25 Oct Watch The Throne

By Author Robyn Williams

Watch the throne, people. I implore you. No, not THE throne, but more specifically, the throne associated with phenom artist, Kanye West. Remember his epic 2011 collaborative album? My favorite song from the Watch The Throne collaboration was “No Church in the Wild”. In it, rapper Jay-Z asks: “Can a thug’s prayers reach?” In other words, does God honor the prayers of the unrighteous? My answer? I truly believe so because God meets us right where we are.

In a short piece I recently penned about gifting Kanye the element of compassion, I wrote about how unaddressed, latent grief can trigger mental health issues. I still believe this is so in Kanye’s case.

In light of his decision to run for President of the United States, I’m even more concerned about his mental health and well being. Because the people who are behind his presidential campaign, the people encouraging him to run, propping him up and funding his campaign so he’ll continue to stay in the race, these are the very people who will certainly dump Kanye like yesterday’s garbage the second someone else is declared the presidential winner.

Most voters understand that Republicans are using Kanye as a decoy to pull votes away from the Democratic ticket. Most voters know that everyone who checks the box with Kanye West’s name is voting for someone who doesn’t have any chance of winning. It’s a wasted/throwaway vote. But we live in a Democracy, thus people are entitled to vote however they choose.

Kanye’s an adult. He’s a rich, grown man. Nobody has to hold his hand and lead him through the mulberry bush. Except, maybe someone should. Given that he’s being taken advantage of by those preying on his mental health status, maybe those who are closest to him should be keeping close tabs on him. I pray they already are. Because when this presidential race is over, Kanye’s loved ones should be in the room with him. I don’t know for certain that Kanye is a danger to himself. But given his past actions, it’s not far off to suggest that he might self-harm when this election doesn’t go according to his plan. In the aftermath of this presidential election, when the Republicans abandon him, it should be “all hands on deck” where Kanye’s family is concerned.

Think about it. When Ice Cube and 50 Cent came out in support of #45, the backlash was swift and harsh. Stinging in a manner that Kanye has escaped thus far. It’s almost as if people are saying sympathetically in the back of their minds, “Aw, Kanye doesn’t really believe all that ‘dragon-energy’ crap he’s espousing. He’s just misguided and clearly a little off.” What we’re really saying is that we still embrace Kanye. We still champion his ability to come back from the dark side. We have afforded Kanye a level of grace we wouldn’t even think of offering Ice Cube or 50 Cent. We’re not ready to drop Kanye like a bad habit.

I’m hopeful that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will win and be declared President and Vice President. And I’m also hoping that Kanye West’s loved ones will be watching over him the second that it happens.