Watch out, world — “your bestie Miss Westie” is recording an album! That’s right, at just 10 years old, North West is dropping her debut album, and it’s a huge tribute to her dad Kanye “Ye” West.
Album Announcement
At the Vultures 2 listening party on Sunday night, Ye and Kim Kardashian’s eldest daughter took the stage at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, to announce the news. Their kids, Chicago, 6, and Psalm, 4, were in the audience (8-year-old Saint seemingly didn’t attend). “Hi, it’s Northie, and I’ve been working on an album,” she told a cheering crowd, per Daily Mail. “And it’s called Elementary School Drop Out.” (The Mail has a photo of the moment HERE, showing North in a black Vultures t-shirt with black pants and a fuzzy winter hat, standing next to her dad who is wearing a gray hoodie and black pants with a ski mask covering his face.)
The College Dropout
The album is a nod to West’s own debut album, The College Dropout, which was full of hits like “All Falls Down,” “Get Em High,” and “Jesus Walks.” He dropped that three-time Grammy-winning album 20 years ago, so he’s probably pretty proud of his daughter for announcing her album this year.
Ye’s album title was in reference to the fact that he actually did drop out of college. He attended American Academy of Art, then Chicago State University for painting, then English, before dropping out in the ‘90s, per CBS News. In 2015, The School of Art Institute of Chicago gave him an honorary degree, but then took it away in 2015 due to the rapper’s “anti-Black, antisemetic, racist, and dangerous statements, particularly those directed at Black and Jewish communities.” The school continued in its statement, “Ye’s actions do not alight with SAIC’s mission and values, and we’ve rescinded his honorary degree.”
As far as we know, North has not dropped out of elementary school; rather, the name is just a tribute to her dad. However, many people weren’t happy. A sampling of tweets, per Daily Mail, called out the title with comments like: “Did she actually drop out of elementary school?,” “A kid with ‘Elementary School Dropout’ as the title is wild,” and “Well, most elementary school students will think dropping out is cool while North West lives in luxury.”
Kanye West’s Thoughts on School
It doesn’t help that the “Donda” rapper, who previously opened the unaccredited Donda Academy that his since shuttered, recently called out Kardashian and the private school their four kids attend. “Kim take my kids out of Sierra Canyon now,” he wrote last month in a now-deleted Instagram post. “It’s a fake school for celebrities that are used by ‘the system,’” he continued.
The “Carnival” rapper explained more in the caption. “At this point everybody knows what ‘the system’ is code word for 👀,” he said. “I was removed from my dad by the system and the system removed me from my children.”
Sources told Page Sixthat Kardashian is “frustrated with [Kanye’s] constant public attacks,” and that “Kanye doesn’t believe in standardized education in general and has told his kids that going to school is not necessary.” So, we can definitely see why some parents might be concerned that this album will glorify leaving school!
However, if North’s cameo on “Talking/Once Again” — where she raps, “It’s your bestie. Miss, Miss Westie! Don’t tryna test me. It’s gonna get messy. Just, just bless me. Bless me!” — is any indication, Elementary School Drop Out is going to be amazing.
Before you go, check out all the times North West proved she’s a star in her own right.
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