Squat is about Safran’s week squatting in American hip hop star Kanye West’s Los Angeles mansion. After one of Kanye’s now infamous antisemitic social media tirades, Safran wanted to learn more about the guy and the context in which his (relatively) newfound worldview exists.
In the interview, Safran says his research gave him insight into the “selfish” nature of Kanye. “He was just a thoughtless jerk to so many people,” said Safran.
“For instance … he’d have this thought [about building a school]. Everyone would get excited and go, ‘Oh my God … finally my life is going to become something meaningful and magical…’
“They put their own lives aside to help with this thing and then Kanye just gets bored after two weeks [or] a month or whatever and then just walks away. There are all these wounded people who are left behind.”
Safran believes Kanye’s personal flaws are more relevant to understanding him than his political views.
“A lot in the world [comes down to] human flaws, as opposed to politics,” he said.
“Maybe he would have been like that whether he was walking around in a Klan hood or whether he decided to be a member of Amnesty International. [Maybe] he’d still be this jerk.”
During the interview, Safran theorises that Kanye’s foray into Nazism comes from “him being an artist and wanting to dabble in transgression”.
“[A part of it is] him just playing with fire, which lots of artists do – including me,” he laughed, “So, you kind of understand that impulse.”
Safran then goes on to explain where, in his view, Kanye’s transgression missed the mark.
“I think if you’re an artist, if you’re dabbling with transgression, it’s better to be ambiguous,” he explained.
“For instance, Kanye started hanging out with fascists like Nick Fuentes and - I don’t know if you’d call her a fascist - but the far-right Candace Owens.
“So, he started hanging out with these people who hold horrific views about Jewish people, which means he’s no longer The Sex Pistols or David Bowie who’s flirting with fascist imagery or whatever.
“The Sex Pistols or David Bowie didn’t hang out with fascists; if they were dabbling in it in their transgressive artform, they just left it at that.
“As soon as you’re actually hanging out with neo-Nazis, it just changes the context of your work and it’s less interesting.”
The interview goes for an hour and traverses a range of interesting topics relevant to Safran’s book like the Black Israelite movement, the internet’s ability to radicalise us all and American ideology.
To check it out, click here.
