The word “hard” isn’t just an understatement when referring to yourself as a Kanye West fan. Complex, love-hate, and embarrassing might be more suitable descriptions for his last few surviving fans. And I say this as a hardcore stan.
Ye’s recent antisemitic, fatphobic, Nazi-praising, misogynistic, Adolf Hitler-defending and Diddy-aligned post isn’t surprising as much as it is exhausting.
We love free-speech Ye, who goes off the handle with inspiring rants, with seepage of motivation. And perhaps there’s some truth within his messaging. But now, the farcical soliloquies and outlandish antics for public consumption have grown cliché. It is so cliché that it begs us to ponder a larger and more serious question: how did he go from a genius to a goblin? There’s no doubt that we’re far removed from the old Kanye.
“Watching the first installment of #JeenYuhs felt like I was listening to “Last Call” in its entirety. Its inspiring! It’s beautiful! And it’s prophetic! The moments with his mother are a tear-jerker as much as they are tender.”
These are tweets I posted immediately after watching Kanye’s 2022 Netflix documentary Jeen-Yuhs. The documentary doesn’t just take you on the journey of how West became the multifaceted, influential rap icon he is; it also provides a window into his determination, dedication, and extraordinary talent.
As much as the film is inspiring and encourages you to strive toward your dreams and perfection, it also prompts you to choose peace over praise—so you never become the giant who looks in the mirror and sees nothing.
The term “genius” is often thrown around and used loosely in popular culture’s lexicon, attributing the title to mediocrity when it’s not always deserved.
Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Winston Churchill, Beethoven, and Michelangelo have all been considered geniuses, and they, too, have been labeled “crazy,” along with many others. I think it’s time we acknowledge the genius-to-crazy pipeline that often plagues our most exceptional, brilliant, and creative minds.
Two things can be true at once, and the ancient Greeks sum up this paradox by associating creativity and mental disorder with “having been touched by God.”
In the 21st century, it’s time we add Kanye West to the list of exceptional talents who teeter on the edge of “crazy.” In 2018, West revealed that he suffers from bipolar disorder. Now, in 2025, he claims he is actually autistic.
It’s easy to imagine someone of his caliber, with an extraordinary gift, struggling to make friends, adapt to social norms, and express themselves outside their chosen art form. Your genius can lead to mental isolation, which may snowball into social anxiety and other mental illnesses, depleting one’s social battery or triggering a spiral or manic episode as a means of escape.
However, many still view his erratic behavior as the result of surrounding himself with “yes” men and lacking anyone he respects enough to talk sense into him. Others attribute it to his mother’s untimely death in 2007. Both theories visibly align with the symptomatic characteristics of oppositional defiant disorder.
Nevertheless, Kanye’s current tirades contribute to a larger conversation about mental health in the Black community—how it is treated versus untreated, the differences between proper diagnosis and being undiagnosed, and the importance of fully understanding what mental health entails, how it functions, and how it influences our responses.
One could even argue that his public outbursts are akin to the advice we give about not bottling up emotions. Unfortunately, the ongoing joke about Kanye’s mental state, which dominates comment sections on social media, including, “he’s off his meds,” or “Doc, your patient is loose” whenever we’re privy and coerced to experience a public episode. This is not to excuse the harm or hurtful comments he has made toward his community, but rather to suggest that his often misunderstood behavior might be a cry for help.
This front-row seat of Kanye’s Fall from King is fascinating because it constantly raises questions as we try to make sense of it all. Is this what happens when a blisteringly brilliant mind becomes its own worst enemy? Have years of adulation prevented him from properly maturing and coping with fame? Is this truly what it looks like when fame collides with mental illness? Or is mental illness an inherent part of the genius genetic makeup?
Kanye seemingly remains on the ground and in the air at the same time, all while being light-years away from the formidable rapper and producer we once dangerously admired. Fame and fortune have stripped him of the relatable, likable Jeen-Yuhs and morphed him into an unrecognizable giant… a goblin.
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