In case you weren't aware, "sunken place" dweller, Kanye West was supposed to release his forthcoming album Yandhi over the weekend, but much like his sense of reasoning, the album is no where to be found.
This sudden delay caused misguided stans fans to speculate about what had happened, but today Kanye himself revealed the reasoning behind the album's postponement: he's going to Africa to finish recording. The rapper visited TMZ on Monday, where he shared his plans to visit "Africa" in two weeks—of course Kanye would be one of those people who fail to specify which country—in order to finish recording the album.
"He wants to draw inspiration from the earth there," TMZ quoted Kanye as saying. "I felt this energy when I was in Chicago," Kanye says, "I felt the roots. But we have to go to what is known as Africa. I just need to go, to find out what it's really called, and just grab the soil."
READ: Dear Kanye, Why Stop at Slavery. Let's Talk About How South Africans Chose Apartheid.
Needless to say, this is troubling.
We're almost positive that no matter what Africa is "really called" Kanye ain't got the answers. He should most definitely leave whatever African "soil" he's speaking of alone—it's probably better off that way. Also the statement about the soil is giving us Umar Johnson-esque hotep vibes. Not to mention, Kanye's recent comments surrounding racism and slavery show a willful ignorance towards the unique struggles of black people—he unapologetically supports a president who thinks African countries are "shit holes." During his appearance on SNL, the artist claimed that if he were concerned about racism "he would've left America a long time ago." With such an astoundingly warped worldview, it's hard to identify how his trip would benefit anyone other than himself (which is probably the point). It's clear that "the place known as Africa" will gain absolutely nothing from a visit from Kanye West.
Perhaps the most glaring reason why Kanye should keep his bad energy far away from the continent, though, is that he's already proven himself to be painfully insensitive about African history. His trivialization of a 1995 photo taken at a Rwandan refugee camp, which he used as both the invitation and "theme" for his 2016 Yeezy Season 3 fashion show, tell us pretty much all we need to know about how Kanye West regards African life. In 2018, it's not even the least bit surprising that the same man who thought it appropriate to make a fashion statement out of people's suffering would also think that chattel slavery was a choice.
Kanye sampled Kenyan artistsAyub Ogada and James Mbarack Achieng 1976 record "Kothbiro" on the song "Yikes" from his last album "Ye" without their knowledge—though the two are credited on the song.
Last month, Kanye sent out a tweet with the African continent emoji surrounded by two crescent moons. While we tried our best to ignore this sign, it appears it might have been alluding to his upcoming trip. So there's that.
Yandhi is now set to drop on November 23, presumably after Kanye has finished toiling with African soil.
