Kanye West is many things. He’s a Grammy-Award-winning rap artist, a record producer, and a fashion designer. He’s an entrepreneur, a songwriter, and a former presidential candidate. Ye is a visionary. He’s one of the world’s top-performing music artists with over 160 million records sold. He’s a literal billionaire. But above all else, the 44-year-old Atlanta native is a father.
West shares four children with ex-wife Kim Kardashian: North, 8, Saint, 6, Chicago, 4, and Psalm, 2. In December, the star purchased the house across the street from his ex, reportedly so he could keep a closer eye on his brood and not be so far from them when they were with their mom. Critics called it creepy; supporters called it fatherly love.
But West’s bid to remain a prominent figure in his children’s lives did not end there. The public battle between him, Kardashian, and “SNL” comedian Pete Davidson has been making fans cringe for months, and mostly because of West’s extreme words and actions. Are the “Donda” rapper’s ramblings simply the product of his bipolar disorder, or are they actually the desperate pleas of a man who believes in the sanctity of marriage and fears for his children’s safety?
Maybe his behavior can all be traced back to the way in which West’s journey to becoming a father began. During a political rally in 2020, West made the very personal admission that he hadn’t originally wanted his daughter, North, and had pressured Kardashian to get an abortion.
“So even if my wife were to divorce me after this speech, she brought North into the world, even when I didn’t want to,” West said in July during the emotional speech. “She stood up, and she protected that child.” Perhaps West’s, at times, overbearing parenting style is his way of making up for that nearly catastrophic error.
These days, the “Jesus Walks” star takes his role as a father very seriously. Discerning Ye’s intentions, no matter their origin, is as simple as reading the lyrics to some of his songs.
“No, Daddy don’t play, not when it come to they daughters / Don’t do no yoga, don’t do pilates / Just play piano and stick to karate,” he raps in “Violent Crimes.”
The song also references his then-wife’s notoriously curvy body as West worries what men will think of his daughters when they grow up to inherit those same genes.
“I pray your body’s draped more like mine / And not like your mommy’s / Just bein’ salty, but n***** is nuts / And I am a n****, I know what they want,” he says in the song. “I pray that you don’t get it all at once / Curves under your dress, I know it’s pervs all on the net / All in the comments, you wanna vomit / That’s your baby, you love her to death,” he continues.
During an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, West explained that he feels protective of all his children but is especially concerned about his girls. He even said having daughters changed his overall perspective on women, making him see them as people to “nurture” rather than “conquer.”
However, then he made a joke about still viewing pornography despite his altered views on the dignity of women.
Again in song lyrics, Ye expresses the different feelings he has about his sons compared to his daughters. In the 2016 song “No More Parties in LA,” the rapper sings, “I be worried ’bout my daughter, I be worried ’bout Kim / But Saint is baby ‘Ye, I ain’t worried ’bout him.”
Critics see West’s overprotectiveness as stifling and controlling under the guise of natural fatherly love. However, others have come to his defense. The rapper Consequence, for example, recently tweeted, “Kanye is a ‘girl’ Dad, North is his 1st born, Instinctually, he’s just here to protect her, That should be respected no matter what.”
Kanye is a "girl" Dad
North is his 1st born
Instinctually, he's just here to protect her
That should be respected no matter what
— Consequence (@ItsTheCons) March 13, 2022
It’s impossible to discuss all the drama with West and not at least mention his bipolar disorder, which gets blamed for a lot of the things he says about Kardashian and their kids. It’s true that much of what Ye expresses publicly is hard to decipher. However, no one knows for sure how much of his rhetoric is bipolar-disorder-related and how much comes from the natural inclination he has to be a protective father.
During a 2019 episode of “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman,” the “Flashing Lights” rapper got candid about what it was like to have an “episode.”
“When you’re in this state, you’re hyper-paranoid about everything,” West explained. “Everyone — this is my experience, other people have different experiences — everyone now is an actor. Everything’s a conspiracy. You feel the government is putting chips in your head. You feel you’re being recorded. You feel all these things.”
He continued, “You have this moment [where] you feel everyone wants to kill you. You pretty much don’t trust anyone.”
Unfortunately, the bipolar diagnosis has emboldened West’s critics to assume any anti-mainstream statement he makes is a product of an “episode.” Some of his statements probably are; but some may not be.
All along, West has made no secret of wanting to reconcile with Kardashian and get their family back together, even as she made it clear she’d moved on. But since their separation, the pair have had a hard time agreeing on co-parenting strategies. For example, Ye doesn’t want his daughter, North, to be on TikTok while Kardashian insists it’s fine because North is being monitored.
In February, West shared a screenshot of one of North’s TikTok videos via Instagram and said, “Since this is my first divorce I need to know what I should do about my daughter being put on tik tok against my will?”
The Daily Wire’s Candace Owens came out in support of West, tweeting, “There is no 8 year old in the world that needs social media. Go color.”
“Kim is wrong on this one,” Owens continued in a follow-up post. “The psychological effects of social media on young girls is real and documented. It’s actually Kanye that is trying to protect his daughter in this regard and Kim is spinning this as ‘obsession’ and ‘control.’ There are other creative outlets for kids.”
To Kardashian, though, this was simply yet another way that West was trying to obsessively control her and their children. She took to social media to vehemently deny that TikTok was hurting their daughter.
“Kanye’s constant attacks on me in interviews and on social media is actually more hurtful than any TikTok North might create,” Kardashian wrote in her response.
“As the parent who is the main provider and caregiver for our children, I am doing my best to protect our daughter while also allowing her to express her creativity in the medium that she wishes with adult supervision — because it brings her happiness. Divorce is difficult enough on our children and Kanye’s obsession with trying to control and manipulate our situation so negatively and publicly is only causing further pain for all.”
The mom of four said she “wanted nothing but a healthy and supportive coparenting relationship,” and that she wanted all future communication to be private.
“It is what is best for our children and it saddens me that Kanye continues to make it impossible every step of the way,” Kardashian concluded. “I wish to handle all matters regarding our children privately and hopefully he can finally respond to the third attorney he has had in the last year to resolve any issues amicably.”
Regardless of how one feels about West’s various comments, even his harshest critics have to admit he’s been provoked. Recently, a screenshot of a text conversation between the rapper and Davidson showed the “SNL” star taunting West by sharing a photo of his naked chest and bragging he was, “in bed with your wife.”
The rest of the conversation pivoted to Davidson encouraging Ye to get help for his mental issues, but after starting out with such a provocative picture, it’s hard to see how the actor could expect West to respond rationally and calmly.
The drama between Kardashian and West seems to be heating up, not cooling down, especially now that Kardashian’s relationship with Davidson is getting more serious. But West has made it abundantly clear that his main aim is keeping his children safe from dangers in the world, in whatever forms they may appear.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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