YE’S RECENT REMARKS PROMPT QUESTION OF

HEARTFELT, ELECTRONIC dance beats. Eighty’sstyle synthesizer hooks. Explosive, speaker-breaking sounds that turned into a generation of melodic, introspective rap music. This is Ye, previously named Kanye West, arguably one of the most influential musicians of our century. With 24 Grammy awards, the producer, rapper and fashion designer’s music knows no limits, spanning from indie-rock to electro to gospel. Yet, after a slew of recent remarks, Ye’s actions pose a moral dilemma — should we continue to indulge in the work of controversial figures?

Ye has always been vocal about his opinions on world events. In 2005, during a live telethon to raise money for Hurricane Katrina relief, Ye, who believed relief efforts were being mismanaged in predominantly poor neighborhoods, said that “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people.” In 2009, Ye famously interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video at MTV’s Music Awards, citing his belief that Beyonce should have won. And most recently, in early October ing death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” later posting a ing millions of his fans and the general public, but also the businesses working with his brand. As a result, he was banned from social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram and lost ing Gap, Adidas and Balenciaga terminated their contracts with him. Ye later appeared on the talk show “Piers Morgan Uncensored” where he made it clear that he was “absolutely not” sorry for the statements he made.

But despite Ye’s highly publicized usage of hate speech, much of his fan base remains loyal, prompting the question: is the creative pioneer behind each of his masterpiece albums the same Ye that was recently making antisemitic threats on social media?

Pro-ye or con-ye?

For Palo Alto High School senior Avi Srinivasan, Ye’s music has been more than just an addition to his playlist — it has been a part of his life since the beginning of his childhood.

“I have been listening since I was six years old,” Srinivasan said. “He’s one of the most successful music artists of all time and the impact that he’s had just from the past is something that I appreciate very personally given that I’ve grown up listening to him and it sucks to see him right now.”

Despite Srinivasan’s appreciation for Ye’s music, he said he drew the line in supporting Ye’s behavior.

“The music he made was so well crafted and he produced it in an amazing way where you have to respect that in a sort of sense,” Srinivasan said. “But because I don’t really have a personal connection with that artist, it [Ye’s words] doesn’t affect me in the same way as it could affect people.”

Srinivasan said he has learned to appreciate Ye’s music, and other artists’ music, without going in-depth into its context. He believes that merely streaming his music is different from condoning his behavior.

“If you’re doing something that is going to promote them and get them on