Kanye West doesn't need help to 'resurrect career' after 'genuine' apology, says friend
Under fire, Kanye West did not apologize to resurrect his career - but out of a genuine desire for the public to understand his struggles.Kanye has been banned from the UK over his pro-Nazi comments, and his three-night Wireless Festival concert run has been axed. The UK's scandal comes despite him filling out two full houses at Los Angeles' So-Fi Stadium and apologizing for his antisemitic outbursts by writing about his mental health woes in adverts taken out in the Wall Street Journal and Variety.However, a long-term friend and business associate insists that the Gold Digger rapper's healing and apology are genuine. And the former mentor reckons West can prove to doubters - including the UK government - that he is looking to make amends and return to some form of stability.READ MORE: Kanye West dealt fresh blow as he cancels concert amid calls to be banned from FranceREAD MORE: Kanye West sued for allegedly assaulting man he 'repeatedly punched as he lay unconscious'Chicago music icon George Daniels opened up on how the 48-year-old "music genius" is still struggling to navigate his life in the limelight without his mother, two decades on from her passing. Daniels, who watched Kanye grow from the Windy City's hot young rapper into a global award-winning megastar, described his matriarch, Donda, as his "anchor."Daniels said, "I am glad he's trying to repeal himself (from his past behavior), because he has always had issues....mental issues. He was bi-bipolar. I believe he is being genuine. And I hope it works.I hope it works for him. And if he's sticks to it, and then I hope his music reflects it. I care for him."He is misunderstood. And he misunderstands himself." Daniels, 79, expressed optimism that the rapper, who has made racist and anti-Semitic comments in recent years, can recover his career."I know he can. Anybody can. Depending on their guidance...I felt that the apology was genuine. He is bipolar, but you know. He is going to be okay."Daniels, who met Kanye first when he was creating tracks from his apartment close to his Chicago record stores, hopes the public gives him the benefit of the doubt. He said, "He's made his apology, give him a chance. That's all. That's it. I was so happy to see it [the Wall Street Journal advertisement]. You can see it, even in his face, he's cleaned up and his new wife, she's ready to get the hell away from him too, really far as I heard."But it's been tough. It sucked for him. And he's not as young as he was," he added. Sympathetic Daniels believes that the Grammy-winning artist lost his guiding force when his mom Donda passed away in 2007.The former Black Panther raised her son alone when father Ray walked out when their son was just three years old. "She was his anchor. That was his guidance. It was his whole thing. Whatever home you come from, whether your mom, your dad, somebody has to be your anchor."Even by him being the teenager and rising star, she was his anchor. She was his protector. Everything. She was his everything. I've been in business a long time before I had my store, I worked at Chess Records. It is tough for young folks to do it 9have a music career) and access to money. '"Believe me, he probably would've never married Kim if Donda was alive. If you want to say it." Daniels shied away from explaining why Kim Kardashian was a bad fit, but added, "Look at Coodie Simmons documentary ( Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy, the 2022 Netflix documentary that chronicles over 20 years of Kanye West's life and career)."Daniels worked as Chess Records' janitor, socializing with Muddy Waters, Etta James, and Ramsey Lewis, before creating an iconic record store, George's Music Room. Daniels knew that Kanye was special when he turned up to buy records from his Chicago music store in the 1990s"I knew he was different. He just had that uniqueness - the sound, and the lyrical content. He was just one of those creative minds from way back in the day - like Prince, like Michael [Jackson] and like Tupac. He was real and he just fit that niche. And he was from Chicago, so his stories, his lyrics were related to the Midwest. You never heard no one sound like any of them."Daniels recalled how he has sympathy for how Kanye's career rocketed, especially after Jay Z took him under his wing, signing to Roc-A-Fella Records in August 2002."There were certain key people. I was kind of one of them, I remember when Jay-Z and what you call brought him to New York to start producing, And they called me and brought me there to surprise him in the studio. "And he was so happy to see me because of our Chicago links."But then to watch him grow up and to being this man and then when you are a young guy and all of a sudden you got all this money, all this power, all this juice, and you either bipolar and all this, my God, it's tough. Unless you've been through it, you wouldn't know it."Daniels spoke on the red carpet at Culture In Motion, which marks a pivotal moment in the expansion of The Apollo and Kwanza Jones' cultural mission–merging heritage with innovation to strengthen community access to the arts, create intersectional engagement opportunities, and spotlight creative expression..Click here to follow the Mirror US on Google News to stay up to date with all the latest news, sport and entertainment stories.Sign up to our FREE newsletter and get the top stories to your inboxDAILY NEWSLETTER: Sign up here to get the latest news and updates from the Mirror US straight to your inbox with our FREE newsletter.
