Dear Mr. West,

You may not know me, but I feel like I know you. This may sound dramatic, but it seems like I spend every day of my life defending on you as the talented artist and devoted father that you are. More often than not, I am met with criticism for my feelings toward you. I take this criticism in stride, and use it to build up my seemingly hopeless case to “at least give you a chance,” despite everything that you have been made out to be by the media and your enemies. People constantly question and are surprised by my interest in you, as if my brain couldn’t possibly have room for serious issues like social justice, politics, and what can be done to create positive change, as well as the vast amount of information I know about you. However, if they knew your work, they would understand that you speak about all the issues that I’m interested in and have exposed me to many more. I’m sure that this letter will probably lower my credibility through the eyes of some, and to be quite frank, I do not care. I think that you could use some defending for a change.

The media paints you and Taylor Swift in completely different lights, and while you do have different methods of expression, the emotions behind your music are similar. You both talk about growing up, carving a path for your self, fearlessness and loss. You, however, are vulnerable emotionally and differently in areas which Miss Swift is not, and for different reasons. Most simply put, you have nearly opposite lives besides both of you being musically successful. Taylor Swift is a white woman who grew up in Pennsylvania, the daughter of a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch and a former mutual fund marketing executive. You are a black man of divorced parents who grew up in the South side of Chicago. But despite your differences, you have one thing in common: you both take most of your inspiration from experiences with other people.

Taylor Swift has become successful through garnering the empathy of tweens, teens, and essentially anyone who’s had a negative romantic interaction with a man. Your success has come from relating to the problems that exist within the system, government and “the man.” You have different fan bases with some overlap, me being one of the few people that exist in the middle of the venn diagram, which seems to grow smaller each day.

The narrative between the two of you only exists because of its perpetuation by parties both involved and unrelated to either of you. While you were its original author, Taylor created a character for herself with the release of her 2010 song, "Innocent." She continues to take on the role of the defenseless little girl, despite the fact that her music claims to empower young women. This puts you in the role of the villain, but of course we know that there are many reasons why the American media would portray you as such.

Taylor had the privilege to be able to remove herself from this narrative when you called her and asked her permission to include her in your song, "Famous." While the entire lyric may have not been presented, as she said to you, asking for her permission was a nice gesture. This is a chance which her "long list of ex-lovers" was not welcome to, nor did they have the option to prevent her from using any kind of lyrics which could potentially be hurtful towards them. She was not concerned with any potential “character assassination” on their part, which by the way, sounds eerily familiar to the opening lyrics of your song “Gotta Have It” from "Watch the Throne" (Hello white America/assassinate my character).

As Swift suggested in your phone conversation, it is important to write from your own perspective with your own experiences, which means that however unpleasant it may be, from your viewpoint, she was a bitch, just as from her viewpoint, the people she writes about are “liars,” “pathetic,” or better known for the things that they “do on a mattress.” She should know most of all that it’s very rare, if ever, that both parties agree to the lyrics in a song before it is released. This is especially if the song is specifically negatively geared toward one of the parties involved.

I understand why Taylor is upset by what Kim did in your defense. She was caught in a lie in front of America, which will make it increasingly hard for her to maintain the image that she has spent years fine-tuning. It’s about time that she experiences some of what you have to deal with for each choice you make.

The media will spin this in a million different directions, but know that you have my unwavering support. I believe that ultimately it comes down to two final points for Taylor. Firstly, if she was uncomfortable with her inclusion in your song, she "should’ve said no." Lastly, she should follow the precedent that she has set for herself and "shake it off."

Best,

Francesca Chaba