A hip-hop festival in LA is facing a fierce backlash for signing Kanye West as the headline act despite his well-documented anti-Semitic tirades.
Rolling Loud, the biggest rap music event in the world, is platforming the controversial artist alongside Ty Dolla $ign on its main stage tonight.
The American Jewish Committee has blasted the support for the 46-year-old rapper, performing as ‘Ye’, at a time when anti-Semitic incidents are on the rise in America.
The group compared the protests surrounding performances by pro-Israel musician Matisyahu against the platforming of Kanye.
‘The glaring contrast in treatment between Matisyahu and Ye speaks volumes,’ the AJC said. ‘If you’re Jewish your concerts get canceled. If you’re anti-semitic you get to headline major music festivals.’
+9
A hip-hop festival in LA is facing a fierce backlash for signing Kanye West as the headline act despite his well-documented anti-Semitic tirades
+9
Kanye West surprise guest performance during Future’s set at Rolling Loud California at the L.A. Coliseum in San Bernadino in 2021
+9
The American Jewish Committee has blasted the support for the 46-year-old rapper, performing as ‘Ye’, at a time when anti-Semitic incidents are on the rise in America
Rolling Loud did not immediately return a request for comment when approached by DailyMail.com. Kanye last performed at the festival during a surprise appearance in 2021.
Jewish-American singer Matisyahu had two solo shows cancelled last minute in Tucson, Arizona, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, he said due to issues linked with the Israel-Hamas war.
The vocal pro-Israel musician wrote on X at the time: ‘They do this because they are either anti-Semitic or have confused their empathy for the Palestinian people with hatred for someone like me who holds empathy for both Israelis and Palestinians.’
Organizers said his shows were canceled over safety concerns.
West has a documented history of anti-Semitism and last year lost out on a number of partnership deals after going on an explosive anti-Semitic rant.
The ex-husband of Kim Kardashian vowed to go ‘death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE’ in a string of sick posts online in 2022.
When the talk show host contended the comments were ‘as racist as anything you’ve been through,’ the Gold Digger rapper retorted, ‘that’s why I said it. I fought fire with fire.’
In an interview with right wing talk show host Alex Jones in early December, Kanye praised Hitler for his ‘redeeming qualities.’
He also maintained that the ‘Holocaust is not what happened’ and promoted the conspiracy theory that Black people are the real Jews.
+9
Bianca was featured on the album cover for Vultures 1; seen in May 2023
+9
Disgraced: Rapper Kanye West (pictured), who changed his name to Ye in 2021, came under fire for a series of anti-semitic social media posts in late 2022
+9
Apple Music swiftly pulled Kanye West Vultures 1 album just five days after its debut
+9
The lyrics prompted a furious backlash among some fans and was condemned by the American Jewish Committee, among others
Kanye West in a black KKK mask sings his new controversial song
West’s rants saw him lose out on lucrative contracts with The Gap, Adidas and Balenciaga and more.
He was also dropped by his management team at Creative Artists Agency.
His title track Vultures also included the vile lyric: ‘How am I anti-Semitic? I just f****d a Jewish b***h.’
The lyrics prompted a furious backlash among some fans and was condemned by the American Jewish Committee, among others.
‘To fuel the flames of antisemitism and promote such bile to his millions of followers, especially at this fraught and dangerous time for the Jewish community, is unforgivable,’ spokesman Richard Hirschhaut told TMZ, at the time.
He added that the West’s choice is unsurprising however, given his previous antisemitic remarks.
But he said this scandal, ‘seems particularly pathetic and sad.’
The Anti Defamation League also joined criticism, telling the outlet: ‘At a time of rising antisemitism worldwide, it’s disgusting to see Kanye once again use his platform to spew Jew hatred.’
Racism against Jewish people and Muslims has soared in the wake of Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.
According to the Anti-Defamation League the number of anti-Semitic incidents increased fourfold.
Kanye West performs controversial song ‘Vultures’ in Dubai
The watchdog counted 312 anti-Semitic incidents between October 7-23, ranging from harassment to vandalism and physical assaults.
Meanwhile college campuses ands schools have seen a notable spike, according to the American Jewish Committee.
A record number of incidents were reported, with nearly 100 incidents occurring at US universities between October 7 and 30.
The soaring number of incidents has prompted the White House to introduce a series of measures to tackle the ‘alarming’ rise in both anti-Semitic and Islamophobic attacks.
