In recent years, Kanye West has become quite the polarizing figure. Previously considered an acclaimed musician, his controversial statements have caused listeners to become dissociated with his brand and music.
Over the past few weeks, West has announced a new album, been present in interviews and has released snippets of upcoming songs. Among those is “Bully” which featured several controversial remarks about Hitler, West’s similarities to Hitler and him claiming to be a victim of bullying in the modern day.
Many considered this to be the final straw for West, as his new music included incredibly vulgar language about Black and Jewish communities.
Senior Bennet Teitle finds this change entertaining and terrifying. “I used to listen to Kanye a lot and then he said a lot of his anti-semitic stuff which kind of messed with me but I didn’t really let me be phased,” he stated. “Lots of music artists do terrible things like Michael Jackson and Puff Daddy but that doesn’t stop people from listening to the music they made. Then Kanye dropped this album or sneak peek or whatever it is and it is just so horrendously awful and blunt in its offensive messaging that I have removed Kanye from most of my playlists.”
Then in late March 2025, Kanye appeared in an interview with DJ Akademiks where he wore a diamond-embellished swastika chain and later changed into a black-colored Ku Klux Klan uniform. He discusses his upcoming album “WW3” and compares the media’s coverage of him to the way Jesus was persecuted for his beliefs while continuing to deny his racist and antisemitic statements.
West’s behavior has proved frustrating for many. “I can’t believe that people still listen and care about what he says,” said senior Rajan Vaidya. “He’s a self-admitted bipolar individual who stopped taking his medicine so obviously he’s going to do crazy stuff. He’s attention-hungry and willing to do anything to stay in the spotlight.”
His WW3 album cover features two men in KKK costumes which is very on brand for Kanye at this point.
“His music hasn’t been good for years, and he’s just becoming increasingly polarizing to farm views,” said Teitle in a final statement. “I’m just going to do my best to ignore him and I’ll probably be better off for it.”
Both of Kanye’s albums “Bully” and “WW3” should be released in full this summer. It is recommended that one should avoid listening to either of them.
