It’s now been roughly a month since Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, causing massive flooding and political upheaval. In the days after Katrina, self-appointed firebrand Kanye West said, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” For this, he received a healthy mix of front page attention, adoration and hatred. Since that time, he has performed at the NFL season opening concert in Los Angeles, as well as several other high-profile corporate-sponsored concerts. For these, I’m sure he has received big pay days. But Kanye X, why haven’t you said anything else about Katrina, since you seemed so concerned a few weeks ago??
A few days ago, I was part of a big email chain. The subject of the email chain was Kanye’s purportedly being dropped by his endorser/sponsor, Pepsi, over his comments on Bush and Katrina. I haven’t been able to confirm that Pepsi has dropped him. Most of the people on the email chain were quick to condemn Pepsi, and one even anointed Kanye the “modern day Malcolm X.” Excuse me? Kanye West is no Malcolm X. Since his ill-timed, incomplete and uninformed comments, Kanye’s been quieter than a church mouse. I haven’t heard another word from West about President Bush. You see, you can’t be an outspoken advocate for poor blacks and be a corporate pitchman at the same time. Martin Luther King, Jr. was not endorsed by Nike or Coke; Malcolm X didn’t have a Reebok contract; Muhammad Ali was the most hated man in America in the 1960s. These three men, and anyone else in similar positions anywhere in the world, are the opposition to the status quo, not the maintainer of corporate culture, as Kanye is.
So Kanye, you’re not brave. You’re not a leader of black people. You’re a rapper in pink, a corporate puppet attached to the most powerful people in entertainment, flipping your collar on the cover of TIME, and standing up for black people when it’s convenient, when the heat is on low or when you have a new album coming out. Real leaders understand that there is a price to pay for leadership, and the price often includes money and friends. Do us all a favor and go back to lamenting your Benz, and your diamonds from Jacob.
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