Kanye West stirred up more controversy at his listening party for his upcoming album Vultures. The rapper, 46, was slammed for wearing a hood that mimicked the infamous one worn by members of the Ku Klux Klan. He also was called out for an alleged line in a song where he addressed the recent backlash for his antisemitic comments. Many listeners and viewers took to social media to show their disgust for the Kanye.
In clips from the event, Kanye could be seen wearing a hood that covered his face, with a pointed top, as well as small eye holes. It was incredibly similar to those worn by the KKK, a white supremacist hate group. The KKK’s hoods are white, but Kanye’s was black. This isn’t the first time that Kanye has used KKK imagery in his work. He had used a similar image in the music video for his 2013 song “Black Skinhead.”
In another clip, a line could be heard of what appeared to be Kanye rapping about his controversy after he was accused of antisemitism in late 2022. The line that was rapped was: “How I’m antisemitic? I just f**ked a Jewish b***h.”
After the videos and photos from the event came out, many people on social media called out the rapper. “He is just disgusting & an embarrassment to his own people,” one person wrote on X. “Kanye wearing a KKK hood and Black people are sitting idly by. F**k him and his music bro,” another posted.
Kanye’s comments about his past antisemitism also drew backlash. A spokesperson for the Anti-Defamation League called him an “unrepentant antisemite and clearly a misogynist” and denounced the rapper’s lyrics in a statement to The Messenger. “At a time of rising antisemitism worldwide, it’s disgusting to see Kanye once again use his platform to spew Jew hatred,” they said.
The new lyrics and hood come just over a year after the “Runaway” rapper had created controversy when he went on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ podcast. During the appearance, Ye praised Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. “I see good things about Hitler also. I love everyone, and Jewish people are not going to tell me, ‘You can love us and you can love what we’re doing to you with the contracts,” he said. “Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler.”
Shortly before his first wave of antisemitic remarks, Kanye stoked more controversy, when he wore a “White Lives Matter” shirt during Paris Fashion Week in October 2022. After he wore the slogan, Black Lives Matter released a statement calling him out for the shirt. “Twisting and convoluting this pillar by changing [the phrase ‘Black Lives Matter’] to ‘White Lives Matter,’ disregards our ancestors and the freedom fighters before us. The repercussions are dangerous, destructive, and irresponsible. Based on this decision, it is clear that Kanye lacks vision from his vantage point,” they said.