50 Years of Hip Hop: The nuance of Ye FKA Kanye West

During the last week of 2023, we’re commemorating the 50th anniversary of hip hop by returning to our most memorable episodes on the subject. Ye – the artist formerly known as Kanye West — has been stirring up controversy for decades now, for better or for worse. We come back to our conversation with professor and Chicago native Jeffrey McCune Jr., who has written about, researched, and taught classes on Ye. He’s here to add even more nuance to how we think about the many different versions of Ye and his existence in the culture.