Open Letter to Mr. Kanye West.
Sir.
You are currently thirty six years old and an idol that
young people today, look up to.
May I state forthrightly, that the interview you delivered
is in exceptional bad taste. If for any reason, you did not deliver these words
in the interview about former President and world icon, Nelson Mandela, then
you should take to task the website that categorically states these words
delivered by yourself.
With regard to your comment about Mr. Mandela having brought
freedom to a few people and you bringing freedom of thought to millions,
may I state that this is not true.
As an African American, if you are proud of your heritage,
you should be thankful to Mr. Mandela for alerting the world about the plight
of black people in Africa. Africa might not be
as developed as the USA,
however, slaves were brought over to your continent by colonialism which makes
you have slave descendants within your blood line. I am sure that African
people, including white people, would hate to be associated with you and your
derogatory statements on Africa and the, dare
I say, most respected world leader.
Apart from this, you claim to have many people who follow
your ideals, like you, Mr Mandela grew up poor but instead, and unlike you, used
his immense power for the good of others. As a president, he donated a part of
his salary as president ( more that three quarters) to charities especially the children, who today idolize you as a rap
artist. With your music, you use profanities and derogatory statements toward
women… “Girl ain't give me no ass, ya need to go down” – what kind of example
do you set for the youth of today? Is it acceptable then for you to indulge
sexually with women the way you state in your music? Do you do this with your
Partner? I sincerely hope that you have a daughter one day – this may awaken
your wrongs when she gets hurt – the circle is round my visionary.
As far as your claim to Mr Mandela achieving what he did
until 95 years of age, let me state that when you were still a lustful thought,
your parents have at that stage been youngsters to Mr Mandela, who was
definitely an elder. He fought for civil rights even before you were an idea. Have respect for the elders, or does your upbringing not
teach you that at all. Your father may have asked you to bring God into your
life, did he know something then? Did he not teach you to respect older people?
The young South Africans and young people on our continent who idolize you, will, I am sure
find your comments distasteful and this might affect your record sales. After
all, one thing you have in common with scum of the earth is that life to you is
all about getting rich and flaunting it. Make no mistake, there is nothing
wrong with that, but then you should not compare yourself to Nelson Mandela who
also fought for black people’s liberation in the USA, I might add. Be thankful for
that.
Even with immense wealth, he did not show his monetary wealth, instead as a wealthy person in humanitarian concern, THIS is what he showed the world without expecting anything in return, least of all endorsements and record sales. He even took the opportunity to thank those around him constantly.
Had you made this statement while Mr. Mandela was alive, he would have invited you to his place and initiated a debate with you regarding this. You would have left with a completely different perspective of the man. Ask anyone who has met him personally, including your colleague, Will Smith who will vouch for this factual statement on my part.
In fact, when he became presdent of our wonderful country, he decided to keep the personal assistant of Mr de Klerk, who he succeeded as president. He was entitled to bring in his own PA, but he would not see someone walk away unemployed. When he left office, she voluntarily ( pronounced vol - un - tare- rilly which means of own free will) followed him. This being an assistant to an apartheid government president who realised the goodnoess in one man's heart and was drawn to the good of him. Google the history of Zelda le Grange if you do not believe me.
Without the very people who spoke out against racial discrimination, you
might not be driving that drop top you sing about. The role could have been
very different, you may still be working as a ranch hand or oil field employee –
earning almost nothing. Then again, colonialism was the start to the USA
becoming a first world country, there are good things in all the bad, including
your statements you made to the press about Mr. Nelson Mandela.
Let’s face it, Mandela, the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, all the
greats of this era had one thing in common. HUMBILITY. A word you seriously
lack in behaviour, attitude, genetic make up and you probably do not know how
to spell and pronounce it anyway since it does not have any profanities.
Rock stars of years gone by, may have made the most unappetizing
sounds but they did not need to use indiscriminate insults, swearing, sexual
remarks and the like to sell records. They spoke about life experiences, loss,
love ( the proper love, not just humping away indiscriminately as you profess)
to prove this point, listen to Queen’s music, or my personal pafourite, Bon
Jovi’s Always, REM’s Everybody Hurts. Today though, this song rings true in South Africa
because both black and white, people of all religions and creeds are hurting
and mourning the loss of our Madiba. While many are vehemently opposed to the
political party he represents, as a man he rose above the power of politics and
embraced the power of humanity. May you do the same!
Kanye, if this is true, that you did in fact make those
statements, yoh! Aha aha, let me wish you the best in becoming a true world
leader in every sense of the word. True leaders have humbility and thank the
people around them for believing in them and supporting them emotionally. When
was the last time you actually thanked your partner for sharing a kind word
with you, something as small as a smile could inspire many men greatness
provided their partners did it with sincerity. Do this without any sexual connotation or one
of exploitation but with true sincerity.
I will await your response, and comments from the world and
everyone who reads this would be truly welcome.
Kind regards.
A sincere South African in mourning on the passing of a
great man.
