Rapper Pusha T has given his take on why artists are still willing to work with Kanye West despite his consistent espousal of hate speech.
Throughout his career, Kanye has used his platform to share some abhorrent views. He has actively espoused anti-semitism and declared himself a Nazi, claimed that slavery was a choice, and has shared his support for Donald Trump. Despite his dangerous views, a number of artists have still been willing to work with Kanye on new music.
Earlier this year, he put out his debut project with ¥$ alongside Ty Dolla Sign, Vultures 1. The album featured a huge number of collaborators, with appearances from Freddie Gibbs, Playboi Carti and more. Producer credits for the record expand this list even further, with names including James Blake and JPEGMafia.
During a conversation with Complex, Pusha T shared his thoughts on why people are still open to working with Kanye, suggesting that he offers a “level of visibility” and a “level of musicality and genius-level production.”
“You get a lot of things that I think artists are looking for these days in being next to him,” he explained, “I mean, you get that. You get a lot.”
When his time with Clipse came to an end, Pusha T embarked upon a solo career on Kanye’s label G.O.O.D. Music. Alongside releasing on the label, he would eventually become the president of G.O.O.D. Music by the mid-2010s, a position he would hold for seven years until his departure in 2022. The pair have also collaborated musically.
“It’s all about the music for me and just making music at a certain level,” Pusha T explained, “I’ve been in this game a long time, so it’s about a certain type of hip-hop that I want to make.” The rapper stated that, “truthfully,” Kanye knows what he likes to make.
While Pusha T may be right that Kanye offers visibility, it comes at the cost of morality. His hate speech should not be enabled by other artists.
