Both Kanye West and Cornel West are two outspoken black men who have excelled in their fields and routinely spark lively discussion in the zeitgeist. However, are they related?
While the two have been socially acquainted at points, even commenting on the same topics or each other in the public eye, there is no blood relation between Kanye and Cornel West. The similar names can cause confusion, but Kanye West and Cornel West are far from related.
Where do the two meet and where do their thoughts diverge? Read on to find out about the surprising similarities between West and West.
Kanye Thinks Of Himself As A Thought Leader
While most of us know of Kanye as a rapper, hit-maker, designer and a fashion mogul, Kanye has fashioned himself as a voice of the people (for better or worse). Even when considered in terms of his gaffes and jabs, Kanye is a public figure that people learn from, either directly or by example.
Debuting his video for the single Fade at the 2016 MTV Music Awards, Kanye referred to himself and his mentors, wife, and the future of rap as “undeniably the influence, the thought leaders”. Putting himself in the same category as a role model while name-dropping his influences (“Truman. Ford. Hughes. Disney. Jobs. West.”), Kanye spoke the truth about the names we all know most about today.
Kanye has been known also not to lead just with shaping pop culture, but with his actions. His love for his hometown Chicago is strewn across his lyrics but also in his less-reported charity work, such as the time he gave a million in his wife’s name for her birthday, or to feed children and the elderly amongst the COVID crisis.
Kanye Is Connected To Cornel Through A Friend
Fellow artist and friend of Kanye, Lupe Fiasco, greatly admires Cornel West. Cornel is frequently referenced in Fiasco’s lyrics and they’ve shared the stage many times. Most notably, Lupe Fiasco name-checked Cornel West in the closer of his Grammy-nominated The Great American Rap Album, going on to perform the same song at his retirement party from his teaching position at Princeton University.
Lupe has been by Kanye’s side from the very start of their careers, featuring on his 2004 hit, Touch The Sky. The song was Lupe’s career debut and Kanye went on to produce for Lupe on his debut album, and Lupe even worked on Kanye’s monstrously famous 2013 album, Yeezus.
Lupe Fiasco and Kanye West continue to have some sort of a cordial relationship to this date, with Lupe speaking at length on his statements and his art in his numerous live streams on Instagram. Given that Lupe is considered a “thinking man’s rapper” and a scholarly artist, exchanges of dialogue is very important to him. He’s navigated and mitigated the feud between Jay-Z and Harry Belafonte that Cornel West was present for, and can be credited with similar breakthroughs for Kanye West, such as over his use of the word “bitch”.
Cornel West Has Commented On Kanye Many Times
Cornel West, who describes himself as a “love warrior”, calls Kanye “brother” – which might have led to confusion on some people’s part who might be unaware of his usage of the term for all people at large (being a part of the love warrior thing).
In 2010, Cornel commented on Kanye’s now-infamous statement where he said that George Bush did not care about black people. He spoke at length on this view on Democracy Now!, and wrote on his Facebook; “Brother Kanye West was right, but being racist in motivation and intention is different from being so in effect and consequence. I don’t think President Bush individually hates black people. But we live in a system that is tilted against poor & working people, disproportionately black and brown and red.”
Even as Kanye moved towards more controversial stances and statements, such as his admiration and support of President Donald Trump, Cornel West remained neutrality and focused on bigger issues at hand (such as Black Lives Matter), joking about Kanye and ultimately saying that it “reinforces Kanye’s sense of being a genius.”