We rarely see Kanye West shook. He usually gives off an air of irrational confidence, even when he is dressed in Klan robes or discussing the virtues of Adolf Hitler. But there is a scene in the new documentary ‘In Whose Name’ where it shows an interaction with Michael Che that has him shaking in his boots.
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In 2018 Kanye West was still a respected rapper and producer, but the cracks in his public personae were beginning to show. In 2016, his abrupt end to the Saint Pablo Tour fueled rumors of a mental health issue. And in April of 2018, after years of flirting with the idea, he became a full-throated Trump supporter.This is all context needed to understand why the scene in director Nico Ballesteros’s new documentary is so revealing.
In September of 2018, on the Season 44 premiere of Saturday Night Live, Kanye West was the musical guest, but it was not his performance that got people talking. He went on a lengthy, pro-Trump rant off-air after the show had signed off, all while wearing a MAGA hat.
“You can’t be controlled by monolithic thoughts,” Ye said. “You can’t always have, every time you have a Black subject matter like [Bill] Cosby that you have to have a Black comedian talking about him.” He then motioned to Che and said, “You know what I mean?”
Che was having none of this. And he did not let his respect and love for West’s music keep him from saying what was on his mind.
“You good with me? For real?” he told the rapper and producer from the Chi. “I’m the Black comedian that made a joke about Cosby. That’s f—ed up.” What’s striking is that Che framed his disappointment with love.
“I work here. I work here. Like, come on man. We treat everyone that come in like family and you gonna sell us out. Like, that’s f—ed up man. Like we look up to you, we love you. What you got against us?”
Maybe it’s because he enjoyed the adoration of so many for so long that Ye responded how he did. It is almost certainly true that his mother Donda coddled him growing up, and since she went to be with the ancestors in 2007, he has not had many people truly hold him accountable for his words or actions. But Ye fumbled over his words and struggled to respond to Che calling him out.
What we witness is the normally cocksure, boundary pushing artist become a shrinking violet in real time. He looks like a petulant child that has been put in his place. “I love you,” Kanye says meekly.
“I love you, too,” Che says. “I’m a fan. Why would you do that to me?”
Kanye West’s confidence has been his superpower. It is what gave him the confidence to make brilliant, genre-pushing music. It’s what further fueled him to try to design clothes and turned him into a billionaire. But it has also been his Achilles Heel. It drove him into the arms of Trump and to make outlandish, antisemitic statements.
What Michael Che did that night in September 2018 was an act of love. It was one Black man holding another who went too far accountable for his actions and what he said.
This is what Black men should do for one another. If we see a man in our community going to far, we should sternly but lovingly call him out. Be that in our personal relationships, our work life or our political decisions, we need to hold each other accountable. That’s what the Weekend Update co-anchor tried to do.
Che saw that an artist he loved was on the verge of ruining his career because the confidence that propelled him to stardom was going to be his undoing. He tried to reach Ye before he went too far. But Kanye West was too far gone. There was no reaching him.
But Che held him accountable for his actions. He called the man out on his misdeeds. Kanye knew he was wrong, and his reaction shows it. One only wishes that more people held him accountable for his actions before that night in 2018. Maybe if they did, Kanye West would still be an artist we love instead of a man we love to hate.
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