American rapper, Kanye West who hasn’t been able to stay out of the spotlight recently, with controversies surrounding his vocal support of Donald Trump, comments about slavery, and accusations that he abandoned his charity organization Donda House dominating headlines, has blamed mental illness for his statement that slavery was a choice for black people.
40-year-old Kanye West who disclosed he was diagnosed with a mental illness at 39, sat down with Big Boy TV to discuss his album and personal issues. Kanye West explained that following his meltdown on TMZ, he created an entirely different album.
“We just sat there and really honed in on the words. Also, we know now, it’s all headlines, every bar can be used. I took a bar off the album. It was just too sensitive about that topic and stuff.”
“I’m so blessed and so privileged because think about people that have mental issues that are not Kanye West, that can’t go and make that [album] and make you feel like it’s all good. Think about someone who does exactly what I did at TMZ and they just do that at work. On Tuesday morning, they come in and they just lost their job. And they can’t go back and do that…That’s why God put that on me at 40…I’ve never been diagnosed and I was like 39 years old…It’s not a disability, it’s a superpower” he said.
West revealed he has bipolar disorder, and he doesn’t view it as a disadvantage. On the track “Yikes,” West’s lyrics state, “That’s my bipolar shit,” adding, “That’s my superpower n—-, ain’t no disability.”
In the interview, West touched on the prominence of mental health disorders in America, using language that mental health awareness advocates may have found a powerful friend in the celebrity:
“Think about people who have mental issues that are not Kanye West…think about somebody that does exactly what I did at TMZ but they just do it at work. Then Tuesday morning they come back and they lost their job.”
Over the years, there has been much public speculation about West’s health. After a recent onslaught of ill-received tweets, wife Kim Kardashian West pointed out that people shouldn’t make snap judgements because they disagree with West’s politics.
On April 25 she tweeted, “Your commentary on Kanye being erratic & his tweets being disturbing is actually scary. So quick to label him as having mental health issues for just being himself when he has always been expressive is not fair.”