Kanye West to Joe Rogan, ‘When I talk, It’s a Symphony of Ideas’
Kanye West’s long-awaited appearance on Joe Rogan’s The Joe Rogan Experience has finally aired. And West didn’t hold back. For
Ivy Griffith
Kanye West’s long-awaited appearance on Joe Rogan’s The Joe Rogan Experience has finally aired. And West didn’t hold back. For three hours, the rapper and 2020 presidential candidate touched on topics like his presidential run, relationship with god, abortion, racism, and more. Fans were treated to a, “symphony of ideas,” from West, who has had a very difficult year under the public eye.
Kanye’s Difficult Year
With it seeming more and more likely that wife Kim Kardashianwill be seeking a divorce from West, one would assume West has enough on his plate. However, that isn’t the extent of West’s woes. Over the summer, Kanye suffered a very public mental breakdown, resulting in inpatient care for his mental health. West has long been forthcoming about his battle with bipolar disease, and this summer’s events showcase the struggles that even those seeking treatment can face with mental health crises.
In July, West announced his intention to run for president. At a rally in front of supporters, West unexpectedly broke the news that he and Kardashian had considered abortion with one of their children. This may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back as Kardashian, taken aback by the airing of their private life, treated his presidential run with lukewarm enthusiasm and the pair seemed to be living apart briefly in the end of July as West sought help.
Kanye Explains Why People Don’t Always Understand Him
Per Billboard, “As he explained, ‘I think very three-dimensionally. I don’t think in the black-and-white lines that I’ve been programmed to think in. And I think in full color. So when I talk, I have to describe a thought in five ways. We enjoy food that has multiple seasonings in it. We enjoy music that has multiple instruments. So when I talk, it’s not a rant, it’s a symphony of ideas.’”
Waxing philosophical about racism in America, West had some thoughts there, too. According to the rapper, Black people in America are being held down by the very act of trying to remember where they came from in this country. West explained, “Most Black people, we don’t know where we came from. We think we came from slaves. We don’t know our bloodline. We’re given Black History Month and we take that like it’s some gift to us. No, it’s programming to us. Racism doesn’t end until we get to a point where we stop having to put the word ‘Black’ in front of it, because it’s like we’re putting the rim a little bit lower for ourselves … We shouldn’t have to have a special box, a special month. What they show during Black History Month is us getting hosed down, reminding us that we were slaves. What if we had, Remember When I Cheated on You Month? How does that make you feel? It makes you feel depleted and defeated.”
Kanye Talks Presidential Run and Pandemic
Speaking on his reasoning for registering to run at seemingly the last moment, West said, “Why did I register so late to run for president? COVID. I had the virus, and I was sitting, quarantined in my house, and my cousin texted me about being prepared to run for president. I just completely put it off to the side ’cause I was like shivering, having the shakes, taking hot showers, eating soup. I don’t think it was that bad — I think it was a mild case. [But] it threw everybody’s plans off.”
But West did say that, despite the delay, his determination to run has been strong from the beginning. According to West, the idea has been around for a long time; “It was something that God put in my heart back in 2015. A few days before the MTV awards it hit me in the shower. When I first thought of it, I just started laughing to myself and all this joy came over my body, through my soul. I felt that energy and spirit. Two days later, I accepted the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the MTV Awards. Instead of performing my array of hit songs, I gave just my perspective on awards shows. I knew at the end, I was going to tell people I’m running for president in 2020. It even took heart to say it in that context and people’s minds were blown.
I had different friends — some people in the music industry, some tech elites — and they took it as a joke. They were telling me all these millions of reasons why I couldn’t run for president. I remember running into Oprah two days or one day after that, and she [said], ‘You don’t want to be president.’ One of my responses to the naysayers was, ‘I’ll definitely be a billionaire by that time.’ Not that that’s a reason why someone should be president… At that time, I was $50 million in debt and I knew I had the confidence that I would be able to turn that around.”
For critics of his run, West has words, “One of the most racist things that liberals who pride themselves on not being racist have said to me is, ‘You’re gonna split the Black vote. And that makes it seem like Black people can’t make decisions ourselves and that don’t no white people know me. [They’re saying] that only Black people will vote for me. Think about that statement. The nuance of institutionalized racisim … No one has really been able to embrace the idea of Blacks not being in a block, and staying in one place.”
Kanye Talks Medication
Per Screenrant, “When Joe asked about the medications Kanye West was given when he was first hospitalized, West drew a blank. He said, ‘I’m forgetting the exact medication.’ He admitted that he is not currently taking his prescribed meds, and added, ‘We’re all on medication right now. Did you use toothpaste with fluoride in it? It blocks your pineal gland. It’s [the medication] to create a disconnect between God.’“
West went on to add, “The main thing that it did is it destroyed my confidence. It made me this shell of who I really am. It grayed over my eyes. It made the mustang not buck anymore. They told me I was bipolar. I remember going on TMZ and saying, ‘Slavery is a choice.’ They medicated me for saying that, for having that opinion and saying it out loud.”
West Claims Abortion is a Greater Disaster than COVID-19
Billboard shares West’s thoughts on abortion, a topic close to his heart. Fans became aware after he revealed the new about himself and Kardashian at the July rally. “People saw this clip of me crying. Some people didn’t know what I was crying about. I was crying about that there is a possible chance that Kim and I didn’t make the family that we have today. That’s my most family-friendly way to word that. The idea of it just tears me up inside, that I was a part of a culture that promotes this kind of thing. One of the major statistics on the subject of life is that the greatest advocates for the A-word [abortion] are men from ages 31-37. That’s how old I was. I felt like I was too busy. My dad felt like he was too busy for me. We have a culture of that … In our culture, we’re doped up, and psyched out, and made to kill our children. We have to decouple the conversation of Planned Parenthood and women’s choice. I’m Christian, so I’m pro-life. When I go into office, I’m not changing laws because I realize we live in an imperfect world and an imperfect society. What I will be presenting is a Plan A. We’ve already started working on a Plan A to change the connotation of orphanages, to change the connotation of foster care.
There were 210,000 deaths due to COVID in America. Everywhere you go, you see someone with a mask on. With A, the A word, A culture — I’ll say it one time, with abortion culture — there are 1,000 Black children aborted a day. Daily. We are in genocide. More Black children since February than people have died of COVID. And everyone wears a mask. So it’s a matter of where are we turning a blind eye to?”
What Does West Plan for the Future?
According to West, he plans to run for president again in 2024 no matter what happens. In 2024 he has his eyes set on the Democrat candidacy. West explained, “I’m definitely 100% winning in 2024 … I got the Birthday Party, but I was thinking maybe there’s a possibility I would be… eh, they said that wouldn’t happen. [But] I was thinking I would possibly be the Democrat.”
And the reason behind his determination to run until he wins? West feels he has all the answers; “I’m completely confident that I will figure out how to get America out of debt, that I have the ability, once I see everything. I never make the wrong decision when I’m given all the information. That’s my skill set. Anything I go into — producing, rap, homes, clothing, anything — once I’m given the right information, I apply my taste. And I have the best taste on the planet. Could you imagine Quincy Jones as a president? Walt Disney? Steve Jobs? For America to be as warming and inviting as Disney World. There used to be this dream. People still have this dream of coming to America.
I know that me as president would be the best thing that would ever happen for America’s foreign policy. I’ve traveled more than any president already, and I bring people together. I put rivals on songs together to create masterpieces.”
West is Clearly On a Roll
The one thing most obvious from the interview is that West is in a manic state. Whether clinically or otherwise remains to be seen. West’s high-on-life assurance that he provides America’s only path forward reflects an ego padded by delusion. Stress can sometimes precipitate mental health crises in vulnerable individuals, and 2020 has been nothing if not stressful for West. While it must be hard for Kardashian to watch this behavior unfold in public, she may be his only hope for a path to wellness. While West has in the past alluded to fears that Kardashian will have him committed to a mental institution, surely there’s a less severe option she can consider. Whatever happens in the Kardashian-West household, we wish them well. While West is certainly the longshot for 2020, this year has a record for making the weird a reality.