Pusha T Shares How Kanye West’s ‘Disappointing’ Antisemitic Posts ‘Affected’ Him
Pusha T is speaking out on Kanye West‘s string of antisemitic remarks over the past month.
“It’s definitely affected me. It’s been disappointing. As a Black man in America, there is no room for bigotry or hate speech. So yeah. It’s been very disappointing,” Pusha, who recently worked with Ye on his It’s Almost Dry album, said in a new interview with the Los Angeles Times.
However, the rapper still has musical respect for his collaborator. “Creatively, Ye has meant freedom to me,” he said. “A lot of times, people would try to get me to change certain things about my process, change certain things about me lyrically, change certain things about the content. He never has been like that. He always saw me for who I was and knew how to take it to the next level.”
Pusha continued, “We actually have a lot of the same taste, we love just barred-out rap. He would tell me things like, ‘Man, you just be the extreme version of yourself. And I’m gonna be the extreme version of myself.’”
Ye took to Twitter in October to use antisemitic rhetoric in his posts, then continued to amplify his hate speech in interviews. The reaction from the public was swift, with several companies — including The Gap, Balenciaga, and more — terminating their relationships and brand deals with the rapper.
Forbes has also reported that Ye has lost his billionaire status after Adidas announced on Oct. 25 that it was dropping his due deal, and that the brand does not tolerate hate speech.
Rania Aniftos
Billboard