HOST: Kanye West is one of the most important artists of our generation, but recent events
have forced fans to elevate their level of concern for the 43 year old star.
Throughout July 2020, the visionary artist announced a run for president of the United
States, a new album, divulged personal details about his wife Kim Kardashian West, and made
some questionable remarks about Harriet Tubman. Kanye: Well Harriet Tubman never actually
freed the slaves, she just had the slaves go work for other white people.
WOMAN: Yo we leaving right now. However this whirlwind roll out must be looked
at in the context of West having bi-polar disorder - something he confirmed on 2018’s
‘Ye.’
Kanye: That’s why God put that on me at age 40. I never been diagnosed until I was
like 39 years old. And stuff So put that on me
BigBoi: What do you mean by diagnosed? Kanye: diagnosed with a mental condition
Dr. Marks: Bipolar disorder is an illness where you have episodes of depression and
episodes of mania and these two states are at opposite poles, which is where we get the
term bipolar disorder. That’s Dr. Tracey Marks, a psychiatrist
and mental health expert.
She spoke with Genius for some clarity on bipolar disorder.
Dr. Marks: With depression, you have a low activation state where you can have a low
mood, low energy, low motivation to do things. With mania, it's the exact opposite. You're
revved up, lots of energy... Dr Marks: As far as comparing bipolar one
to bipolar two, in bipolar one, you have full manic episodes with and then depression. With
bipolar two, you have hypomania with depression. HOST: At the time of West's statement, there
was reporting that suggested he was allegedly in the midst of a bipolar episode, though
that was not exactly confirmed by West himself or those around him. But if so, it would cast
many of his statements in a different light. KIANA: Folks in general are not giving him
that same space and compassion and grace, which I really think he deserves as someone
who is going through, as we all assume, to be a manic episode.
HOST: That's Kiana Fitzgerald, a journalist who has written about her own bi-polar diagnosis
in relation to Kanye West from the perspective of someone who's disorder is often misunderstood.
In early July she wrote quote. Since 2016—the year I was diagnosed as bipolar—my
journal entries and iPhone notes have been flooded with exaltations of God, and peppered
with mentions of Ye. “I heard Kanye West calling my name,” I wrote in one journal
in October 2017, during my second episode. It wasn’t until June 2018 that Kanye would
come forward and reveal he was living with the same condition as me.
KIANA: Mania is ... this is a very dangerous thing and it's also one of my favorite things
in the world... The Kanye song that I feel most closely represents mania is without a
doubt, Ultralight Beam from the Life of Pablo.
Kanye: I feel a heightened connection with the universe when I’m ramping up. This is
like a sprained brain like having a sprained ankle. And if someone has a sprained ankle,
you’re not going to push on him more. HOST: According to Dr. Marks, dealing with
someone in the midst of a bi-polar episode can be a difficult experience.
Dr. Marks: Another problem with mania is having poor judgment. People can make decisions that
just don't make any sense or that cause them a lot of problems, but to them it makes perfect
sense and they don't see what the problem is.
KIANA: It's really important for people to understand that from the outside looking
in, you might see someone who looks like they need help. But on the inside looking out,
you're someone who's trying to help everybody else through your godly state ... in Father
Stretch My Hands, I think it's part one, he just repeatedly says
KIANA: every time I have an episode, my brother always says, "You just want to be freer than
free." Host: But with West being a celebrity only compounds
the problems itself.
But at the end of the day, we really don’t know whether or not West is going through
an episode - and speculation is best left to qualified experts.
Dr. Marks: You know, on the one hand, we want to be understanding if someone, especially
someone who's high profile and putting stuff out there in the media, saying things that
seem inappropriate, to take into consideration, I wonder if he's having some kind of episode
at the moment. But by the same token, people with the illness don't want everything that
they say to be discounted because they have an illness as well.
In now deleted tweets, Kanye alleged that his wife attempted to get him help.
Kim, who has at first remained silent, later issued a statement saying in part quote:
...Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words some times
do not align with his intentions." Kanye later apologized for what he said.
And often in these episodes, the people who are most affected are loved ones.
Kiana: My sister is my pride and joy, she's my number one and she is someone that helps
me immensely in my life in general but extremely when I’m going through manic episodes. I've
pushed her before, I've cursed her out, I've said mean things about her. And sometimes
she cries and it's really, really hard. I don’t make the same mistakes twice. I
tend to make different mistakes when I have episodes. So I'm hoping if I ever do go through
something similar, I won't do that again because it really crushed me.
HOST: One thing Kiana both takes issue with is the framing that Kanye is “crazy” - although
Kanye has sought to reclaim the slur in past lyrics.
Kanye: Mental health you know having a nervous breakdown, going to the hospital and having
the stigma of being called crazy, it made me more relatable.
KIANA: It's really hard to watch people kind of call him crazy, people say that he's this,
and say that he's ill, and all these things. While at the same time, not giving him an
opportunity to be a human being. HOST: However, one thing many are worried
about is West’s aversion to taking medication for his disorder - and he’s rapped about
it frequently.
Dr. Marks: Bipolar disorder is an illness that requires medication for adequate treatment...We
have to be careful following the lead of someone who publicly says, well, I don't believe in
medication or I don't want to take medication. Kiana: I'm not writing Kanye off. I think
that he's going to come out of this on the other side, and he's going to look back and
be like, "Shouldn't have said that, should have done this."
HOST: So all we can do is respect Kanye’s privacy as he works through his mental health
in the public eye. I’m Jacques Morel with Genius News, bringing
you the meaning and the knowledge behind the music. Peace.