Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s world head of music and the previous president at Def Jam Recordings, head of Warner Music Group’s recorded music division and founding father of 300 Leisure, has penned an pressing open letter to Ye — previously often known as Kanye West — imploring him to cease utilizing antisemitic rhetoric and different actions following a string of troubling current statements by the rapper.
Learn his letter in full under.
Pricey Kanye,
I’m deeply disenchanted and troubled by your current actions involving the usage of Nazi symbols and antisemitic rhetoric. Your phrases and actions aren’t solely offensive however triggering to all first rate individuals who acknowledge the horrors of the Holocaust and the struggling of hundreds of thousands.
With antisemitism on the rise, your voice and affect carry a big accountability. I urge you to be extra delicate to the ache your phrases inflict on Jewish communities and all those that stand in opposition to hate.
Your expertise and attain might be used to heal and encourage, to bridge divides and promote understanding. As a substitute, you’ve chosen a path that sows discord and perpetuates dangerous stereotypes.
The Jewish and Black experiences share a wealthy historical past of collaboration and mutual assist, notably within the music business. From the early days of jazz and blues to the groundbreaking work of Motown and past, our communities have enriched one another by means of music and tradition.
I urge you to replicate on this shared legacy and use your platform to construct upon the love and understanding which have at all times existed between our communities.
Sincerely,
Lyor
