Kanye West compares himself to '12 Years a Slave' protagonist Solomon Northup
theGRIO REPORT - In his latest act of hubris of just plain historical insensitivity, rapper Kanye West has compared himself to Solomon Northup, the main character of the acclaimed film '12 Years a Slave'...
In his latest act of hubris and just plain historical insensitivity, rapper Kanye West has compared himself to Solomon Northup, the main character of the acclaimed film 12 Years a Slave.
Northup, a real-life figure, was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the 1840s. His will to survive and triumphant emergence from bondage form the basis of the film’s narrative, which is based on Northup’s own book.
During a podcast interview with author Bret Easton Ellis, the “Bound 2” rapper suggested his wealth and fame makes him feel ostracized in similar fashion;
I felt like the main character [in 12 Years a Slave]. And what I’m dealing with even as a mega-popular rich celebrity, you know, ‘F**k you, who do you think you are to complain about anything?’ situation that I’m in. In the past when I’ve dealt with attempting to create in other fields, or attempting to create in clothing. I’ve kind of been on this campaign that started with, ironically, my song, “New Slaves.” Where I was sitting in Paris and dealing with all of these companies that I had promoted, and I saw my friends promote it. And the reason, literally, why they would sell on Barneys’ floors is because me and Jay Z and everyone wore it. It’d be something that maybe I kind of discovered four years before then me and Don C started putting it on-trend.
Then you start doing more research and say, ‘Hey, I want to be a part of the creative conversation and be able to make money off of that also.’ They stop you right there and say, ‘You can’t be a part of that conversation,’ or they’ll give you a one-off. At Louis Vuitton I did one shoe. At Nike I did two shoes but they spread them apart over four years and they had the most impact possible. I kind of saw that side of what it was, as a creative, to be free, the parallel to the main character in 12 Years a Slave. When it was taken away from me, it felt like what it felt like as a creative to be enslaved.
Ironically, West has been under fire for featuring the Confederate flag, a symbol of pro-slavery culture, in his Yeezus concert tour paraphernalia.
