As we head into the home stretch for 2016, it’s a time to start reflecting on just how good, bad and wild things have been over the last 12 months. For one Kanye West, 2016 has been an undeniably tough year — maybe the most fraught to date — and the proof is definitely in the pudding. Don’t believe me?
It’s been a roller-coaster of a year for West. He began the year by starting a Twitter feud with Wiz Khalifa, and now, in December, there are allegations that he and wife Kim Kardashian are headed for divorce. While the former is definitely true and the latter is still unconfirmed, these events and a ton of others in between cement my theory that West is just as done with 2016 as we are. 2017 can’t come soon enough.
More: Kim Kardashian West & Kanye West’s relationship is definitely #goals
And in case you forgot exactly what kind of hijinks West and those connected to him went through, let’s take a moment to reflect. After running through this highlight (or maybe lowlight?) reel, you’ll soon understand why West and Kardashian are taking a break until 2016 is over.
January: Wiz Khalifa tweets
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/692449710452379648
West kicked off 2016 by coming out guns ablazing toward Wiz Khalifa. On Jan. 27, West tweeted out a list of reasons why he was allegedly better than Wiz Khalifa after Khalifa misinterpreted one of West’s lyrics. After dropping some major burns like, “Your first single was corny as fuck” and “I think you dress cool. I wish I was as skinny and as tall […] maybe I couldn’t be skinny and tall but I’ll settle for being the greatest artist of all time as consolation,” West dropped the mic. The tweets have since been deleted and relations have been patched up, but West got off to a seriously rocky start in 2016.
February: The Life of Pablo & Bill Cosby
After much speculation about the exact title of West’s latest album (remember when it was Waves? Then Swish? Ah, the good old days), he premiered his latest album to much fanfare at a listening party-slash-fashion show for his Yeezy fashion line. It was the event of all events at that point in West’s year and a much-needed boost of positivity after his crazy January.
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/697199554807099394
Of course, as with all things in life, it’s about balance. West sent some shockwaves through through the community when he voiced his support for comedian Bill Cosby during the latter’s criminal rape trial.
June: The “Famous” video
Dialing the drama up to 11, West dropped his 10-minute-long video for “Famous.” The video, which depicted celebrities directly tied to West as well as those figures who are more transgressive and hot-button (like Donald Trump and George W. Bush), left many jaws agape due to its audacity. West’s inclusion of a nude model of Taylor Swift only stoked the fire that Swift was unwittingly involved in a song she has no say in.
And then July rolled around.
July: The Taylor Swift spat
As if West and Kardashian wanted to make sure our summer was anything but boring, Kardashian decided to release recorded videos via her Snapchat proving that Swift gave approval for her inclusion in “Famous,” despite her previous public declarations she didn’t and that she, in turn, felt wronged. The West-Swift drama has been brewing for several years now; this video release only seemed to fan the flames.
More:Kanye West thinks “everyone is out to get him”
August: Teyana Taylor’s cameo
West premiered his second video from The Life of Pablo at the MTV Video Music Awards. For “Fade,” West kept it simple with GOOD Music (West’s music label) artist Teyana Taylor dancing with high energy and pure emotion in an empty gym. The video was iconic and brought West back into public favor. For a little while, anyway.
September: That controversial casting call
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/772166483023687680
The Yeezy Season 4 casting call controversy and subsequent fashion show was another rocky point for West and his public image. While the casting call could be read as positive or negative, depending on your viewpoint, about its approach to cast solely models of color (I choose to think it’s a positive move), the fashion show itself went off with a thud. The weather during the show — which was held outside, mind you — combined with the blocking of the show, where models has to stand still in the beating sun, left women collapsing during the show from exhaustion.
October: The robbery & aftermath
The events of late September and October 2016 mark a decided downturn in West’s fortunes. Shortly after Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in her Paris hotel room during Paris Fashion Week, West stopped his concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City and left the venue to be with his wife. While his children were thankfully not with Kardashian during the robbery, the entire event caused her and West to stop the use of all their social media platforms while they recovered as a family.
On Kardashian’s 36th birthday, Oct. 21, West compiled an incredibly sweet video made of home video footage largely shot by Kardashian’s father, Robert Kardashian. The family video montage was an adorably thoughtful throwback that, many people guessed, was just the right touch for Kardashian in the weeks following her robbery.
More:Kim Kardashian won’t ditch Kanye West in his time of need
November: His mid-concert rants
In the month following Kardashian’s robbery, West seemed to go off the rails during his concerts. Video began to emerge of West going on extensive rants with no particular message in mind. Rather, his chats ad nauseum included wild, random statements, including the fact the he would have voted for Trump if he had bothered to vote and vaguely throwing shade at Jay Z and Beyoncé unprovoked. When the rants reached a fever pitch, West canceled the remaining dates of his The Life of Pablo tour in order to recuperate properly.
December: Hospitalization
Which brings us to now, December 2016. The first week of December has seen West exit hospitalization following his canceled tour and come up against rumors of divorce. Who knows what the rest of December holds for West? Your guess is as good as mine.
What are your thoughts on Kanye’s year? Tell us in the comments.
Before you go, check out our slideshow below.
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