Kanye West has released a new track, and it’s definitely cringeworthy. On the track, entitled “XTCY” Yeezy lusts after his four sister-in-laws, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian and Kylie and Kendall Jenner.
After listeners are greeted with moans in the beginning of the song, he raps “You got sick thoughts, I got more of ’em/You got a sister-in-law you would smash? I got four of them.”
As a woman, this song is completely disrespectful to his wife, Kim Kardashian, and shows his continued display of not having any boundaries. But, this is a symptom of his diagnosis, bipolar disorder.
During a recent sit-down with Jimmy Kimmel, Ye’ revealed that he had his first “black-out” when he was five-years-old.
“I think it’s good that when I had my first complete blackout at age 5, my mom didn’t fully medicate me. Because I might have never been ‘Ye,” he said.
People with bipolar can experience depressive as well as manic episodes, but the father-of-three also revealed that he is usually manic and rarely experiences depression. Fans got a front row view of his manic episode during his TMZ interview back in May where he said he felt that slavery was a choice.
“Like even for this interview, I knew I wanted to stay in a calm state because by the time I got to TMZ I was ramped up,” he told Kimmel. “What was awesome [about the interview] is that the world got to really experience someone in a ramped up state, and that’s when you get these comments that just shout out, almost like turrets.”
In the interview, he did not reveal if he is taking medication, but by the sounds of his recent music and his recent actions, it looks like he is not taking medication. A close source told PEOPLE back in May that he refuses to take his meds on a consistent basis, which is a major problem.
Since he feels his diagnosis is like “a superpower” why would he take a medication that he feels may strip him of that?
Contrary to what Kanye thinks, being manic, or in a “ramped up state” as he put it, is not healthy. Manic episodes cause people to have elevated mood, grandiose thoughts, impulsivity, increased energy, goal directed behaviors, irrational thoughts and risky behaviors. Imagine someone who does the same things Kanye does at their job, or at thier school. This can cause them to lose their job, be expelled, suspended, have conflicts and experience all types of consequences and losses. Or someone that is in a manic state who impulsively becomes aggressive. Or a married person that experiences mania who cheats on their spouse during their episodes. Or an addict that indulges in their drug of their choice (sex, alcohol, food, substances, etc) during a manic state and goes on a binge. Having bipolar and not treating it can truly lead to one’s demise.
This is where therapy comes in. In my work as a therapist I openly discuss my client’s symptoms with them to help them manage them and be aware of their mood swings and behaviors while their medication helps to stabilize their mood.
Kanye mentioned that in the black community that “We never had therapists and “We never approached taking a medication.” By Kanye now being open about his diagnosis and black folks also getting a clear view of his experience, hopefully the dismissive reaction to therapy and it being a taboo subject can start to change. Kanye wasn’t diagnosed until he was 39, imagine if he had gotten help earlier?
-Tanay Hudson, https://madamenoire.com/1035980/kanye-west-bipolar-disorder-xtcy/
tanay hudson, the journalist 