Commentary by LilyBiggs

Kanye West is easily one of the most controversial artists of all time. He has called the Black Lives Matter movement a scam, praised Adolf Hitler and threatened and insulted Jewish people on multiple occasions. Yet, he has 76 million monthly listeners on Spotify and is the eighth biggest artist in the world, beating out artists such as Olivia Rodrigo, Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran. 

Despite artists being controversial, people still choose to listen and watch them, hence why the ability to separate art from the artist has been a debate for years. 

Art can be anything, from paintings to literature to music. However, the form of art has started to change, especially with the rise of the streaming platforms. Now, artists actively profit off of their art years after their art has been released due to views and streams, as their music is even easier to access. 

This is when the line starts to get fuzzy. Is it possible to ignore all of the endless controversies of an artist singing a song you adore, or is the experience slightly tainted for you? Are you able to buy Harry Potter books after knowing about J.K. Rowling’s controversial comments? If you chose to ignore one wrongdoing, where does the line get drawn?

Do you still listen to Michael Jackson’s numerous hits despite the allegations against him of grooming and molesting children? Music is supposed to be an escape, but when it comes to topics like this, it’s not exactly the best option to just bury your head in the sand and pray that you’ll still be able to connect with the music the same way.

There will always be a double standard when it comes to separating art from the artist. No one wants to excuse the actions of Kanye West in front of their friends, but there’s no one to give them a judgmental look when they’re just listening to music with their headphones on at home. That’s the reason why Kanye West is still such a big artist even though if you were a celebrity and praised him publicly, you would guarantee to be “canceled” on X within the hour. 

It’s hard to realize, but celebrities are humans, too. Even if you don’t listen to Kanye West, your favorite artist may turn out to be a terrible person behind the scenes. Your decision to stream or not to stream indirectly shows your beliefs and how far you will go for the causes you care about.

Kanye is in the process of releasing an album trilogy called “Vultures.” Its most recent addition, “Vultures 2”, came out on May 3. Just like the first album in the trilogy, millions of people tuned in to listen due to Kanye’s undeniable skills and legendary past work while trying to ignore the endless controversies he has been in. 

The rise of this new album makes the question of if Kanye should be forgiven and allowed to favorably come back into the entertainment industry come to prominence again. Looking at his past, though, we shouldn’t just focus on his controversies, rather, we should ask the question of if he has sincerely made an effort to change and when his next public controversy will be.

Unfortunately, Kanye West isn’t the only controversial artist who has a loyal fan base despite their past wrongdoings, another prime example being Nikki Minaj. 

Back in January, a feud between rappers Megan Thee Stallion and Nikki Minaj broke out after Minaj felt Megan attacked her husband, who was charged with sexually assaulting a minor. A bar in Megan’s song “Hiss” talked about Megan’s Law, which requires authorities to provide public information about sex offenders. Minaj went on an internet tirade in response through Instagram lives, social media posts and releasing the diss track “Big Foot.” Minaj made fun of how Megan was shot by rapper Tory Lanez and the death of Megan’s mother.

Despite the attacks and how she has constantly defended her husband despite his criminal record, Minaj still proudly holds her title of being known as the Queen of Rap. She has 50.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify and is the 52nd biggest artist in the world.

No matter who the biggest artists are or what is trending in the world, there are always going to be controversial celebrities who can’t seem to get out of the limelight. Art is meant to inspire commentary and emotion from its audience, but sometimes the artist can cause more conversation than the art they create.

The intention of this article is not to guilt you into removing every single Kanye West or Nikki Minaj song from all your playlists or to do extensive research on every single artist you know. We all have different subconscious narratives on what behavior, actions and opinions of our idols are acceptable. It’s important for you to think more about what your view is.