The first was a man who opened up about his mental health, his family, and his art in a nearly-two hour interview with radio host Charlamagne Tha God.
The second was a Kanye who appeared at the TMZ headquarters where he had this to say:
"When you hear about slavery for 400 years ... For 400 years? That sounds like a choice."
The rapper went on to add:
"You were there for 400 years and it's all of y'all. It's like we're mentally imprisoned."
Provocative statements are second nature to the 40-year-old rapper. And this week he's been making headlines left and right, including proclaiming his love for President Trump
But when he made his off-handed remark about slavery, TMZ employee Van Lathan took him to task for it.
An employee confronts him
"While you are making music and being an artist and living the life that you've earned by being a genius, the rest of us in society have to deal with these threats to our lives," Lathan said. "We have to deal with the marginalization that's come from the 400 years of slavery that you said for our people was a choice."
Lathan added, "Frankly, I'm disappointed, I'm appalled, and brother, I am unbelievably hurt by the fact that you have morphed into something to me, that's not real."
Kanye tries to explain
As his words lit Twitter on fire, Kanye tried to explain what he meant. Here is his series of tweets Tuesday evening:
"[T]o make myself clear. Of course I know that slaves did not get shackled and put on a boat by free will. My point is for us to have stayed in that position even though the numbers were on our side means that we were mentally enslaved."
And then Kanye quickly made it about Kanye:
"[T]he reason why I brought up the 400 years point is because we can't be mentally imprisoned for another 400 years. We need free thought now. Even the statement was an example of free thought. It was just an idea. [O]nce again I am being attacked for presenting new ideas."
(CNN) Kanye West had a lot to say when in his lengthy interview with radio host Charlamagne Tha God.
The rapper opened up about his mental health, family, art, his beef with Jay-Z and his complicated relationship with former President Barack Obama.
The nearly two-hour interview released Tuesday but according to a tweet from Charlamagne Tha God , their conversation was recorded on April 18, a few days after West resurfaced on Twitter to share a series of tweets that have prompted fans and critics to question his mental wellness
West wants an apology from President Barack Obama
West said he wants an apology from Obama, who called him a "jacka**" in 2009 for interrupting Taylor Swift's speech at the MTV Video Music Awards.
"Sometimes a conversation can help show respect for a situation," West said. "'I'm the leader of the free world, Ye, I'm sorry for calling you a jacka**. I appreciate your honesty. I appreciate your Gemini, your Tupacness. I appreciate that someone is going to do it, but I'm president and I can't do it.'"
West on his 2016 "breakthrough"
West addressed his 2016 hospitalization, an incident he prefers to call a "breakthrough" rather than a "breakdown." A source at the time told CNN that West was treated for exhaustion . West said his wife Kim Kardashian-West's robbery in 2016 weighed on him heavily. He also cited other reasons that may have contributed to his health problems.
"Being in competition with so many elements at one time. On a race against time, your age, you're getting old, race against popularity on the radio. 'Saint Pablo' ain't playing," West said, referring to his hospitalization. West added that he's "happy it happened," but recalled a "traumatizing" moment when hospital staff separated him from his friends, whom he'd asked to stay present.
"When you're in the hospital bed and you're next to your friend and you tell them, 'Don't let this person leave my side' and they put you inside an elevator and take all your friends away from you, that was the scariest moment of my life," he said. "That's something that has to change."
"Ever since the Taylor Swift moment, it's never been the same"
West said he thinks his beef with Taylor Swift is the reason his songs don't get much airtime on the radio. After the infamous VMA interruption in 2009, West and Swift had another dispute in 2016 over whether she approved lyrics West wrote in his song "Famous," in which he said, "Me and Taylor might still have sex/Why? I made that b**** famous."
"Every since the Taylor Swift moment, it's never been the same," he said. "The connection with radio. It's like whatever powers that be it was much harder after that."
Presidential aspirations
West also discussed what he believes is Obama's failure to reduce violence in their shared hometown of Chicago, but acknowledged the president's job is difficult.
"I might be president one day," West said midway through the interview. "I might be in that situation where it's harder for me to explain to the masses why something isn't happening that they feel the concept of a president should be able to fix."
West's preferred method for therapy
West said he is on medication, but he is not talking to a professional therapist.
"I use the world as my therapy," he said. "Anyone I talk to is my therapist. I will pull them into the conversation of what I'm feeling at that point and get their perspective ... I'll talk through things, anybody that I'm around and I put that as advice to people, use people around you as your therapist because they probably know more about you."
He didn't specify what medication he is uses, but he did say "it's an imperfect solution. It helps calm me down ... there's power in being controlled and calm."
He hasn't seen Jay-Z, but they're "good"
West talked about why he Jay-Z have apparently drifted apart over the years. West said although they haven't seen each other recently, they do keep in touch.
"We good. We're texting each other as positive energy," he said. "I haven't seen him, but I can feel him."
He admitted that he was "hurt" that Jay-Z and his wife Beyoncé did not attend his 2014 wedding to Kardashian.
"You know, I gotta say I was hurt about them not coming to the wedding," he said. "I understand they were going through some things. If it's family then you know you're not going to miss a wedding. I'm not using this interview to put any negative thing [out], but I have to state my truth."
Image copyright Getty / PA Image caption Will.i.am (left) said the comments seemed out of character for the Kanye he knows
Will.i.am has led the fierce backlash against Kanye West after he claimed the enslavement of African Americans over centuries may have been a "choice".
The singer said it was "one of the most ignorant statements that anybody who came from the hood could ever say about their ancestors".
He also said Kanye's comments "broke my heart" and were "harmful".
Kanye earlier told TMZ: "When you hear about slavery for 400 years... for 400 years? That sounds like a choice."
He added: "You was there for 400 years and it's all of y'all? It's like we're mentally imprisoned."
He later tweeted to clarify that "of course I know that slaves did not get shackled and put on a boat by free will".
He added: "My point is for us to have stayed in that position even though the numbers were on our side means that we were mentally enslaved."
And then he claimed he was "being attacked for presenting new ideas".
That led to a wave of criticism from fans, fellow artists and others on social media - including the viral hashtag #IfSlaveryWasAChoice.
Asked about the comments on ITV's Good Morning Britain, Will.i.am said: "That broke my heart, because I thought about my grandma, who was born in 1920, and her connection with her mom who raised her, who was born in the late 1800s.
"And my grandmother's grandma, who was a slave. And when you're a slave, you're owned. You don't choose if you're owned. When you're a slave you're deprived of education. That's not choice, that's by force.
"So I understand the need to have free thought, but if your thoughts aren't researched, that is just going to hurt those that are still in conditions where it's not choice."
The musician said it "makes me want to cry that we're even talking about this" when there are problems in the world today that need addressing.
Skip Twitter post by @TMZ Kanye West stirs up the TMZ newsroom over TRUMP, SLAVERY and FREE THOUGHT. There's A LOT more that went down ... and the fireworks are exploding on @TMZLive today. Check your local listings for show times. pic.twitter.com/jwVsJCMPiq — TMZ (@TMZ) May 1, 2018 Report
Will.i.am also said the comments seemed out of character for the Kanye he knows. "That's not Kanye," he said.
"To me, that's a different person that's saying that, and I hope it's not to raise awareness so you could sell a record and some shoes, because that would be the worst thing to do, to stir up this very touchy race situation and you be the benefactor from it.
"So I encourage you, if you really believe this, give your shoes away for free, give your album away for free. And I don't like talking about going against my community, but that is harmful."
He concluded: "I will not throw my ancestors under the bus to profit."
'WAKE UP'
Others criticising Kanye included film director Spike Lee, who accused him on Instagram of making "uneducated comments" and urged him to "WAKE UP".
Lee wrote: "'SLAVERY... A CHOICE'??? My Brother, OUR ancestors did not choose to be stolen from mother Africa. OUR ancestors did not choose to be ripped of our religion, language, culture.
"OUR ancestors did not choose to be murdered, lynched, castrated, raped, burnt at the stake, families sold apart. OUR ancestors built this country (on land stolen from the Native Americans) from the ground up under the institution of SLAVERY."
On Twitter, musician Talib Kweli, wrote: "I will always have love for @kanyewest but bro out here putting targets on our backs. Slavery was not a choice."
An African-American history professor at North Carolina State University said in a Twitter thread that Kanye's remarks were "uninformed" and an "embarrrasment".
Skip Twitter post by @profblmkelley Haven’t watched the whole Kanye event today, working my way up to it. I will say, that a milder version of the “slavery is a choice” argument is made by uninformed people all the time. I’ve had young men in my courses say “they never would have enslaved me.” — Blair LM Kelley (@profblmkelley) May 2, 2018 Report
Referring to the star's 2004 album The College Dropout, comedian Romesh Ranganathan wrote: "Kanye West is an incredible advert for finishing college."
Musician John Legend, who got into an exchange with Kanye over his support for President Trump last week, retweeted a string of people criticising him.
They included civil rights activist DeRay Mckesson, who wrote: "Kanye's rhetoric continues to fuel the racist right-wing folks who believe that black people are responsible for their oppression."
Skip Twitter post by @deray Kanye’s rhetoric continues to fuel the racist right-wing folks who believe that black people are responsible for their oppression. — deray (@deray) May 1, 2018 Report
However, rapper The Game came to his defence, calling Kanye "a genius". He wrote: "People who've never achieved greatness are not allowed to question it."
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Kanye said he was "being attacked for presenting new ideas"
Is this a marketing stunt?
By Mark Savage, BBC music reporter
Is Kanye West stoking controversy simply to sell records? Yes and no.
The star returned to Twitter two weeks ago after almost a year away. That's pretty standard behaviour - lots of artists "go dark" on social media in the run-up to a new record, only to reappear in (what they hope is) a blaze of publicity when the release date draws near.
But West is instinctively a provocateur. He started to go off-message, tweeting about his admiration of Donald Trump and right-wing commentators who "challenge" conventional thought.
His subsequent statements online and on camera, including the extraordinary assertion that slavery might have been a "choice", have only stoked the controversy further.
But if this is all a marketing ploy, as Forbes suggests, it's backfiring spectacularly. Because unless I'm mistaken, alienating your fanbase isn't a commonly accepted principle of advertising.
All the same, West will use the controversy to fuel his music. After all, the song he released on Saturday, Ye Vs The People, which sees fellow rap star TI challenging his views, was apparently recorded just 48 hours earlier.
So he's reacting and creating in addition to provoking and promoting, which makes this a curiously compelling moment in music.
"I think he's trying to take people on a journey," said US radio host Ebro Darden, after speaking to West last week. "What I've expressed to him is that he better hurry up and get to his destination."
#IfSlaveryWasAChoice
Since Kanye made the comments suggesting slavery was a "choice", a meme has developed on social media mocking the rapper's remarks.
The hashtag #IfSlaveryWasAChoice became the top trending topic in the US just hours after the TMZ broadcast.
Many have used the hashtag to create fictitious scenarios, where enslaved African Americans were working on plantations out of their own free will.
US entrepreneur Luke Lawal imagined a scenario where the cotton pickers have their Mac computer out in the field and are selecting their playlist for the day.
Others imagined a world where they worked hard to get to their dream slave position.
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Image copyright PA Image caption Kanye West recently recorded a song defending his support for Donald Trump
US rapper Kanye West has said the enslavement of African Americans over centuries may have been a "choice".
"When you hear about slavery for 400 years ... for 400 years? That sounds like a choice," he said during an appearance on entertainment site TMZ.
"We're mentally imprisoned," the star added. He recently made headlines for his support for President Trump.
Black people were forcibly brought from Africa to the US during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries and sold as slaves.
Skip Twitter post by @TMZ Kanye West stirs up the TMZ newsroom over TRUMP, SLAVERY and FREE THOUGHT. There's A LOT more that went down ... and the fireworks are exploding on @TMZLive today. Check your local listings for show times. pic.twitter.com/jwVsJCMPiq — TMZ (@TMZ) May 1, 2018 Report
West later tweeted that his comments on Tuesday had been misinterpreted and that he "brought up the 400 years point because we can't be mentally imprisoned for another 400 years".
Skip Twitter post by @kanyewest to make myself clear. Of course I know that slaves did not get shackled and put on a boat by free will — KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) May 1, 2018 Report
To the interviewers at TMZ, West said that "right now we're choosing to be enslaved", which provoked an angry response from a black member of staff at the company, Van Lathan.
Mr Lathan said the rapper's comments appeared to be made with "the absence of thought".
"You're entitled to believe whatever you want, but there is fact and real-world, real-life consequence behind everything that you just said," he added as the star stood still stroking his chin.
"We have to deal with the marginalisation that has come from the 400 years of slavery that you said for our people was a choice," Mr Lathan continued, adding: "I'm appalled, and brother I am unbelievably hurt by the fact that you have morphed into something to me that isn't real."
In the TMZ footage, West refers to Mr Trump as "my boy" and says that the president is "one of rap's favourite people".
His comments sparked a backlash on social media with some Twitter users suggesting the rapper should revisit the history books.
It comes just days after West released a song defending his support for Mr Trump, who he has insisted is "fighting for the people".
The controversial track, Ye vs The People, caused a stir among rappers, including Snoop Dogg, who appeared offended by its lyrical content.
"Like a gang truce, the first Blood to shake the Crip's hand," West raps, referring to a peace agreement between two notorious Los Angeles street gangs.
West has courted controversy with his support for Mr Trump and conservative commentators like Scott Adams and Candace Owens, who has spoken out against the Black Lives Matter movement.
