Like everyone else this week, Chance The Rapper was watching the Kanye West–Donald Trump drama unfold on Twitter, but after stepping in and scoring an endorsement from Trump himself, he’s decided to consciously uncouple himself from the whole damn situation.
As Kanye copped flak for his support of the current president, Chance intervened in an apparent attempt to support his long-time friend, saying that “black people don’t have to be democrats”, a Tweet that proved to be a pretty big talking point itself.
Black people don’t have to be democrats.
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) April 25, 2018
Because it’s 2018 now and the US president gets actively involved in this type of drama, Trump himself responded, thanking Chance for his apparent support, and saying that he “really [gets] it.” At this point, the rapper decided it was time to get the hell off the ride.
Nah that aint it yo https://t.co/hqA1NYGxE2
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) April 27, 2018
Describing Kanye as “family”, Chance said he stepped in because he find it hard to see people speaking negatively about someone he holds so close, even if they are justified in doing so.
My fault yo pic.twitter.com/TIWhG8o1ST
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) April 27, 2018
He then went on to clarify his position on Trump, and more broadly, on his and Kanye’s home city of Chicago, saying:
“I’d never support anyone who has made a career out of hatred, racism and discrimination. I’d never support someone who’d talk about Chicago as if it’s hell on earth and then take steps to make life harder here for the most disenfranchised among us. I understand why people are disappointed with my words, but I was raised to believe that actions speak louder than words. So let my apology be seen in my future works, and let me make up for my poorly timed comment with immediate action and advocacy for those who need it most.”
“My statement about black folk not having to be democrats (though true) was a deflection from the real conversation and stemmed from a personal issue with the fact that Chicago has had generations of Democratic officials with no investment or regard for black schools, neighbourhoods or black lives. But again, said that shit at the wrongest time.”
Kanye West, meanwhile, has since claimed that he hasn’t “done enough research” on conservatives to call himself one, but that he is “just refusing to be enslaved by monolithic thought.”
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/989897228511670272
He spent most of yesterday Tweeting photos of architecture, which probably means he’s getting ready to delete his account again, so screengrab it while you can, guys, in case you want to show your grandkids what the wildest and woolliest news story of April 2018 looked like.
