Kanye West has often been mocked for his grandiose claims and larger-than-life personality, but these days, there is almost as much concern surrounding the star as there has been controversy.
The latest is a recording that Page Six claims is of the rapper taking the “Saturday Night Live” production staff to task before his recent performance to promote his new album, “The Life of Pablo.”
“Look at that s**t, they took my f**king stage off a ‘SNL’ without asking me,” says a voice reported to be West’s. “Now I’m bummed. That and Taylor Swift, fake a**.”
“Access Hollywood” reported that the rapper was not yelling at ‘SNL’ staff but recorded during a private moment with his team.
For weeks, there have been almost daily happenings with the man known as Yeezy.
His actions — including a Twitter spat with fellow artist Wiz Khalifa, a proclamation that he is $53 million in debt, a request that wealthy patrons like Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg step up to assist him and tweets about the state of America’s educational system — have seemed a bit much, even for him.
And that has some worried.
“We’re gonna #PrayForKanye & hope he gets his life together,” one fan tweeted.
If the music industry is a circus, Kanye West would be its P.T. Barnum.
He has compared himself to Andy Warhol and William Shakespeare, and with his marriage to Kim Kardashian (the couple have two children) in a lavish 2014 ceremony, West joined the first family of self-promotion.
But even by those standards, his behavior lately has seemed over the top.
His Twitter account has been his prolific space. He tweeted that Bill Cosby is innocent, advised “white publications” to not comment on black music and alternately spoken out with love and cautioned folks to “Shut the f**k up and enjoy the greatness.”
Rocker Melissa Etheridge recently told E! News, “I think he is crazy but really genius.
“I say that in the best way,” Etheridge added. “These are the days for an artist; this is an artist’s time. If you can really brand yourself and get yourself out there and represent and be a cool person in your artistry, you can really do something about it!”
In an essay titled “Kanye West Doesn’t Need Another Think Piece; He Needs Therapy,” The Root associate editor Danielle C. Belton writes that “it doesn’t matter that West is rich. Or that he has the beautiful wife he has always claimed to want. It’s not about having his two healthy, lovely children or a successful career. It’s about having all the ideas in the world but not the temperament to explain them.
“I don’t know what issues West does or doesn’t have; nor do I pretend to know,” Belton writes. “But I do know that he drops verses about Lexapro and Xanax on his new album, two drugs I’m more than familiar with in my own journey from bipolarity to stability. He raps about his demons, his fears. But during Yeezy Season 3, in the photos, it’s all smiles.”
Likewise, now-former West collaborator Rhymefest tweeted, “my brother needs help, in the form of counseling. Spiritual & mental.”
“He should step away from the public & yesmen & heal,” the songwriter added.
The star might realize he may have gone too far.
On Wednesday, he tweeted, “My number one enemy has been my ego… there is only one throne and that’s God’s …”