Mere moments before his performance on Saturday Night Live and hours before his new album was available exclusively on Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s struggling streaming service TIDAL, Kanye West begged his 18 million Twitter followers to “Pray” that he “overcome” his massive debt obligations.
The above tweet was the tail end of another headline-making Kanye West rant. Saturday’s screed saw the Grammy-winning rapper explaining the meaning behind the name of his eighth studio album, The Life of Pablo.
Last February (while also promoting new music), Kanye West claimed he was $16 million in debt due to the launch of his clothing line.
“I was trying to play a sport that’s a billionaire sport. It’s not a millionaire sport and I’m proud of the debt,” West said at the time. “I don’t care about somebody’s Ghost (Phantom) or somebody’s house. I care about my vision.”
Given his history of sparking massive media frenzies before the release of a new product, it’s hard to know if Kanye’s debt claims are true.
West’s latest album is rumored to include some racially charged rhetoric. These rumors were further fueled by the following tweets:
Given the release of Beyoncé’s pro-Black Lives Matter song, “Formation,” and her Black Panther praising performance at this year’s Super Bowl, few would be surprised if Kanye West–a close friend and business partner with both Beyoncé and her husband Jay-Z–adds his two cents to the conversation around race and policing as it relates to black Americans.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson