Ye Collaborator Arthur Jafa Says It ‘Doesn’t Matter’ What Ye Says or Does

In an interview with Dan Duray for Puck News, multidisciplinary artist Arthur Jafa suggested he has no issues being associated with the artist formerly known as Kanye West after collaborating with him on the “Wash Us in the Blood” music video and artwork.

In the years since Jafa worked with Ye for the track, which was released in 2020 and features Travis Scott, Jafa said his controversies have not changed his mind about considering him a friend. “Not only do I not mind being associated with Kanye—that’s just part of my history—but Kanye has been incredibly supportive of me,” said Jafa. “It doesn’t matter what he does. He could be a serial killer. But undeniably in his relationship with me, he has been incredibly generous.”

Ye had proved to be increasingly controversial leading up to their collaboration, famously endorsing Donald Trump in 2018, but his behavior sparked widespread backlash in 2022 onwards after he repeatedly expressed antisemitic views. Earlier this year, he publicly apologized for his comments, which included proudly labeling himself a Nazi, and said that he was “deeply mortified by [his] actions.”

Jafa isn’t concerned about the association with Ye, however. “Even last night, somebody asked me the Kanye question, like it was a big deal,” he said. “I was like, ‘Kanye is a friend.’ He’s a person I respect deeply. He’s clearly a genius. Maybe people hate to admit it. So was Ezra Pound, and he was a fascist, too.”

American poet Ezra Pound was considered an influential figure, but he was also a collaborator in Fascist Italy during World War II. His legacy remains controversial due to his far-right beliefs, which he maintained up until he died in 1972. Jafa said that there’s “no correlation between ethics and being a great artist,” pointing to Pound as an example.

“If we’re going to start banishing great artists there are a zillion people ahead of him in the line,” he continued, highlighting another example of an antisemitic figure acclaimed for their art, German composer Richard Wagner.

“We could sit here for an hour and talk about all the fucked up white artists who were, like, virulent racists, man,” Jafa said. “Slave owners, you know what I mean? That’s not an apology. What I’m saying is, he is my friend. I consider him a friend. There are these slightly Luciferian things about him. He is certainly demonic, in certain respects, and that would probably be more disturbing to him from a Christian perspective than I actually mean for it to be. But he’s free as a bird. And for Black folks, that is a big deal.”

Following his apology earlier this year, Ye returned with his twelfth studio album, Bully. The record was met with mixed reviews and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 charts. He’s scheduled to perform a show in Chicago in September, but he’s experienced difficulty playing shows in Europe due to his antisemitic behavior. Just recently, a show in Prague was canceled, while a proposed appearance at the United Kingdom’s Wireless Festival was also scrapped after reports that Ye was denied a visa earlier this year.