<\/p>\n
\u201cLook at how quiet it is right now, it\u2019s only God. God is of order, the devil is of chaos,\u201d said Kanye West as he took a moment\u2019s pause from his waffling about, as far as I could tell, God\u2019s divine power. <\/p>\n
It was an odd choice of anecdote from a man whose behaviour over the past few weeks \u2013 maybe years \u2013 has been, quite frankly, chaotic. <\/p>\n
In his rambling interview with Fox News\u2019s Tucker Carlson last week, Ye, as he\u2019s legally known now, also shared somewhat muddled views on a range of topics such as his pro-life stance (around his neck he wore a lanyard depicting a feral ultrasound), the Kardashians, and his affinity for former US president Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
To say it has been an eventful few weeks for the rapper and fashion mogul would be an understatement of note.<\/p>\n
The drama began when he wore a White Lives Matter shirt to his Yeezy Fashion Show. As the storm began to form, Ye doubled down on this controversial antic by referring to Black Lives Matter as a \u201cscam\u201d. <\/p>\n Then, a few days after this stunt, Ye once again caused a public uproar when he took to Instagram, then Twitter, to put out some anti-semitic posts.<\/p>\n Having initially seen his Instagram post (in which he accused Diddy of being controlled by Jews) deleted and his use of the app limited, Ye took to Twitter to threaten that he\u2019d go \u201cdeath con 3 on Jewish people\u201d. <\/p>\n He seems to have been referencing \u201cDefcon 3\u201d, which is a term used by the US Armed Forces to symbolise the Air Force\u2019s readiness for an attack.<\/p>\n Unlike the right-wing fraternity Ye is pandering to these days, he doesn\u2019t bother with ambiguity. He spews his bigotry openly, with the kind of clarity that leaves no room for doubt.<\/p>\n When I think about it, I doubt Ye believes some of the stuff he says or that he is so tone-deaf that he does not understand the wider ramifications of, say, wearing a White Lives Matter shirt. <\/p>\n This brings to mind how, in 2013, Ye started selling merchandise with Confederate flags on them during his tour. In the face of widespread condemnation, Ye would explain: \u201cAny energy is good energy. The Confederate flag represented slavery in a way. <\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s my abstract take on what I know about it, right? So I wrote the song \u2018New Slaves\u2019. So I took the Confederate flag and made it my flag. It\u2019s my flag now.\u201d<\/p>\n Once more, Ye is baiting the public and revelling in all the attention. Not one for logical thinking these days, he is using his platform to literally think out loud and ramble on about whatever radical, half-baked ideas cross his mind. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like with David, he tended to the sheep but while he was out there he had to fight all kinds of animals,\u201d he said at one point during the interview with Carlson as he explained how someone had called him and threatened to beat him up for his \u201cWhite Lives Matter\u201d stunt. <\/p>\n \u201cSo when it was time for Goliath to come they thought that because he was a sheep herder that he didn\u2019t have the skillset to take down Goliath.\u201d <\/p>\n In this part of the interview, Ye seemed to suggest that despite the odds, he was well-equipped to take down the mainstream liberal media, whom he accused of polluting society with its immoral standards. <\/p>\n To bring home his point, he referenced Grammy award winning singer Lizzo. \u201cWhen Lizzo loses 10 pounds and announces it, the bots \u2013 that\u2019s a term for like telemarketer callers on Instagram \u2013 they attack her for losing weight, because the media wants to put out a perception that being overweight is the new goal when it\u2019s actually unhealthy,\u201d he said before adding: \u201cIt\u2019s actually clinically unhealthy, and for people to promote that\u2026 it\u2019s demonic.\u201d<\/p>\n In response to his antics, Ye\u2019s business affiliates at Gap and Adidas have sought to put some distance between themselves and Ye, and many of his celebrity friends have publicly denounced him. <\/p>\n And yet it is apparent that he isn\u2019t \u201ccancelled\u201d. He\u2019s as relevant as ever, perhaps more than before. <\/p>\n When asked what had driven him to wear the White Lives Matter shirt during his fashion show, Ye told Carlson: \u201cThe answer to why I wrote white lives matter on a shirt is cause they do, it\u2019s the obvious thing.\u201d <\/p>\n The truth is, Ye did it for shock value, as he always does. The \u201cobvious thing\u201d that a narcissist as obsessed with the limelight as he is would do is find the most controversial stance possible and stick with it. <\/p>\n Attacking Black Lives Matter and Jews is the most sure-fire way to elicit public outrage there is. There\u2019s no genius in that. <\/p>\n And if there was any genius in Ye to begin with, it has become increasingly overshadowed by his obsession with the limelight. He\u2019ll do whatever it takes to remain relevant.<\/p>\n Through his antics, Ye seems to be living by Oscar Wilde\u2019s age-old adage, \u201cThere is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.\u201d <\/p>\n