Everything
Nothing riles up the internet quite like a high profile split, so imagine the fuss today when news broke that Kim Kardashian is set to divorce Kanye West.
According to sources (this means Kris Jenner), “divorce is imminent,” and there are rumours that Kim Kardashian has hired Laura Wasser. Wasser is the Michael Jordan of divorce lawyers, she doesn’t lose and is crazy competitive.
Page Six claims that Kanye and Kim have spent the holiday period apart – Kim has been kicking it in Calabasas. At the same time, Kanye remained at the Wyoming ranch doing whatever Kanye does.
Of course, news of separation is always sad, especially when there are kids involved. Together the pair have four children: North (born in 2013), Saint (born in 2015), Chicago (born in 2018), and Psalm (born in 2019).
But while Kim Kardashian may finally divorce Kanye West, I struggle to muster up emotion because I ditched Kanye ages ago.
Kim and Kanye (Kimye, do we still do that?) have been a couple since 2012, and honestly, it’s hard not to draw a direct link between their cohabitation and Kanye’s disintegration.
In 2013, a year after linking up with Kim, Kanye released Yeezus which is, undeniably, his last decent record. Before this, Kanye had been an absolute hit machine, and I challenge you to go through his back catalogue and find a bad album.
BACK CATALOGUE: THE BEST OF Mr. WEST
The College Dropout (2004)
Late Registration (2005)
Graduation (2007)
808s & Heartbreak (2008)
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)
Watch the Throne (with Jay-Z) (2011)
When Yeezus dropped in 2013 no one could’ve predicted that the Kanye we’d all come to know and love was about to leave the building.
The record gave us Bound 2, which features one of the best hooks in hip hop. I even liked the film clip where Kim and Kanye rode a motorbike while facing one another. It was dangerous, but it was a vibe.
Unfortunately, Yeezus marked the beginning of the end for Kanye and I, and here’s why.
Ye Ditches Jay
While you might never want to listen to N*ggas In Paris again, it’s worth remembering that Watch The Throne is probably one of the best pieces of art Kanye has ever made. Much of that comes down to his working relationship with Jay-Z.
Ye and Jay were a dream duo, with Kanye’s production skills and Jay-Z’s street lyrics working together perfectly to provide an album that remains near-flawless.
But in 2016 the relationship soured, Kanye calling Jay out for not offering enough support in the wake of Kim being robbed in Paris.
“Don’t call me after the robbery and say ‘how you feelin?’ You wanna know how I’m feelin? Come by the house. Bring the kids by the house. Like we’re brothers. Let’s sit down,” said Kanye during a show on his Saint Pablo Tour.
“I can’t take this shit bro. Our kids have never even played together.”
Falling out with friends is one thing, but when your friend is one of the greatest rappers of all time, then you need to start re-evaluating your decisions.
Distracted by the Donald
If ditching Jay was bad, linking up with Donald was worse. I remember the first time I saw pictures of Kanye grinning stupidly in his red MAGA hat while sitting opposite Donald Trump in the White House in 2018.
Initially, I thought it was one of those weird composite images people create online; they take two historical figures who never crossed paths and put them together, like a picture of Elvis eating lunch with Obama.
Unfortunately, it was painfully real, and so too was my disdain.
Here was a man who once jokingly rapped about forcing his son to be Republican, “so everybody know he love white people,” chatting casually with a President who has consistently shown a disregard for people of colour.
The Trump-West meeting of the egos was a perfect snapshot of the punchline Kanye had become.
Gone was the insightful rapper, who had a finger on the pulse and an ear to the streets, instead replaced by shock value stunt artist who believed “slavery was a choice.”
Playing President
Perhaps enamoured by his trip to Washington, Kanye had long harboured visions of running for President. Still, it didn’t become a real thing until he announced the news via Twitter on July 4, 2020.
We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States 🇺🇸! #2020VISION
— ye (@kanyewest) July 5, 2020
The Presidental run was the tragic unravelling of West in real-time, and also the first instance when it seemed Kim Kardashian was set to cut and run. At his first campaign event at Exquis Event Center in North Charleston, South Carolina, on July 19 Kanye wore a bulletproof vest and spoke out against abortion.
This led to Kaney’s now-infamous Twitter meltdown, where he alluded to divorce rumours and publicly called out his mother-in-law for leaking Kim’s sex tape.
All these statements should render some kind of reaction but Kanye has become so unpredictable these days that the words ‘Kanye West Controversy’ barely even warrant an eye roll.
The White Hose delusion was just further proof that Kanye’s perceptive has been sacrificed by a career spent surrounded by yes men (and women). No one told him when his music was suffering when his relationships were deteriorating, or when his Yeezy collection began to look like the Derelite designs from Zoolander.
Fast forward to today, and perhaps Kanye West and Kim Kardashian are on the brink of separation, or maybe they are not. But as a former Kanye West fan, I secretly hope that in the wake of the breakup, he might put himself back together again.
