What Wordsworth and Kanye West Have in Common

It was Wordsworth who wrote in the language of the common man, thereby giving a microphone to those on the edges of society. Are the rappers of today following in his footsteps?

Earlier this year, Kanye West criticized Barack Obama’s alleged inefficacy as president. Unimpressed and arguably bitter, Kanye tweeted in April, “Obama was in office for eight years and nothing in Chicago changed.” This alone was unexpected, but then he aligned with Donald Trump. After disassociating himself from Obama for passivity, Kanye compared himself to Trump, saying, “We are both dragon energy.” He even adopted Trump almost as kin and referred to him as “my brother.”

This sparked major controversy, propelled by journalists and social media. The Left began questioning his credibility by reporting issues in mental health (suicidal thoughts) and personal relationships (marital drama), implying that Kanye’s statements were irrational, uncharacteristic manifestations of stress. The Right began claiming him as their advocate, grouping him with Candace Owens. Both political spheres used him to support their narratives and agendas. Others, like Ben Shapiro of The Daily Wire, commended the independent thinking but warned, “in our celebrity-driven culture, we shouldn’t pay too much attention to those who haven’t spent a lot of time studying policy. That’s how we end up with celebrity politicians, emotion-driven policy and reality television substituting for news.” With a few unexpected tweets, Kanye West shocked the United States, provoking major discourse.

True, Kanye is not a political expert, but Shapiro undervalues the relationship between the rapper’s content and his social influence, which politically pervades. Shapiro acknowledges this connection to a degree, observing, “With that said, Kanye West did something deeply important over the last two weeks: He opened up the debate,” but he continues to focus on intellectual credibility, undermining social influence. Shapiro fails to recognize the intrinsic relationship between social and political movements.