Born again Christian, Kanye West, took his Sunday Church service crew outside the US for the first time and performed at Emancipation Park in Kingston last Friday.
Mr West has been subject to a lot of criticism for his church service from different individuals in the business and devout christians. Joe Budden slandered his service branding it a scam on his State of The Culture podcast.
The free show in Kingston drew a huge crowd and it could not pass without controversy or drama. The music icon angered some Jamaicans because he was selling merchandise branded with the Jamaican flag. The event had Jamaica’s Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, release a statement addressing Kanye West selling merch with Jamaican emblems.
In Kanye’s defense what’s the big deal? It’s not like the sale of the products is outlawed. It’s good publicity anyway right? The minister went on to say,
“We are aware that other vendors are selling Jamaica branded products emblazoned with our national symbols and emblems. Several years ago, when I first served as Minister, I had set up a committee to review and devise a strategy for dealing with the proper use of our emblems and symbols. That work was stopped at the change of administrations. I have been granted permission to reestablish the committee and to continue the work. The membership of the committee will include representatives of the Office of the Prime Minister, the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office, the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport and others.â€
People have come out on social media criticising Kanye for exploiting Jamaicans in selling the branded merchandise. They saw it as Kanye exploiting the country. But on a real, this can’t be the case. Selling merchandise at a church service is probably more concerning than the fact that the merchandise is branded with Jamaican emblems.
The show was a free anyway, show some gratitude people. Kudos to you Kanye. Where to next?
