We're more than a week into Kanye West's "Black Future Month," and on Tuesday, the father of four shared a nearly six-minute-long speech to his Instagram page breaking down exactly what this newly proclaimed holiday means to him.
Not beating around the bush at all, Ye began, "America is made to enslave us. What they ever gave us? We done proved, we done showed. It's documented, now it's cemented. Black Future, it's time to invent it. If Ye said it, you know that he meant it."
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The Atlanta-born rapper and producer then declared that "there's no more Black History Month, every February reminding us that we just barely can vote." For his next point, West reminded us that "You shouldn't have to be a tech genius, a basketball god, a musical wizard to be able to hold down your family."
In what looks like the Sunday Service Choir space, surrounded by a group dressed identically to him, the "Runaway" recording artist turned the conversation to something he's been speaking about a lot lately – his children. "About four, five days since I've seen my kids, but we in America, that's just how it is."
"We thinking about the future and not the past," West went on. "This is a calling this is more than balling, this is more than the dreams of the hard court and a Spaulding. This is more than the dreams of the White House, this is our house. This is our country to be bought, but nah, that's not what I was taught."
Next up, the controversial figure spoke on his daughter coming home from school and sharing in the realization that she's Black, as well as the amount of money Black America has. "Our $44 million is worth $1.8 trillion," he shared. "That means the Black dollar is neck-and-neck with the biggest company in the world, which is Apple. And more focused, the Black dollar will be the biggest company in the world."
His Yeezy brand came up in conversation near the end of the clip, as he emphasized that the fashion company is the "only 100% Black-owned brand that is cultural."
"What me and Virgil broke down is the Black belief in Black design," Ye said, speaking on his late friend and fellow creative, Virgil Abloh. "We used to hold luxury ‘here’ and Black design ‘there.’ And I’m fine to take what they gotta say because it’s not about me. It’s about us, it’s about our children, it’s about an example of what we can be when we decide to walk off the field and take our narrative into our own hands. Black Future Month, this is the future."
Check out Kanye West's "Black Future Month" speech below.
[Via]
