We Cannot Separate the Artist & the Art

On the morning of Oct. 9, I woke up to a flurry of notifications on my phone. The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN. On Instagram, it was more of the same: countless posts canceling Kanye West, who legally changed his name to Ye in 2018, calling for an end to his sponsorships, and labels, and shoe brands and everything that perpetuates music figures beyond the screen and into our homes and minds.

These notifications, of course, were in response to Ye’s latest tweet, which I’ll transcribe here: “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE. The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also.You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”

After reading this tweet, I felt entirely unsurprised. Ye has always been a contro versial figure, like when he ran for president in 2020 and when he wore a “White Lives Matter” shirt at a Paris fashion show in early October. On the other hand, though, I felt angry that both my identity as a Jewish person and the identities of my Jewish grandparents and great-grandparents who had escaped persecu tion because of their beliefs were being attacked.

So, at that moment, I made a decision: I would no longer support Ye. I would no longer listen to his music. I would no longer buy his merchandise. As a high schooler, for whom music is an integral part of my life, I knew this decision would not be without consequences. After all, my music habits from statsforspotify.com prove Ye is my mostlistened-to-artist of all time, and I can deliver a compelling analysis on Ye’s albums ranked best to worst. But this minute sacrifice is inconse quential compared to the world of hurt that Ye has and will likely continue to cause.

Not only was I hurt by this tweet, but I also felt ashamed. Why had it taken so long for me to internalize all the hatred that Ye promotes? Why did I only take action once he attacked a part of my identity, but not when he spread hatred in other communities? The truth is, even though I no longer support Ye, I should’ve stopped months — even years — ago, the artist. After all, it’s hard to deny that Ye’s songs have entrancing flows and lyrics that are heads and shoulders above the rest of the industry. But, at the same time, it’s impossible, inappropriate and impractical to separate the art from the artist.

In today’s world, artists no longer exist only on streaming platforms and the radio. They exist all around us: on hoodies, billboards, social media and TV. They have real, public influence outside the synthesis of rhythms and beats. This level of influence can have dangerous consequences.

Take Ye’s antisemitic tweet. Hate groups took to a highway overpass to show their support in Los Angeles on Saturday, Oct. 22. With them, they carried a large banner that read “Ye is right about the Jews.” According to an article by the Los Angeles Times, the Vice President of the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism believes this demonstration was the “latest example of how extremists across the ideological spectrum have embraced [Ye’s rhetoric].”

As functioning members of society, we cannot continue to enable artists who spread hate and promote dangerous ideas. We must stop buying their merch, following their Instagrams and listening to their music.

We must petition their sponsors to stop giving them brand deals and money, like how Adidas and Gap dropped their products made in collaboration with Ye in response to his antisemitism. If we don’t, we show these artists that it’s okay to be hateful, and that their actions don’t have repercussions.We show their supporters that they won’t be held accountable for hurting So, you might be asking yourself, where should I draw the line? At what point should I stop listening to an artist entirely? The truth is, I can’t answer those questions for you. That is up to you to decide. But I would caution you to only support artists who you have shared goals and ideals with, and who don’t attack your or anyone else’s identity.