Since the publication of “Keep Talking Kanye: An Architect’s Defense of Kanye West” I have become an unwilling Kanye apologist. Each time he produces music that tempts us to use the moniker “creative genius” he quickly follows with an interview or tweet that makes him look like anything but. Invariably thereafter, a chain of text messages and emails with titles like “just to irritate you” or “come get your boy” begin to flood my inbox. My standard response is often no different from SNL’s Michael Che on Weekend Update: when presented with a headshot of Kanye and the caption “slavery was a choice” the comedian shakes his head and states simply, “Pass!” However, now that Kanye has once again entered the sphere of architectural discourse with a proposed new endeavor called “Yeezy Home” I am compelled to intervene once again with a more direct “put up or shut up” message.
we’re starting a Yeezy architecture arm called Yeezy home. We’re looking for architects and industrial designers who want to make the world better
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) 6 May 2018
The central thesis of “Keep Talking Kanye” remains pertinent. Using one’s celebrity status to help increase architecture’s appeal to a broader audience is great for the profession, especially given that celebrity’s ability to reach grossly underrepresented populations. This may be the most plausible silver bullet solution to architecture’s continued lack of diversity, profitability, and cultural relevance. There is a huge chasm, however, between Kanye being a champion for Black architects and promoting the architectural equivalent of $120 brown t-shirts and $260 gray sweatpants.
