Kanye for President

I have to admit that I didn't have much respect for Kanye West, both as an artist and as a human being until he spoke out during Katrina. It wasn't until after his bold and brash statement about Bush that I actually stood up and took notice. Subsequently I purchased (ok downloaded after purchasing) his sophomore project (can't call it a cd or album any longer). I already had his first one but rarely listened to it. I didn't give him much credit but when he opened his mouth and exercised his right to free speech, I stood and applauded him. His statement wasn't very profound (almost childlike if you ask me), but he stuck his neck out for his people and paid a price.

I recently saw him on television and he admitted that he lost endorsements behind his statement. The first thing I thought was how fucking un-American until I reminded myself that that was American. Having a system whereby you tell people that they have the freedom to do something but punish them for doing it is, and has been, America since the beginning. It is why we can have this document that clearly states that all men are created equal and then you tarnish the legitimacy of the document by amending it claiming that certain men aren't men afterall-just 3/5 of a man. HUH?

I think that every black person in the country should buy his next release twice. Let's make him the biggest selling artist since the Beatles. I don't care if he records a project farting for 30 minutes-we should pick it up. Better yet, we should implore him to do something totally independent like write a script and shoot a movie. I don't care if it's crap, we buy 2 DVD's a piece and see it as many times as we can. This way, all of the money goes into his pocket and not the record company's. If you don't have the extra cash, you can take it out of the 10% we've been giving the church for centuries, and they haven't done a damn thing to improve our communities.

If we don't do this, how will we ever encourage others in influential positions to stand up for the masses of black people that suffer every single day in this country? In the 60's when Muhammad Ali took a stand against the Vietnam War, every black person in America should have kept the man in the lap of luxury. We should have donated en masse to help him financially. He was a living hero amongst us. It is up to us to let our people know that if they represent us, we will support them. It is a 2-way street you know. If Kanye lost an endorsement deal, the company that dropped him should lose the entire black community as customers. If it's Nike, we don't purchase another pair of Nikes until Kanye's contract is reinstated AND he's compensated double for every penny he lost during the time that his contract was nullified. If we don't come together as a people, we will be picked apart.

Let's do what we can to help our brother out. He was the proverbial David that went up against Goliath-has hasn't defeated him yet, but with our help perhaps he can.

The Prince