Australian singer Nick Cave has recently expressed his dismay over American rapper Kanye West’s antisemitic comments. NME reports that the singer thought West’s words were “deeply disappointing,” as well as, “disgraceful.”
West has been featured heavily in the press over the past few months, but more so recently, as his antisemitic comments have caused him to be dropped from his agency, to lose major brand partnerships, and to ultimately be outcasted by most of the music industry.
A question regarding whether artists’ music should be consumed and separated from said artist’s beliefs and their character was posed by a fan while Cave was doing a Q&A for his new memoir, Faith, Hope and Carnage.
According to the same source, while Cave began his answer with a reference to Morrissey, he soon brought up West – who now goes by the stage name Ye.
Cave said, “There’s Kanye at the moment, making antisemitic remarks. Kanye, for me, controversially, is, in my opinion, the greatest artist of our generation. I love his music. ‘Yeezus’ and those gospel records…those gospel records are like nothing I’ve ever heard before.”
“But for me,” he goes on to say, “for him to pull out these antisemitic tropes, I think it’s, personally, disgraceful. Does this person need to descend from such great heights down to such tedious shit we’ve heard so much so often? It’s deeply disappointing to me, and for some time it might be difficult for me personally to listen to a Kanye record, but at the same time I value the output more, on some level.”
Cave also expressed that he eventually will be able to listen to Ye’s music again, despite the disheartening behavior. He adds, “…he won’t forever be trapped in the worst aspect of his character, and the music that he makes is a journey away from the worst aspect of his character, like all our music is.”