Kanye West Talks Being Diagnosed With A “Mental Condition”: “It’s Not a Disability, It’s a Superpower”

Back in April, Kanye West made headlines for his controversial tweets, where he expressed his public love and support for Donald Trump and aligned himself with his supporters under the guise of “free thinking.” 

Amid the rant, several fans and celebrities ran to West’s defense while others claimed to see signs of mental illness and instability in their favorite rapper. However, West’s ride or die wife shut those claims down and accused the media of trying to “demonize” her husband for “just being himself.” 

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“To the media trying to demonize my husband let me just say this…your commentary on Kanye being erratic and his tweets being disturbing is actually scary,” Kim Kardashian wrote. “So quick to label him as having mental health issues for just being himself when he has always been expressive is not fair.” 

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“He’s a free thinker, is that not allowed in America? Because some of his ideas differ from yours you have to throw in the mental health card?” she continued. “That’s just not fair. He’s actually out of the sunken place when he’s being himself which is very expressive.” 

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In the end, she said mental health “is no joke,” and that the “media needs to stop spitting that out casually. Bottom line.” But now, just two months later, West is opening up about living with what he calls “a mental condition.” 

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In an interview with Big Boy TV, the rapper explained how he used his new album to express himself and share his experience with others that do not have the opportunity to do the same. 

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“Think about people that have mental issues that are not Kanye West, that can’t go and make that and make it feel like it’s all good,” he said. ‘Think about somebody that does exactly what I did at TMZ and they just do that at work, but then Tuesday morning they come in, they lost their job and they can’t go back and make that. That’s why God put that on me at age 40.” 

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“I had never been diagnosed ‘til I was like 39 years old,” he said of his “mental condition.” “I think everybody got something. But, like I said on the album, it’s not a disability, it’s a superpower.” 

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As for the controversy that comes along with his outbursts, he says it’s still all love because he’s family. 

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“I feel like as a son and as a family member of the world and that’s the reason why the world won’t let me go because I’m just a family member,” he said. “They might disagree with me on certain shit, but I’m they family. I’ve been here for 15 years, 18 years and I feel like the best thing I can do is sit there and go in that studio and keep chopping that thing that only I know how to do and only me and my crew know how to do.