I donβt think it bad to still enjoy their music. If the music is good then its good regardless if the author is good or not. I understand not wanting to support them however. So though I donβt think its bad to still listen to them I understand how others fell differently
this post was submitted on 14 May 2025
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Very curious how old-time Kanye fans feel haha
I'd say it depends on WHY you like the art. Does it tie into the toxic or reprehensible traits of the artist? Was the artist trying to send a toxic or reprehensible message with this art?
If not, then it's just a matter of ensuring that your enjoyment of the art doesn't translate into support for the artist. Or, at least, that it doesn't cross your personal line of support for the artist.
So, for example, does the Kanye music you like have nazi themes or messaging? Far as I'm aware, no, the nazi-ism is just his newest shit, so you're probably fine as long as you're not streaming from Spotify or YouTube, or otherwise giving him revenue.
The most politically incorrect truth is this: People are not good or bad, individual people do a variety of good and bad things. Mister Rogers told his gay friend to stay in the closet and marry a woman. Hitler banned animal cruelty. We don't like to talk about these things, but it's a true principle and a useful one to live by.
It's not politically incorrect at all. 'Good' and 'bad' are just too simplistic ways to interpret our complex world. It's idealistic to try and put people in such simple categories, and it leads to a delutional worldview.
The only 'politically incorrect' part is that some people might jump down your throat for pointing out things about Hitler which weren't terrible, because unfortunately neo-Nazis abuse this rhetoric as a wolfwhistle or for whitewashing. But as long as you're clearly not doing that, there's nothing politically incorrect with saying Hitler drank water.
Do a hecking piracy. Problem solved.
Ripping stuff from YouTube for personal use isn't even illegal.
Dont support them by buying their stuff. Just pirate their music. For me personally, i dont follow artist in anyway shape or form. I have bigger problem to worry about. I just listen to songs i like and go on with my day.
I always assume most popular artists in general are horrible people, so yeah...
Yup. It's very easy indeed.
Pirate the fuck out of their stuff, enjoy, repeat.
Edit: the exception is when the the fuckery is in the music/art.
Well there is enjoying an artists music and there is supporting an artist and defending them. But you have to decide when to cut off an, "abusive relationship". I can hold a person and artist in separate spaces. A love a lot of music, literature, art that was created by terrible people but try and avoid giving those people my attention and money. Other people have said that while an artist creates, its not their art, it's ours. Perfect example is Harry Potter books. I would say that people's experience and enjoyment of the books is not JK. Now the tough decision comes when you want something created by an artist/company and you have to support them for your own enjoyment. That is the line we all consider. Just trust yourself to find it. Nothing is truly just in this world but we shouldn't stop trying.
The bigger problem with Rowling is how she rubs it in everyone's face that any money going towards her is spent on hate speech/groups.
Sometimes it can be difficult to separate the art from the artist, particularly when the artist in question is especially vile.
Just pirate their music. Don't stream it, don't go to their concerts, don't buy and wear their merch. As long as you're not financially contributing to them then I don't think there's any issue.
It also, like CaptainPedantic said, matters what they're singing about. If the artist has shitty views but doesn't present them in their music that's one thing but there's no ethical way to listen to something called Heil Hitler.
You can still stream it; just use a modded app like YouTube Music ReVanced to block ads and the artist's record label won't get a penny from you.
(Unless of course Google pays royalties by view count rather than ad revenue. Not entirely sure how that works. Just wanted to point out that YTM ReVanced is a thing)
Sometimes it can be difficult to separate the art from the artist, particularly when the artist in question is especially vile.
I often bring up Death of the Artist, but with books and music I have an especially hard time. Authors, in particular, struggle to keep their works views and politics out of their books; the same is true with musicians, perhaps to a lesser extent.
It does make me worry about the subconscious influences of listening or reading them.
I think that if "death of the artist" was applicable to any piece of art, then the art would therefore be the equivalent of AI art.
Art by it's very nature is influenced by someone's views and beliefs.
The only possible exception is that some artists may drastically change their views later and even denounce previous work.
Edit: I also think it's worth pointing out that you can like the way someone represents/expresses their viewpoints even if you disagree with said viewpoints, you just have to be aware of the viewpoints presence and potential effects.
YMMV. There is no universal answer to this question. None of us separate the artist entirely from the work and thus our enjoyment of it. I think of it in video game terms. Every artist has a power bar. They can get hit a couple of times and can still be tolerated when they're in the yellow. But once we're in the red zone and the character starts getting translucent or is flashing I'm out. This is all very subjective though.
Marylin Manson went red for me and I scrubbed the songs I liked from my playlists. Michael Jackson also. But I continue to listen to The Smiths/Morrissey in spite of Morrissey's politics. I still enjoy Pink Floyd although Walters and Gilmore are profoundly unlikable characters and Walter's politics rub me the wrong way a lot of the time.
In the age of streaming, there isn't a lot of money going to the artist. You're not really supporting them financially if you enjoy their music in spite of any a-holery, moral or criminal, they may have committed. If you get something out of it, continue to do so. If it feels yucky then I'm gonna guess one more hit is putting the character in the red. And if you paid for the music/album, the "damage" is already done.
I'm glad I was never a big fan of Kanye's Εuvre so I don't have to wrestle with this question about him. I think he would have done enough to drain his power bar thrice over and thus it's game over for me. I wish he had more well meaning people around him who could help him to protect himself from himself.
When you said video game you brought to mind a broader context for me. We often associate βa nameβ (musician, CEO, comedian, etc.) with a brand. But when you truly think of the number of people and entire industry involved in producing said art, it becomes a somewhat different question. Not necessarily easier to answer, and I really like your health bar analogy. I think to some extent it depends on what you personally are getting out of your interaction with the product.
Always a fascinating philosophical question to ponder.
In my mind, as long as you're not listening to a horrific song (like Kanye's Heil Hitler), and as long as they're not seeing a penny from you listening to them, then I don't think it's a huge issue. You're getting something from them while screwing them out of some money.
Is Marilyn Manson a dick? I thought they were just weird.
Nah, he's always gone beyond weird. Even back before the band got famous, he was a major asshole to people and abusive. If you can find people that were in the scene back then, it wasn't even secret; some of the early fans were proud if he did something shitty to them.
He groomed and allegedly raped an 18 year old.
Didnβt this turn out to be false?
Ok, fuck him.