Following John Legend’s comments about Kanye West’s meeting with Donald Trump, it seems everyone has an opinion about the controversial sit-down.
TMZ caught up with Common and RZA earlier this week, who both shared their thoughts on the rapper’s decision to meet with the President-elect. RZA acknowledged that since he hadn’t spoken with ‘Ye in a while, he couldn’t really say much about what Yeezy was thinking, but added, “Trump is the president and we’re gonna have to talk with him, deal with him, build with him and make sure that some of the things he’s dealing with….how they reflect in our community. If Kanye went in to speak for our community, bong bong!”
Common, however, didn’t quite agree with ‘Ye’s actions, although he was adamant about always having the artist’s back. He admitted he wasn’t a fan of Kanye’s decision to meet with Trump. “That’s my homie and that’s going to always be my brother.” He went on to say that real change isn’t going to come from celebrities meeting with Trump, but from “the people.”
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“A lot of the change we are looking for is going to happen from the people,” Common added. “The power is in the people. It’s going to be us to, like, really galvanize, no matter what color you are. We got to start looking out for one another, start economically supporting each other,” he urged.
The-Dream, however, told Billboard that “everybody should” meet with Trump. “Jay Z should go next. Everybody should so you can come back and report to us and let us know what’s going on. We need briefings, too. Eventually, ‘Ye is going to tell — whatever that is.”
Immediately after his sit-down with Trump, the “Famous” rapper detailed his reasoning for wanting to speak with the former reality star. “I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues,” he said in a tweet. “These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago.”
While Kanye’s efforts may not be as jaded as they appear, it’s also worth noting that there are ways to create change that don’t involve meeting with a man who has spewed xenophobic, racist rhetoric, been accused of sexual misconduct and assault, and placed people on his team with disturbing policies and pasts.
