Talib Kweli is one of the reasons we have Kanye West as a solo artist now. It was he who inspired Yeezy to rap when he was just a producer and the two have collaborated and formed a friendship over the course of the years. Obviously, the two have had different career trajectories since, but to understand the latest Kanye rants, someone who knows him well would be a good start.
In an interview with Esquire, Talib revealed why the two don’t talk much anymore, which happened after West publicly stated he supported Donald Trump. He also felt a sort of way about Yeezy’s comments on Candace Owens.
As of today, Kweli says it would be hard to work with ‘Ye because of his opinions:
“I would find it difficult working with Kanye on music right now with his position on Trump and Candace Owens and his repeating white supremacist lines on black-on-black crime and ‘slavery is a choice.’
The real Kanye is the one who said he didn’t have enough information to speak on conservatives vs. liberals. That was a moment of the real Kanye.”
He also says that this all stems from President Obama’s lack of enthusiasm for Kanye, never inviting him to the White House:
“An underrepresented piece to all of this is that Kanye told [Charlamagne] that Obama didn’t invite him to the White House. I think we’re seeing Kanye reacting to not feeling love from Obama. That’s what he relates to about Trump more than anything: Trump is the ultimate I-don’t-like-Obama guy…I think Obama fucked us all up by calling Kanye a jackass and not inviting him to the White House. These are the bad things about Obama’s legacy—his immigration policy, drone strikes, and calling Kanye a jackass.”
You can read the entire interview over at Esquire now.
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