Kanye West Clarifies Controversial Harriet Tubman Take

Kanye West and Nick Cannon took a moment to reflect on Ye's controversial take on Harriett Tubman.

BYMitch Findlay
Link Copied to Clipboard!
3.2K Views
Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images

Today, Nick Cannon shared the second part of his extensive conversation with Kanye West, and fans of Yeezy would be wise to check this one out in its entirety. Speaking completely uninhibited, the controversial visionary opens up about a variety of topics, speaking on his meeting with Jared Kushner, his understanding of business and the economy, the flaws of Joe Biden, and his own tendency to stir the pot with his commentary -- especially when he touches on legendary historical figures like Harriet Tubman.

<a href=Kanye West Clarifies Controversial Harriet Tubman Take">
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

"With me, I'm a freedom fighter," begins Kanye. "My comment to Harriet Tubman, or of her, was that we gotta be reminded--" Nick Cannon cuts him off, finishing the sentence for him. "Of how white people did us dirty," says Cannon, before Kanye returns to his train of thought. "Of how we was slaves. You can go to an African American history museum, and they don't start off with the African drums. It starts off with the slave boats. It can be more motivational, but they don't want us to--"

Cannon interrupts again, agreeing with Kanye's assessment that black culture is "much more than slavery." "If we have black history month, we need to have black future month," suggests Kanye, prompting Nick Cannon to quote Kanye's "U Ain't Neva Gotta Ask" bar. Laughing, Kanye admits that Cannon actually gave him the "I make black history every day, I don't need a month" bar to begin with. Circling back to Tubman, Kanye claims that "we don't need to tear our statues down to build new ones, because we don't got enough statues."

For the most part, it seems as if Kanye's general sentiment centers around the idea that people have become conditioned to understand the timeline of black history with slavery as the beginning -- as such, all that transpires afterward will always be placed within that framework. As he explains, there were plenty of prominent black figures throughout history that to this day are never explored in an academic setting. Check out his explanation below, and be sure to watch the full interview should you be interested in Kanye West's psychology.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CE4dRRXJh8D


  • Link Copied to Clipboard!
About The Author
<b>Feature Editor</b> <!--BR--> Mitch Findlay is a writer and hip-hop journalist based in Montreal. Resident old head by default. Enjoys writing Original Content about music, albums, lyrics, and rap history. His favorite memories include interviewing J.I.D and EarthGang at the "Revenge Of The Dreamers 3" studio sessions in Atlanta and receiving a phone call from Dr. Dre. In his spare time he makes horror movies.