Kanye West is officially voting for Donald Trump in November’s Presidential Election.
The 42-year-old rapper made the declaration in the May issue of GQ magazine, defiantly stating: ‘We know who I’m voting on… I’m not going to be told by the people around me and the people that have their agenda that my career is going to be over because of it!’
West, who famously donned a Make America Great Again cap and visited President Trump at the White House in October 2018, told the publication that ‘better real estate’ is the primary motivation for his decision.
‘I buy real estate. It’s better now than when Obama was in office. They don’t teach you in school about buying property. They teach you how to become somebody’s property,’ he claimed.
West and his wife, Kim Kardashian, own four lavish properties dotted across the United States. The couple’s primary residence is a $19 million mansion located in Hidden Hills, Calabasas. They have reportedly spent a further $20 million on extensions and renovations.
They also own two separate ranches in Wyoming and a luxury condo in Miami.
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When asked whether he was worried about being an outcast in liberal Hollywood due to his political preferences, West snapped back: ‘Celebrities are scared! Celebrities don’t have the real voice… What’s the point of being a celebrity if you can’t have an opinion?’
The controversial rapper also trashed Hillary Clinton’s 2016 ‘I’m With Her’ slogan, stating: ‘I was told my career would end if I wasn’t with her. What kind of campaign is that, anyway? That’s like if Obama’s campaign was ‘I’m with black.”
‘Both my parents were freedom fighters… they didn’t fight for me to be told by white people which white person I can vote on!’
West, who landed in hot water back in 2018 for claiming that slavery was ‘a choice’, also made several controversial comments on race in his wide-ranging chat with GQ.
‘One in three African Americans are enslaved, and we go more crazy if, you know, someone scores a touchdown,’ he stated.
‘Modern-day mass incarceration is right in front of us, and if I even use the word slavery, I’m treated like I’m a white person talking about slavery.’
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina back in 2005, West famously claimed that then President George Bush ‘didn’t care about black people’.
However, in his interview with GQ, the star appeared to express regret at uttering those famous phrase, claiming it was indicative of a ‘victim mentality’.
”George Bush doesn’t care about black people’ is a victim statement. That is stemmed in victim mentality. Every day I have to look in the mirror like I’m Robert De Niro and tell myself, ‘You are not a slave.’ As outspoken as I am, and the position that I am in, I need to tell myself.’
Kanye was interviewed by GQ on four separate occasions over the course of two months for his cover piece. In the wide-ranging interviews he also discussed his battle with alcoholism and his path to born-again Christianity among other topics.
I’ve given my life to Christ’: Kanye on becoming a born-again Christian
During one of his sit-down conversations with GQ, West spoke candidly about finding God and stated that he ‘definitely’ considers himself a born-again Christian.
The rapper, who recently started a Sunday Service gospel group, claimed he has ‘given his life to Christ’ and is ‘healed’ by the spiritual connections he has when he worships.
‘I surround myself with the healing—the highest-level healing possible: singing about Jesus with my friends and family surrounding me [at Sunday Service] every single week,’ he declared.
West also says that his newfound Christianity means he is obligated to speak up on matters that are important to him.
‘People don’t realize that Christians are loud. That we have a right to righteous anger. That Jesus flipped tables.
‘They think that all of a sudden you believe in Christ, so we’re not even supposed to speak up. And if we speak up, people will say, ‘Oh, you’re being judgmental.’ And it’s like, Oh, now, because I’m Christian, I don’t even have an opinion any more? I’m Christian and I still have an opinion. But my opinion is based on the Word.’
West also warned against the dangers of sin and the importance of repentance, stating: ‘To live inside of sin, it’s going to cost you more than you can pay. You don’t want to continue to sin with no repentance. I understand that people feel that I’ve made some cultural sins. But the only real sins are the sins against God, and you don’t want to continue to sin against God.’
Aside from his Sunday Service, West last year came up with plans to house the homeless as part of his Christian outreach.
The aspiring architect designed Star Wars-inspired futuristic pods that he hoped to build in a one-of-a kind community that dismantled the class system and sheltered the homeless.
He built prototypes on his Calabasas property that had to be torn down because they breached building laws.
‘Kobe was the basketball version of me’: Kanye on his friendship with late LA Lakers legend Bryant
One of West’s interviews with GQ took place shortly after the death of LA Lakers star Kobe Bryant in January.
West and Bryant had known each other for many years, with the musician telling the magazine that they close friends.
‘He was the basketball version of me, and I was the rap version of him, and that’s facts! We got the commercials that prove it. No one else can say this. We came up at the same time, together,’ he claimed.
West also stated that the untimely death would serve as an inspiration for him – and millions of others – to make the most of their lives.
‘It’s game time. There’s no move that we can’t make, or that we’ll wait to make. Everyone in our life is now a member of the Lakers on one of Kobe’s championship teams,’ he stated.
‘The way that Kobe would say that we all have to come together and win this championship is the way I look at life now. To an infinite, other level.
‘All of those awards shows partially led me to alcoholism’: Kanye reveals his battle with the bottle
While West told GQ that he has not had a drink in some time, he admitted he was at one point a ‘functioning alcoholic’, and partly blamed Hollywood for his struggles.
The star revealed he previously drank Grey Goose with orange juice in the morning, but hasn’t touched alcohol since coming to a realization about the pace of his life.
He was also snapped at the 2009 Video Music Awards drinking from a bottle of Hennessy.
West admitted the only way he was able to even handle the show was with a drink in hand.
‘Right? I really grabbed the drink to be able to even go to the awards show due to the information that everyone knows now. To say, “Okay, I can handle this,”‘ he claimed.
‘Well, it’s good that we found out about all of those awards shows that partially led me to alcoholism,’ he stated.
‘One day I was in my office working on the couture collection, and there was some Grey Goose in the fridge and I was just going to get a daytime drink, and I looked and thought, ‘Devil, you’re not going to beat me today.’ That one statement is like a tattoo.’
While most topics were on the table during the GQ interviews, West did not mention his very famous wife and children.
He has been married to Kim Kardashian since 2014, and the pair share four children: North, Saint, Psalm and Chicago.
