Kanye West has made himself a hot topic of conversation thanks to his 2020 presidential bid and seemingly erratic behavior, but is the attention he’s bringing to his and his family’s brand positive or negative?
The 43-year-old rapper has exhibited some increasingly unconventional behavior over the past two days after an outlandish campaign rally in North Charleston, S.C., on Sunday where he criticized Harriet Tubman and started to cry when he spoke about his mother and abortion. He followed that with a lengthy, since-deleted Twitter rant on Monday night in which he touched on his marriage to Kim Kardashian, his fears of getting “locked up” and in which he teased an upcoming album.
The announcement that his album is dropping later this week has forced many to wonder if the presidential bid and apparent friction with his reality star wife are genuine or if there’s a larger public relations machine at work ensuring that the maximum number of eyes are on West prior to the release of something he wants to sell.
“I see it as perfect timing with the drop of a new album. None of this is coincidental; he merely has a need to be talked about in the worst way,” Chief Executive of RLM Public Relations, Richard Laermer, told 360aproko News. “He isn’t ‘running,’ per se, because that would be a ton of work. And this guy has proven that, while he has a lot of energy, isn’t actually interested in the head-down work it would take to be the leader of a political campaign.”
Laermer notes that West’s presidential campaign is likely headed for a stunning anti-climax given that he’ll likely have to drop his candidacy, since a victory over Joe Biden or Donald Trump is unlikely this close to the November general election.
“The goal here is to get media to talk about him. It’s working, to a degree. But most of it has been mocking him, particularly since he has no platform to speak of, and with that no reason to be president,” he added.
Author of the book “Patriots of Two Nations” and former Obama campaign adviser, Spencer Critchley, echoed those sentiments, acknowledging that the timing of an album release as well as the intense media attention the presidential campaign has afforded West could be the ultimate goal. However, it doesn’t seem to be a particularly effective strategy from a branding standpoint.
“I think it absolutely could be a PR ploy, and unfortunately that’s all too typical of this moment in history as well,” Critchley told 360aproko News. “We’ve come to take it as normal that everyone we hear from seems to be selling something, including by turning themselves into a brand name and selling that. But Kanye’s behavior is so erratic that if this is PR, I think it’s hurting him more than it’s helping.”
That being said, he warns that America is at a place in time where many “prefer faith, intuition and subjectivity over facts, logic, and objectivity.”
As a result, a campaign like West’s that’s so deeply rooted in the entertainment industry, as President Trump was before announcing his candidacy for the 2016 election, could be more potent than anyone realizes. However, he notes that a more likely culprit than an elaborate PR conspiracy is mental illness.
“Kanye could stand to trust his gut a little less and add some more rational reflection to the mix if he can,” Critchley explained. “That said, I think he may not be entirely well, and we should be compassionate about that possibility.”
He isn’t alone in this characterization of West’s recent behavior. The rapper has been candid with the public in the past about his struggles with bipolar disorder and getting effective medication. As a result, many fans took to Twitter to theorize that West may be experiencing some kind of mental episode. However, neither West nor any medical professional affiliated with him have spoken out about his current mental state, meaning it’s all speculation at this point.
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However, based on how West has discussed his bipolar disorder in the past, the chairman of Reputation Management Consultants, Eric Schiffer, believes that the mogul’s behavior follows a distinct pattern the public has seen before when West has something to promote.
“He sees his illness as a superpower and many bipolar people feel that way when they’re manic. But he’s creating significant pain for his family and himself with a crash coming. Hopefully, there’s the support he needs when that happens,” Schiffer told Fox News.
Kim is reportedly “furious” with her husband over comments he made about their daughter at his campaign rally. A source recently told People that she is “concerned” over his “unpredictable behavior” and can only do so much because she is in Los Angeles with their kids while he spends time at their property in Wyoming.
Still, the mom of four reportedly “has been trying to get Kanye help for weeks,” another insider told the outlet on Tuesday.
The source added: “Kim’s family is around to support her as always. And they love Kanye. They want him to be healthy. They are all trying to figure out how to help Kanye. They are in contact with medical professionals for guidance.”
Schiffer concluded: “To me this is a repeat of many of the same patterns now. And in a strange way, I think it brings the public closer to celebrity icons like West because it reveals this mortal vulnerability that all the money and fame in the world can’t fix.”
