Open Letter To Kanye West: Why You Don’t Compare To Mandela

Dear Kanye

I write this to you in lieu of the passing of the iconic and remarkable man, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, who many know as the great South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician. Besides being a revolutionary, Mandela’s vision for South Africa was a “people-centered society,” one which would ideally see reconciliation and put an end to racism. Mandela encouraged legislators and civilians to “get down to work” in an effort to abolish the deep seeded racism that has haunted the people of South Africa for decades. During his presidency, Madiba vowed that “the government’s aims are nothing less than ‘freedom from want, freedom from hunger, freedom from deprivation, freedom from ignorance, freedom from suppression and freedom from fear.’ He called upon the people of South Africa to fight for justice and against the indignity of apartheid. Through Madiba’s actions he became the voice of reason and the voice for all South Africans to stand up against injustice and fight for equality. Madiba summoned the people of South Africa to JOIN him in making the world a better place.

Throughout the past year, many people around the world have been subject to your lyrical protests, political rants and “willingness to be heard as a “revolutionary” and “visionary”. In an attempt to “show the haters” you continue to compare yourself to the greatest thinkers that have lived including Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison and Mandela himself. Your constant need for validation, to be seen and to be heard has you declaring your fiancee as the new Marilyn Monroe and comparing your daughter to that of royalty, while your anger towards the high fashion world has you “calling out” their actions towards you in the name of “injustice”.

Your constant fight against corporations, your struggle as a black man trying to make it, your struggle to stay relevant and your struggle to change our world is a constant battle for you, one of which you have voiced consistently and one I can appreciate. But one thing I have never seen you do Mr. West, is take a back seat and seek to change the world for the sake of mankind only. The commonality I find is that your goals are to prove to the world that YOU are great, that YOU are an iconic revolutionary, that YOU have the most beautiful partner and child in all of existence, that YOU are EVERYTHING to this world and therefore YOU should be treated as such. This is where you go wrong…..

Kanye, you’re one of a kind. How you express yourself as a rapper is not just lyrics and music, it truly takes on an artistic form and through your music you seek to tell people what you want, who you are and expose the inequalities that are a part of the USA. Your struggle for equality is real and yet your struggle for inner peace is even more evident.

However, to be “on the same level” as Madiba, it takes more than comparisons, mouthing off at your haters and a hot fiancee. To truly be a man of the ages and speak to the world, you need to have HUMILITY. A humble man is one who’s greatest achievements take a back seat to the greater good of the people. While your intentions may be pure in ridding society of corporation and government control, minimizing poverty and improving the education system, all I hear is NOISE. Whatever purity your intentions have, they are completely overshadowed by your “holyier than thou” attitude, one of which is all about YOU and one in which people are attacked if it seems they are questioning your credibility or worth.

To me, no one can take away your achievements or how great you are at what you do, but you will never compare to a figure such as Mandela when you do not possess an ounce of humility. Yes you have supported a long list of charities such as (and to name a few);