Less than a week after his divorce was finalized, rapper Kanye West has debuted a new way to express himself. He is now a poet.
Well, he has always been a poet and hung around poets (he is friends with Chicago native and Def Poetry Jam alum J Ivy), but over the last few days, he has shared with the world a lens for his artistry … and hopefully, a valuable and therapeutic tool for his own healing as he deals with life, post-marriage.
Ye, who also appeared on Def Poetry Jam, took to Instagram and explained why he chose to share himself in such an intimate way.
He wrote, “I feel already compromised that I have to justify my expression after over 20 years of art that I’ve contributed to the planet, but I also see the need to make sure we as a species are allowed to still feel anything.”
As shown in the Netflix series, Jeen-Yuhs, Kanye was signed to Roc-A-Fella in the early 2000s.
Before he was an artist, he made a name for himself producing for Jay-Z, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and others. The GRAMMY award-winning artist has gold and platinum plaques to back up his claim with two decades of work under his belt. #NoJustificationNeeded
“Men not allowed to cry,” the emotional artist shared. “Celebrities not allowed to cry. I will not explain this new piece for the explanation destroys the mystery and magic of true love and puts it in a box that can be counted.”
The new piece posted on his Instagram is called “DEAD.”
In this esoteric piece, he states that “no one wanted to tell” him that he was “dead.” He also says that the “only people that would talk” to him were in his head.
“Art is subjective. Art only works when it is the artist’s absolute truth. Someone’s truth can be another person’s lie. We don’t all have to feel the same because we are not the same. Without further ado, I present to you my latest creation it is called DEAD,” he concluded.
This is the second poem that he has posted in three days. His first one was called “DIVORCE.”
In that work, he shared how devastating the process of terminating his union with Kim Kardashian was, comparing it to “suffocating” and “walking on glass.”
Check out his DPJ performances, where he shows us that he has been spitting verses and snapping fingers.