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Nick Cave has recently praised Kanye West's music despite criticizing his views. West, professionally known as Ye, has been the focus of tabloids over the last few weeks because of his inflammatory remarks and actions.
Nick Cave's remarks came after one of his past comments on West caused significant outrage among fans. In January, the legendary Australian singer-songwriter was asked about the song he would like to be played at his funeral by a fan. On his website, Cave's Red Hand Flies (a place where he responds to letters from fans), he wrote:
"Oh, and Damian, please, ‘I Am A God’ by Kanye West."
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Since Cave's initial comments, Kanye West triggered outrage among people by openly calling himself a N*zi and selling only Swastika-branded t-shirts on his website. As per Billboard's February 18 article, one fan slammed Cave on his blog, writing:
“How the h*ll can you listen to the song without seeing the scum of a human being that Kanye has become?”
In response, Cave acknowledged Kanye West's actions and explained that he didn't support them.
“Numerous letters have come in expressing, in no uncertain terms, disapproval of my fondness for Kanye West’s music,” Cave began on his website.
Revealing that his fans have taken time and effort to explain "the evil of Na*ism, the harm of antisemitism, why it is wrong to sell t-shirts emblazoned with swastikas, and why it is unacceptable to coerce one’s girlfriend into standing naked on the red carpet at the Grammys," Cave said that he agreed with them.
“However, the great gift of art is the potential for the artist to excavate their interior chaos and transform it into something sublime. This is what Kanye does. This is what I strive to do, and this is the enterprise undertaken by all genuine artists. The remarkable utility of art lies in its audacity to transfigure our corrupted state and create something beautiful,” he continued.
The 67-year-old hitmaker also described Kanye West's art as something that exudes “sin, transcendence, and genius" despite the artist's "brokenness."
“As odious and disappointing as many of Kanye’s views are, and as sickening as antisemitism is – in its sadly always-present, ever-morphing forms – I endeavour to seek beauty wherever it presents itself,” he wrote. “In doing so, I am reluctant to invalidate the best of us in an attempt to punish the worst. I don’t think we can afford that luxury.”
This is not the first time Nick Cave has commended Kanye West. The veteran singer called West "our greatest artist" while responding to another question back in January 2020. However, the two artists have yet to collaborate on any project so far.
"I’m going to normalize talking about Hitler"—When Kanye West claimed to be a N*zi
Kanye West recently claimed to be a N*zi and removed all merchandise from his Yeezy website except for a T-shirt featuring the Swastika symbol. Despite having ties with divinity and spirituality, the Swastika symbol is known for its close association with Adolf Hitler's National Socialist German Worker's Party.
West followed it up with an assortment of antisemitic tweets in support of the German dictator on February 7, 2025. After claiming to be a N*zi, he wrote:
"I’m going to normalize talking about Hitler they way talking about killing n**gas has been normalized."
In another post, he accused multi-billionaire business tycoon Elon Musk of "stealing [his] N*zi swag."
"ELON STOLE MY N*ZI SWAG AT THE INAUGURATION YOOOO MY GUY GET YOUR OWN THIRD RALE," wrote the Famous rapper.
However, the tweets were deleted soon after and X owner Elon Musk stated that Kanye West's account had been classified as "NSFW." It was followed by the account getting temporarily deactivated.
This is not the first time Ye has posted antisemitic tweets on X. In November 2022, he wrote:
"I'm going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE … You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda."
This was followed by a massive backlash from across the industry, including conglomerates like Adidas and Gap ending multi-million-dollar partnerships with Ye. In December 2023, the rapper publicly apologized for his comments, iterating that he was "committed to making amends and promoting unity" and didn't intend to offend anyone.
