Kanye West has long been known for his shocking and often controversial behavior, making waves through both his music and how he lives his life, but in his latest song “Cousins,” the rapper makes a claim that is among the more serious things we’ve heard from him. Ye tweeted — and says in the song lyrics — that he had a sexual relationship with one of his cousins when they were younger.
Ye shared the song on X (Twitter) on Monday morning with a visual that included images of guns, abuse, slurs, and hate symbols. The second half of the video is an animation that appears to show a man falling from a tall building. Along with the video, he made allegations about a male relative, writing:
This song is called COUSINS about my cousin that’s locked in jail for life for killing a pregnant lady a few years after I told him we wouldn’t ‘look at dirty magazines together’ anymore. Perhaps in my self centered mess I felt it was my fault that I showed him those dirty magazines when he was 6 and then we acted out what we saw.
These are pretty serious claims to make, given that he was a minor when this allegedly happened. Kanye West did not identify the family member he was talking about or say how old that person was at the time. Ye continued in the post:
My dad had playboy magazines but the magazines I found in the top of my moms closet were different. My name is Ye and I sucked my cousins dick till I was 14. Tweet sent
The beginning of “Cousins” repeated those claims, alleging that he and his cousin didn’t understand what they were seeing in the dirty magazines, and they re-enacted what they saw.
It’s unknown whether or not these allegations and lyrics are true or to what extent. Artists can use strong imagery in song lyrics metaphorically or to make a point, and this certainly isn’t the first big claim Ye has made both in song lyrics and on social media. For example, another recent song seemed to confirm rumors that his wife Bianca Censori left him following the nude Grammys dress hoopla and his ensuing antisemitic rant.
He also referenced his ex-wife Kim Kardashian and their four children in an interview saying he “didn’t want to have children with this person after the first two months of being with her.” Kardashian was also forced to call an emergency custody hearing after she found out Andrew and Tristan Tate — who were charged with sex crimes overseas — were going to be visiting Kanye West while their oldest child, 11-year-old North, was present.
In addition to those things, Kanye West said on social media earlier this month that he used to hook up with Ashley Olsen and had made out with Madonna. He also confirmed Iggy Azalea’s claim that told her at a business meeting that he used to masturbate to pictures of her.
We’ll have to see what the reaction is to this latest bold claim from Kanye West.
Call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or go to rainn.org if you need help. Assistance is free, confidential and available 24 hours a day.
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