Watch Arsenio Hall Take Kanye West To The Woodshed Over His Use Of The Word ‘Slaves’, Among Other Things

As you may have heard, Kanye West is in the news again today for going on another one of his patented rants, because that’s what Kanye West does. This time he’s mad because he feels Yeezus didn’t get enough Grammy nominations. He also kicked a fan out of a show because she asked him to take off the mask he’s been wearing on tour. The sun will rise in the East, and Kanye will be Kanye.

Which gets me to this: when Kanye was on his recent maddening media blitz, he mentioned Arsenio Hall being an example of what he didn’t want to be, in that Arsenio was, at one point, a pop culture stalwart who later faded from view because, as Kanye sees it, that’s how The Man wanted it to be. In Kanye’s words, Arsenio was “turning up too much” and was becoming too powerful, so he had his show taken away from him. Kanye added, “But when you got money, can’t nobody fire you.”

Well, speaking at some sort of Grammy Awards-related press conference today, Arsenio was asked about Kanye’s remarks and didn’t hold back in his response.

“Like usual, Kanye’s premise confuses the facts. So then therefore, everything else has to be thrown out,” Hall said. “Yo, man, stop making me like I’m Nat Turner or something. I know what you heard in the barbershop but I just left my show, the White Man didn’t do nothing this time, bruh. Save that for when the White man do do something. Don’t muddy the waters of racism with my bullsh*t.”

After explaining that he wasn’t fired and that he walked from his show voluntarily, Hall took issue with Kanye referring to himself as a modern-day slave in music and in interviews.

“I hate the word ‘slave’ used in songs. The f*ck outta here,” Hall said. “Do you know what that word is? Do you know what that word is all about? Nobody can use the word ‘slave’ in pop culture. If you’re in the music business, you shouldn’t f*ck with that word. Too serious an era. Too serious a problem in America…Do you know what it meant to slaves?”

Watch Hall give West a scolding below…

×