There are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and if you put disrespect on Queen Bey’s name, you’re gonna be sorry. Kanye West tempted two of these fates Saturday night at a concert in Sacramento, California—first by calling out Beyoncé, and then airing out Jay Z’s “killers.”
Yes, in Trump’s America, even the hip-hop world is upside down: Gucci Mane is reading Malcolm Gladwell, Azealia Banks is throwing down with Maximus, and Kanye West, the man who once famously announced “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” on live television, is cowering at the feet of President-elect Donald “All Lives Matter” Trump.
“This is a moment in the Matrix, bro!” exclaimed West in front of a packed crowd.
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What transpired was a lengthy rant against Beyonce, Jay Z, Drake, the radio, and Hillary Clinton, before the rapper stormed out of the show after performing a grand total of three songs.
“Beyoncé, I was hurt! ’Cause I heard that you said you wouldn’t perform unless you won Video of the Year over me, and over ‘Hotline Bling.’ In my opinion—now, don’t go tryin’ to diss Beyoncé, she is great. Taylor Swift is great. We are all great people, we are all equal. But sometimes, we be playin’ the politics too much and forgettin’ who we are—just to win. Fuck winning! Fuck lookin’ cool!” screamed West, who oversees a luxury fashion line.
“I’ve been sent here to give y’all my truth—even at the risk of my own life, even at the risk of my own success, my own career,” he continued. “I’ve been sent here to give y’all the truth. Jay Z, call me, bruh! You still ain’t call me! Jay Z, call me! Jay Z, I know you got killers, please don’t send them at my head. Just call me! Talk to me like a man!”
Who knows what’s going on with West. Between his pro-Trump speech on Friday, that tweet proclaiming Bill Cosby’s innocence, and this, he’s reached peak troll. You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain, and it appears West, in the face of a hostile press and gatekeepers who laughed him out of Silicon Valley, has resigned himself to the latter. Tonight, he pissed off 22,000 adoring fans who shelled out hundreds of dollars to see their idol arrive 1.5 hours late and make off with their money after a 3-song set.
Kanye: You’re better than this.
