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Kanye West Wants White Publications To Stop Commenting On Black Music

By Alexandria Ingham
Published on: 04:11 PST, Feb 16, 2016

Kanye West has caused controversy once again after asking white publications to stop commenting on black music. According to the rapper, white people have no idea what it means for him and others like him to get to where he is today. Numerous people have taken to social media to share their views.

West made the request via Twitter just hours before the Grammys last night. He started off by saying that while he loved white people, they just did not understand what it “meant to be the great grandson of ex-slaves” and get to where he is today. Not only is the man a successful rapper but also a businessman. He had just celebrated the premiere of his Season 3 collection at Madison Square Garden.

During his series of tweets, Kanye said how the system was set up to make black people fail and that white publications needed to stop commenting on black music. These are publications that have helped him become the star that he is today and may lead to some blacklash from them over the comment. Some on social media view his remarks as racist against white people, something that others have said cannot happen.

The tweets seem to coincide with the #oscarssowhite hashtag at the moment. West commenting on how the system was set up to make black artists fail implies that the Grammys would be against him and possibly all other black artists in the world. The Academy Awards have already made the headlines for all 20 acting nominations going to white people only, despite Will Smith’s movie Concussion arguably deserving of one. Last year’s Oscars also had the same controversy, and it has now led to numerous black actors and directors, including Smith and Spike Lee, to boycott it.

The Hollywood Reporter shares that Kanye West has also taken steps to keep white businessmen from benefiting from his music. After his message to white publications, he told his fans that his new album The Life of Pablo would not be available on iTunes or in stores. It would be available on Tidal only, the streaming service owned by fellow rapper and businessman Jay Z. West has supported Jay Z since the opening of the service.

Kanye had decided to use Tidal has the first place to share his new album. He made a surprise announcement last week to say that it would be available on February 11. When it did not appear at exactly midnight, fans took to Twitter to find out where it was.

Now fans and non-fans are taking to Twitter to comment on his recent tweets. While some have said that it will mean he could disappear, others have stated that it is racist.

Others have also taken to Twitter to comment on his decision not to share his album anywhere but Tidal. It would be a bad business decision, as people have already said that they would not pay the membership costs for the site. Many of his fans are Apple supporters, since it means they can download the tracks and listen completely offline on multiple devices without the need for an app.

Venture Beat reports that West’s remarks about only making The Life of Pablo available on Tidal could lead to fans pirating online. Some fans have already suggested using sites like Pirate Bay to get access to the music in other ways. A major issue is that fans have already paid for Kanye West’s album on the site but never received it, leading to them looking for illegal means.

[Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images]

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