Kanye West is considered a cultural icon by a lot of people. Heck, your dad probably has The Life of Pablo on repeat every time you step into his car since 2016. 

With his newest album Donda dropping, controversy as per usual slaps Kanye in the face. He and controversy are well-known buddies. Let’s dig into the star, that is, Kanye West. 

When you think of Kanye West, what comes to mind? “Him running for President!” Senior Sophia Chase said while in between classes. It’s without a doubt that the 2020 presidential election was interesting, to say the least. Having a celebrity like Kanye with such an infamous social status definitely led to an increase in Twitter threads that day, but what is it about him that makes some people cringe and others amazed? 

“I just think at this point he’s just fooling around,” said Senior Daniel Diaz when asked if Kanye still had a chance to prosper when competing with popular artists such as Megan Thee Stallion and Kendrick Lamar. “He has all the money in the world; he has all the opportunity in the world, his name is still known across the entire world, so he can just do what he wants now.” Daniel is part of a group of people who believe that fame has gotten to Kanye’s head. He uses bad publicity from his controversies to attract more attention and get more individuals to buy his albums.  

“I think he has some mental health issues that he deals with,” Mr. Houvouras said. “I think because he is a public figure and he’s always been brash anyway–Sadly his mental health plays out in front of the whole world.” Kanye West was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2017. Yet, his mental health struggles aren’t often acknowledged by the media or the public in general, even though he’s been open about it. 

“They have this moment where they [psychiatric professionals] put you, they handcuff you, they drug you, they put you on the bed, and they separate you from everyone you know,” Kanye told David Letterman in an interview in 2019. He further details his experience with Bipolar disorder and how he was extremely paranoid when he was in that state. 

Even though he is considered a musical genius dealing with America’s top brand like Adidas and with more opportunity and wealth than we could ever think of possessing, he suffers in the spotlight. Whether these are cries of help we are laughing at or a publicity stunt for an extra 3,000 album sales is for you to decide.