kanye Really a Nazi?
Kanye wrongly attributed his anger to an entire group of people and this is the problem. But what does fear, panic, and the call for separation on behalf of Jews do to resolve the problem? Is Kanye West a murdering hateful man who supports the genocide of all Jewish people (especially in light of the fact that he considers himself a Jew)? Or is he simply misinformed?
Kanye’s mother did not raise him to hate people. I think this is pretty clear from the documentary that Kanye put out to the public. Historically speaking, Black people were not Nazis. Never have been and never will be.
Black people in America experience racism everyday both overt and covert, subtle and blatant. Yet, I feel confident in saying that none of us fear being re-enslaved by whites, even if there are whites who wish to re-enslave us.
Think about this. Black people are still very much a minority in a country that brutally held them as slaves for 300 years, yet we walk the streets freely, hold jobs, run businesses, make children, participate in consumerism, and engage in political activism in the same country.
Jewish people have suffered horrible atrocities at the hands of those who have hated them but they didn’t suffer those atrocities in America. While they have experienced racism from some Americans historically, they have been able to thrive immensely in this land.
So the idea that Kanye West could (or even wants to) start a revolution to murder Jews here in this country with his misinformed ideas is ludicrous. Instead of fear, abandonment, and outrage, Jews here should wish to speak with Kanye and find out why he feels as he does. Then once there is understanding, there can be conflict resolution.
Kanye Needs to Take Russell Simmons’s Advice
Russell Simmons has the right idea. He has spoken on the current Kanye situation. What’s most impressive about Simmon’s is that he seems to have attained an almost guru-like understanding of humanity and what one can do to resolve hatred and find peace.
He’s encouraged Kanye to make amends with Jewish people and proceed to build his own. Jewish people are not a problem for Black people.
It’s a reluctance (either due to ignorance or apathy) to come together to build for ourselves, create our own power base, that troubles Black people today. The best thing Kanye can do now is take Russell’s advice, partner with those who have similar interests and build the future as he sees fit.
Spewing rhetoric about an entire people group, while perhaps momentarily satisfying, is not the way forward for any group of people. It’s okay to be angry, but as the saying goes, cooler heads prevail.