The Kanye Story

Original version

BBC Radio 1Xtra

The biggest tunes, talent and mixes in new Black music

1xtra

1XTRA

Introducing The Kanye Story

Podcasts

Factual: Life Stories

Mobeen Azhar investigates the rise and fall of Kanye West

Mobeen Azhar investigates the rise and fall of Kanye West, with the help of guests who've been close to the rapper and journalists who've followed every step of his career.

The Kanye Story: 8. Misguided, Misinformed, Dangerous

8. Misguided, Misinformed, Dangerous

BBC Sounds - The Kanye Story, 8. Misguided, Misinformed, Dangerous

Kanye crosses over to harmful bigotry, loses his wife and a chunk of his fandom.

Kanye crosses over to harmful bigotry, loses his wife and a chunk of his fandom. He embraces white nationalists.

Mobeen and panel look at how Kanye became an anti-Semite with anger management issues. He is very specifically stepping away from his music and embraces figures including white nationalists like Nick Fuentes. Fuentes is part of Ye’s 2024 presidential bid. He's also a Holocaust denier that believes in Christian supremacy and wants America to be a theocracy. Kanye says ‘Black Lives Matter is a scam” and posts anti-Semitic tweets. 

There are real world consequences to his words- a man shouts ‘Kanye 2024’ during an attack on a 63 year old Jewish man in Central Park. More broadly, the hashtag ‘Ye is right’ gets linked to anti-Semitic abuse and attacks. 

What took Kanye West from hit-maker to a political agitator, spreading anti-Jewish hate?  And where does he go next?  Mobeen explores the rapper's rise and fall.

Clip:  Tucker Carlson with Kanye West/Fox News 

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Producer: Ashley Clivery
Assistant Producer: Edith Rousselot
Executive Producer: Peter Sale
Sound Mixing: Adam Lieber

Forest Sounds for the BBC

BBC Sounds

Speech content commissioned primarily for BBC Sounds

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Kanye Story

8. Misguided, Misinformed, Dangerous

Genres

Brand

1xtra

About BBC Radio 1Xtra