Kanye West is an angry man who at times exhibits uncontrollable rage fueled by insecurity and bipolar disorder (diagnosed in 2016). His mother, Donda West (1949-2007), who was the most important influence in his life, fostered a sense of entitlement within him justifying his outbursts as an expression of greatness.

Understanding Kanye West (born in 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia) is not easy. His rise and fall reflect our turbulent times. His father was a Black Panther and later a photographer for the Atlanta Constitution. His mother was an English professor at Clark Atlanta University.

When his parents divorced at age 3, West moved with his mother to Chicago where she became chair of the English Department at Chicago State University. At age 10, he traveled with his mother to Nanjing, China where she taught for a brief period.

West’s artistic side revealed itself at an early age, and he began to explore his future career as a young teenager. He initially found success arranging and writing music eventually shining as a producer. He ultimately wanted to be a rapper but struggled to gain an opportunity. At the time it was perceived that to be a successful rapper, you had to be “gangsta” and West hardly had the background.

Image: Kanye West. YouTube screen grab (cropped).

Being persistent, West was eventually given an opportunity and went on to become a huge success. By the time he appeared on Tucker Carlson’s show on October 6 and 7, he had an estimated fortune of $2 billion dollars according to Forbes Magazine. Along the way, he began exhibiting a pattern of behavior more reminiscent of an angry child than an adult. There are numerous outbursts that can easily be found online.

As to West’s anti-Semitism, since the 1960s, many within the Black community have harbored a strong dislike/hatred of Jews to the point where it is everyday street corner rhetoric. This came from the likes of Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. Farrakhan even went as far as calling Hitler a great man. No liberal Black leader political or otherwise has ever spoken out against his hate speech directed at the Jews.

West, like other Blacks, absorbed this. His wife was friends with Ivanka Trump, and he did not care for either Ivanka or her husband Jared Kushner. This was clear from the Tucker Carlson interview. So, West’s fallback position was to go “death con three” (sic) on the Jews, blaming them for the blowback from his childish behavior.

Last week, Rolling Stone ran a piece entitled “Kanye is Never Coming Back From This.” I do not believe recovery is impossible, but it will take a better man than he is now to do so.

Al Bienenfeld is a Businessman-Builder and can be reached at therationalmind@comcast.net.

Robin M. Itzler is a regular contributor to American Thinker.  She can be reached at PatriotNeighbors@yahoo.com.