First thing first. I don’t even like Kanye as an artist. I say as an artist because like most of us, we don’t really know that man. We just know what the media shows us about him. We know short clips that we’ve judged. So let me take a stab at the new Kanye mantra.

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front): Slavery was NOT a choice. Ok. Let me say that for those that need to hear that before you bash me. But Kanye continued talking and made a questioning statement “400 years?”

Hmmmm now that made me think. “400 years? Sounds like a choice”, he said. I’m a perspective type of person meaning I try to understand multiples sides of a situation or story. I try to put myself in other’s shoes before I render my final judgment. Which we all do…Judge.

So this is what I heard. Even though I wouldn’t have ever listened to this man but with so many upset, I had to hear it for myself. The short clip version…the one that has everyone enraged. This is what I heard. Replacing the word choice with conformance, submission, agreement, etc.

Now let’s break this down. Initially, hell no, slavery wasn’t a choice. But it makes me wonder about those that decided to stay instead of fleeing. Those that drove their masters to town, waited for them patiently while they shopped, and drove the masters back home. Makes me think about those that had “papers” to drive into town alone and shop for their masters and returned on time.

No slavery wasn’t their choice but it brought up the thoughts of the passage out of Egypt by the Hebrew slaves. The journey from Egypt to Canaan, I know y’all know the story, was literally 11 days yet it took them 40 years to get out. Well what took them so long?

It was their mindset. How they perceived their situation and themselves. They became grumbling people, complaining about everything. They were ungrateful, fearful, and faithless. And guess what? Apparently they were slaves for anywhere between 210-400 years. Some say 400. Some say 430. I’m not a scholar by any means.

NO, I’m not saying African American slaves were grumbling people. But what it does make me wonder about is after they were made to be slaves, how their mindset was. Did they hear from God? I know they did because they were believers so what kinds of things were they hearing? Did they take heed to what He was saying? Did they settle for their lifestyle out of fear of the unknown, fear of death for them, or just fear of everything. Did they have faith of a new day? A better life?

Stay with me…if you are reading this, you weren’t a slave so relax. I’m going through my thoughts. And if you are WOKE as they call it, a white man didn’t invoke his own religion onto me, I can read. And rather you think He is black, or blue with red polka dots, my faith is in Him and He is alright with me. I know Him for myself. #commercialover

Now back to Kanye. I do believe before he married Kim K and before his personal mental breakdown or breakthrough, he probably could’ve came off a little better than he did. I personally don’t know if he meant his comments the way that he said them. Remember I’m no Kanye lover. But IF IF IF he meant it in any other way, it could be towards his thoughts on our mindsets…today!

I am a believer we are ‘slaves’ mentally to many things. Our minds have the ability to enslave us. Don’t get me? Well think about addictions and phobias. There are many addictions out here that have nothing to do with drugs or alcohol. And there is depression. Whilst we sit in our chairs with phones in hand and criticize others, depression is nearer to us (around us) than we’d like to admit.

Basically I’m trying to express this…we are often prisoners in our own minds and we can be there for months and even years and some for the rest of their lives. We are ‘slaves’ to our situations. Yet on the outside looking in, we say “they can overcome this if they wanted to.” Yes. You have said that about someone going through something you didn’t understand. So what if that is what Kayne really meant.

Maybe he was trying to say, 400 years…no way we would’ve allowed that to happened to us today because we are mentally stronger and now we know we are capable of doing more and doing better. Hell Im not taking up for him, just wondering if he could’ve meant something else and just said it all wrong.

Hell we all have said some fucked up shit.

Thank you for your attention. Remember you are your own competition.

Competitionof1