“He is intentionally destroying whatever is left of his career,” was just one of many reactions netizens had after Kanye West shared a disturbing and previously unknown detail of his childhood on X.
The rapper is in the middle of a promotional campaign for his next album called WW3, the studio production comes on the tails of a string of controversies involving alleged hate speech, politically inflammatory comments, and contentious behavior.
Highlights
- Kanye West unveiled the lyrics of his newest song, along a disturbing anecdote.
- The track COUSINS details a traumatic childhood experience.
- Netizens were conflicted, some saw an attempt for sympathy amid Kanye's controversies.
Bianca Censori, the rapper’s wife, was the subject of the recently revealed track titled BIANCA, which seemed to confirm rumors of the couple’s relationship being on rocky grounds, possibly heading towards divorce.
COUSINS, the name of West’s recently unveiled track, offers a similarly intimate look at the rapper’s life, centering around a traumatic childhood experience.
Kanye West revealed a traumatic and intimate detail of his childhood as part of his upcoming album WW3
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“Not sure what the price of fame and stardom is, but no doubt it is far more than West could have ever envisioned,” one user wrote after reading the song’s lyrics.
“So much talent but so disturbed that it is no longer funny.”
“I never thought I could have less than total empathy for someone who went through this,” another said, noting how the artist’s infamy made them unable to feel pity for him anymore.
“I don't know if I can feel sorry for him.”
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Others saw the reveal as an attempt by the rapper to elicit sympathy from a public that has seemed to get increasingly disgusted at his recent behavior.
“He can confess all he wants, it does not erase or excuse his hateful rhetoric,” a reader said. “He needs to go away and take his medication. Please don't buy his music or merch, he needs to hit rock bottom!”
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Besides detractors, even netizens who still hold a favorable opinion of West seemed confused.
“Kanye... Why? Is this supposed to be for public consumption? Are you proud of this?” one user asked. “You're supposed to confess all this to the police, not turn it into a song or share it publicly.”
The rapper revealed that he maintained an intimate relationship with a male cousin for years
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In the lyrics, West claimed that he maintained an intimate relationship with a male cousin during their childhood. The 47-year-old shared a snippet of his new song, which describes in detail the activities they used to participate in.
In a bizarre twist, the rapper also seemed to connect his unnamed cousin’s descent into criminality with West refusing to continue with the alleged behavior.
“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,” West wrote in the now-deleted post.
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The track’s lyrics describe a graphic sequence of events between the two boys, reportedly beginning after West found adult magazines in his late mother Donda West’s closet.
“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,” he added in the post.
Ending his tweet, West wrote:
“My name is Ye and I *** my cousin’s *** till I was 14. Tweet sent.”
Amber Rose said the rapper allegedly dresses his partners in revealing outfits for the pleasure of “other men”
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The song’s reveal comes after months of speculation surrounding West’s treatment of his wife, Bianca Censori.
Following their controversial appearance at the 67th Grammys in February 2025, one of West’s exes, Amber Rose, appeared on a podcast in which she revealed the true reason behind the rapper consistently “dressing his partners” in provocative, X-rated clothing.
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Rose explained that the main motivation behind the revealing outfits, plastic surgery offers, and other aesthetic choices the rapper allegedly enforces on his girlfriends has nothing to do with his own pleasure and arousal, instead being all about the perception of other men.
“He wants other men to want his woman,” Rose explained during the interview. “That’s what he's into; he likes that men are drooling over his woman.”
"Serious issues." Netizens were seemingly stunned by the reveal, unsure of what to think
