Get your tinfoil hats and red string, I’ve got a conspiracy theory: @kanyewest is in the middle of a performance art piece and the clues are right in front of us. A thread:

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

1. First we need to establish who @DenimTears is. Forgive me if this is well known info, I’m not great at keeping up with every celebrity. His name is Tremaine Emory. He’s a collaborator and friend of Kanye. pic.twitter.com/aI0S5SUUMU

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

2) last night Kanye tweeted this picture. This appears to be Tremaine at the table. We also know from a previous tweet from Tremaine that he’s in Calabasas, where Kanye lives. pic.twitter.com/w3OKmN5QTs

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

3) Kanye also mentioned in his interview with @cthagod “my boy Tremaine tweeted…” so we can assume that he’s both friends with Tremaine and looks at his Twitter account. I promise this info will be important coming up.

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

4. A week or so after rejoining twitter, Kanye tweeted these images on 4/22. The first two images involve David Hammons and the third and fourth involve Joseph Beuys. pic.twitter.com/Q1NdrXq91J

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

5. So let’s start with the first two images involving David Hammons. After Kanye tweeted these images, Tremaine quote tweeted them with this emoji: ♠️. I believe this is referring to Hammons work which aimed to “turn racist cliches (spade) on its head.” pic.twitter.com/HF0Qaqjcxd

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

6. As for the other two images of Joseph Beuys- the image Kanye tweeted was from an art installation Beuys did in 1974 called I Like America and America Likes Me, where he locked himself into a room with a coyote for 3 days.

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

7. The purpose of this performance with a coyote, “a wild spirit – often thought of as America’s untamed spirit” was to hopefully make the coyote “tolerant and accepting through Beuys’ desire to heal.” pic.twitter.com/Z6NYJapmwL

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

8. I believe Kanye is doing a modern take on Beuys piece with the coyote. He’s embraced what might be considered the coyote of today. Gotten close to it. Trump, Candace Owens, Alt Right. Maybe he sees this as a better chance to “tame” the coyote than more traditional methods.

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

9. But would Kanye get called out for doing something that’s already been done or taking someone else’s idea(s)? Maybe not if he explained himself first… pic.twitter.com/7Dl2PXJVrM

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

10. To me, there are two clues that are most important. The first one is this tweet from Kanye. This picture, posted six days after the others, again shows Beuys, Hammons, and now introduces what appears to be a drawing of Andy Kaufman. pic.twitter.com/Yr26mtdnOe

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

11. Anyone that’s even a little familiar with Andy Kaufman knows that he was a performance artist who would put himself in uncomfortable situations in wide view of the public eye, and rarely, if ever, break character. Check out Man on The Moon or Jim and Andy on Netflix.

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

12. So why is this important? 1, it shows that Beuys and Hammons are still on Kanye’s mind. 2, Kanye refers to it as his mood board. 3. Maybe most importantly, he had to purposefully add Andy Kaufman into the picture, but in a somewhat subtle way.

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

13. Maybe having a picture or a book on Andy would be too obvious. A rough drawing with only his first name is obviously more subtle. So in this picture you have a performance artist who tamed a wild creature by showing it love and compassion,

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

14. an artist who took a racist symbol (♠️) and flipped it to give it new meaning, and a performance artist who wrestled women, and generally acted insane in the public eye, and rarely broke character.

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

15. The other most important clue in all of this was Tremaine’s response to this Kanye tweet. Tremaine quote tweeted it with the caption “The prestige ♠️‍♂️‍♂️.” pic.twitter.com/xll9MC5ekC

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

16. Maybe I’m reaching here, but I think ♠️ represents the MAGA hat, a symbol of perceived racism. ‍♂️ could represent Kanye pulling a trick, or maybe juggling a lot of things. represents taming the coyote, and ‍♂️ represents Kaufman.

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

17. Going with the theory that ‍♂️ represents pulling a trick, that could give some context to “The prestige.” Possibly a direct reference to the movie in which the prestige is the final act of a magic trick. pic.twitter.com/3BM1MA0L4R

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

18. Another quick note on “The Prestige”- this is something Tremaine has tweeted a few times. He tweeted it 45 minutes after the infamous picture of Kanye in the MAGA hat.

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

19. In the movie (idk if it’s true or not) the prestige is the reveal to the illusion. You take an ordinary thing (Kanye’s usual stance) make it something extraordinary (supporting trump) and then the prestige turns it back into something ordinary. Is the album his prestige?

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

20. Also, Kanye is no stranger to taking a perceived racist symbol and attempting to flip it like Hammons. In 2013 he sported a confederate flag and commented on its meaning. pic.twitter.com/aW6PKvlHoW

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

21. So my theory is this: Kanye (most likely with help from Tremaine and/or others) is in the middle of a performance art piece. What is the overall goal of it? Idk. Maybe holding a mirror up to the world and forcing us to talk about some things. Maybe the album will explain.

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

22. Or I could be completely wrong and looking way too much into this. But I don’t think I am. Is it such a stretch to think one of the greatest artists of our time (imo) who has had a hand in music, shoes, real estate, fashion, etc, would try his hand in performance art?

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

23. Most of this came from this post https://t.co/K7fPdvmKnM and u/SPLY750 over at r/Kanye. I’ve included a few more tweets that I think serve as further evidence below

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

24. One more thing- this isn’t something we’ve never seen before. A lot of people thought Joaquin Phoenix had lost his mind when he quit acting and started rapping. Remember that Letterman interview? Turns out it was all performance art for I’m Still Here. pic.twitter.com/ZG7as1pw1K

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

I’ve come across another large clue to support my theory. Tremaine tweeted “let’s play twister, let’s play risk, yeah yeah yeah” which is a lyrics from REM’s Man on The Moon which is about Andy Kaufman and believing everything you see. pic.twitter.com/q39t1nBBmy

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

They’re literally giving us the answers. We just have to know how to look for them. pic.twitter.com/GcNYIgZh3E

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 2, 2018

At the end of his installment, Beuys hugged the coyote. At TMZ, Kanye hugged @VanLathan and said “I think we have to get next to everyone.” He also noted the definition of insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 3, 2018

Following the definition he said “if we keep on saying I hate, I hate you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, how are we going to get a different result with hate? Why don’t we just try love?”

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 3, 2018

Maybe most importantly he said “I know I disappointed the black community when I wore the hat, but like I just told J Cole on the phone ITS A BIGGER PLAN and I’m just doing what the universe told me.” As I said, Kanye is doing a modern take on I Like America and America Likes Me

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 3, 2018

This is very insane but just saw this guy on the train…. pic.twitter.com/tpFPgR4Zfb

— TRUE PANTHER SOUNDS (@truepanther) May 3, 2018

That can’t be Kaufman on the shirt, right?

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 3, 2018

Yo I literally walked up to him and said same thing he confirmed it’s Kaufman. Told him about your tweets and he asked if it’s “on YouTube” bc he doesn’t remember his twitter account

— TRUE PANTHER SOUNDS (@truepanther) May 3, 2018

That mans knows something. Don’t believe him

— Snowcone (@Snowcone965) May 3, 2018

THIS WEEK’S 10 HIGHEST RATED COMMENTS

#10		Red Panda
		Score:46 | Apr 28th
	Kanye honestly doesn’t have the range for the conversation he’s trying to have
	Posted in: Kanye West – “Ye Vs. The People” (Feat. T.I.)

#9		cokeparty
		Score:46 | Apr 28th
	This isn’t even a song. No one is telling black people they have to be Democrats, Kanye. People are saying that you’d have to be out of your fucking mind to be a Republican (you wore the hat). And the answer isn’t automatically some nutter branch of Libertarian either. Make music that lets the sound of that music be the first priority. You are going to say dumb shit (we’ve let most of that slide for years). But please, for the love of Jesus, don’t release a album of tracks like Also, radio DJ’s on hip hop radio should stop talking over everything they play. Shit is annoying.
	Posted in: Kanye West – “Ye Vs. The People” (Feat. T.I.)

#8		pedant peasant pageant
		Score:46 | May 1st
	Kanye should listen to that staffer. And also probably pay more attention to who tends to get imprisoned in the United States. I’m not saying you’re not a free thinker, Kanye. I’m saying you’re a bad thinker.
	Posted in: Kanye West Suggests Slavery Was A “Choice” In TMZ Visit

#7		Sparty1224
		Score:48 | Apr 28th
	“This is an Alt-Right dream” pretty much sums it up. Thanks Quest.
	Posted in: Questlove Wears “Kanye Doesn’t Care About Black People” Shirt

#6		Adam Fortune
		Score:54 | Apr 28th
	I think I like ‘Lift Yourself’ better
	Posted in: Kanye West – “Ye Vs. The People” (Feat. T.I.)

#5		El Gummo
		Score:58 | May 2nd
	Is this the lowest-rated comment in ‘Gum history? Someone get me the numbers.
	Posted in: Kanye West Doesn’t Care About Rap Music

#4		Sparty1224
		Score:58 | May 1st
	Damn, that TMZ guy at the end? That was nice. Felt like for a brief moment he was standing up for a lot of people and talking back to West.
	Posted in: Kanye West Suggests Slavery Was A “Choice” In TMZ Visit

#3		Your Intolerant Uncle Dave
		Score:58 | May 1st
	Even I think he went too far.
	Posted in: Kanye West Suggests Slavery Was A “Choice” In TMZ Visit

#2		log
		Score:72 | May 1st
	Do you think Cedric the Entertainer ever looks at Charlamagne Tha God and regrets not going bigger with his name?
	Posted in: Kanye West Shares Full Charlamagne Interview — Watch

#1		Tom Breihan
		Score:129 | May 2nd
	then write about it yourself, bitch.
	Posted in: Kanye West Doesn’t Care About Rap Music

THIS WEEK’S 5 LOWEST RATED COMMENTS

#5		UpfortheDownVote
		Score:-21 | May 2nd
	Fuck Bernie Sanders don’t @ me bro.
	Posted in: Kanye West Doesn’t Care About Rap Music

#4		roland1824
		Score:-27 | May 2nd
	Ladies and gentlemen, the state of online discourse in 2018: Pointed critique, bitchy comeback deflection, the original point still stands, unaddressed. Rinse, repeat.
	Posted in: Kanye West Doesn’t Care About Rap Music

#3		THEREALARKITOOTHUS
		Score:-42 | May 2nd
	Ye vs. The People is well thought out and quite sophisticated in my estimation. And it’s fun to listen to. Certainly more fun than reading ad hominem attacks in a music blog article.
	Posted in: Kanye West Doesn’t Care About Rap Music

#2		yokohno
		Score:-69 | May 2nd
	There are about a dozen great ways to write about and pick apart this Kanye debacle, but this is just lazy. Such a missed opportunity.
	Posted in: Kanye West Doesn’t Care About Rap Music

#1		skeetcricket
		Score:-135 | May 2nd
	Tom Breihan doesn’t care about black people.
	Posted in: Kanye West Doesn’t Care About Rap Music

THIS WEEK’S EDITOR-IN-CHIEF’S CHOICE

		Black Antlers
		Score:5 | Apr 30th
	Elfsgedroch swim in the same waters as Fluisteraars you say? Sign me up!
	Posted in: The Black Market: The Month In Metal – April 2018