Using the singer and 2020 presidential hopeful’s progressive rap lyrics as the basis for a potential political platform, writer Osman Faruqi argues that “Kanye West would be the best president in U.S. history (seriously).”

From The Guardian:

If the lead actor in [the] 1954 classic Cattle Queen of Montana can go on to become commander-in-chief, and The Terminator can be elected to run the eighth largest economy in the world, is it really that hard to imagine successful producer, musician and entrepreneur Kanye West living it up in the Oval Office?

West’s announcement that he would be running for American presidency in 2020 has been met with such immediate ridicule you might be confused into thinking that presidential elections are something Americans take seriously. In reality, United States citizens have a propensity for electing slightly mad individuals. … The good news is there are plenty of reasons to get behind a West 2020 campaign.

While his biggest singles are his more mainstream pop and dance hits like Gold Digger and Stronger, he has a long and continued history as an artist unafraid to tackle social issues. He doesn’t constrain his political perspectives to his music either, famously stating on national television in 2005 that then US president George W Bush “doesn’t care about black people”. (Bush later highlighted that moment as “the worst in his presidency”.)

By delving into some of West’s more potent, politically charged lyrics, one may be able to understand what is driving his foray into politics and what his agenda might become.

Read more here.

—Posted by Natasha Hakimi Zapata

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#donald trump#kanye west#music#politics#progressive#rap#the guardian