OPINION | Barry Richard: Kanye Shows Leadership and Guts

Just a week after Kanye West proclaimed his support for President Donald Trump, he's been called a "lunatic" and an "opioid addict." National Public Radio referred to West as a "colored boy." And now, according to TMZ, alleged rapper Daz Dillinger (Snoop Dogg's cousin) has put out a gang hit on West.

“Yo national alert, all the Crips out there, y’all f--- Kanye up,” “Better not ever see you in concert; better not ever see you around the LBC; better not ever see you around California.”

 

“Stay in Calabasas, ya hear me? ‘Cuz we got a Crip alert for Kanye … All the Crips out there — you see him, bang on his ass, f--- his a-- up. ”

There is a price to pay for wanting to bolt from the big blue tent these days, particularly if you are black, gay or a woman. But, they are escaping. One by one, they are leaving the plantation behind after years of empty promises from the left. Ask Roseanne. Ask Diamond and Silk. Ask Shania. Ask Kanye. Ask anyone who has had the gall to speak out.

I have never been a fan of Kanye's work. To each his own. But, Kanye has guts. There are many others who believe as Kanye does and will follow his lead. The times are changing. The world is changing. An unsuspecting hero is emerging as an agent of that change.

Lesson for Colin Kaepernick: this is the way true leaders lead.