Kanye West Debuts New Album, ‘Ye,’ Via Live Stream From Wyoming

The path to new Kanye West music is never smooth, but this time it included Donald J. Trump, a Make America Great Again hat, a winding 105-minute YouTube interview, an excess of Twitter posts, controversial comments about slavery and a confession on TMZ TV about liposuction.

For some, it even included a trip to Wyoming. With Chris Rock.

Yet as the planned Friday release date for Mr. West’s new album approached, next to nothing was known about the much-anticipated project. That changed late Thursday night as Mr. West unveiled the first taste of his eighth solo LP — titled “Ye,” Mr. Rock announced in his introduction around midnight — via live stream from near Jackson Hole, where for months Mr. West has been working on a slate of releases for his G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam collaborators.

The debut of “Ye,” which was made available on streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music by Friday morning, included seven songs, with guest features from Ty Dolla Sign, Valee, Jeremih, PartyNextDoor, Kid Cudi, Charlie Wilson, John Legend, Dej Loaf and 070 Shake. Mr. West’s lyrics do not shy from current events (Stormy Daniels, North Korea, Tristan Thompson), nor from his recent brushes with ignominy. On one track, he references comments he made about slavery during the TMZ appearance: “They said build your own, I said, ‘How, Sway?’”/I said slavery’s a choice, they said, ‘How, Ye?’/Just imagine if they caught me on a wild day.”

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On another, Mr. West references the rape accusations against the hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, rapping: “Russell Simmons wanna pray for me, too/I’mma pray for him ‘cause he got MeToo-ed/Thinkin’ what if that happened to me too.”

The last-minute, seemingly slapdash musical rollout, complete with a destination event (including chartered flights for influential people) and an online video stream, had a whiff of the reveal for “The Life of Pablo,” Mr. West’s previous album from February 2016, which he debuted during a fashion show at Madison Square Garden. (“The Life of Pablo” was not uploaded online for public consumption until two days later, and Mr. West continued to tweak the content long after its release.) You have 4 free articles remaining.

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The rapper’s wife, Kim Kardashian West, said on Twitter that the album cover for “Ye” — showing the Wyoming landscape with the scrawled words “I hate being Bi-Polar its awesome” — was a photo taken by Mr. West on his way to the album listening on Thursday.

On the second track, “Yikes,” Mr. West calls being bipolar his “superpower,” adding, “ain’t no disability.” Other song titled include “I Thought About Killing You,” “All Mine,” “Wouldn’t Leave,” “No Mistakes,” “Ghost Town” and “Violent Crimes.”

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Mr. West’s recent return to the fray — both musical and extracurricular — followed a period of relative quiet from the rapper, who scrapped tour dates and was hospitalized for psychiatric care near the end of 2016 following a period of onstage unpredictability. His meeting with the then-President-elect at Trump Tower that December was his last public appearance for some time, though it did foreshadow his interests upon resurfacing.

In April, Mr. West announced that he would be producing five albums, including his solo release and a collaboration between himself and Kid Cudi (as Kids See Ghost) scheduled for June 8. Pusha-T’s “Daytona,” released last Friday, was the first to see the light of day, while albums from Nas and Teyana Taylor are forthcoming. Each album from the Wyoming sessions is expected to be just seven songs long.

Promises of new music aside, Mr. West has turned heads with his extended Twitter embrace of President Trump, the MAGA hat and other conservative figures like Candace Owens, who was on hand for the album debut in Wyoming. The rapper’s Twitter posts about “freethinkers” and the “thought police” earned him praise on the right, while some longtime supporters and collaborators were left scratching their heads.

The two songs he has released since were similarly polarizing: “Lift Yourself,” a satire of sorts, had nonsense lyrics (“poopity-scoop”), while “Ye vs. the People” found Mr. West debating politics with the rapper T.I. “Ever since Trump won, it proved that I could be president,” Mr. West argued.

Samantha Bee, TBS apologize; Trump questions why 'no talent' host hasn't been fired

Comedian Samantha Bee is facing backlash after what she called Ivanka Trump..and now some people are saying she should no longer have a show on TBS, the Hill reports. Veuer's Sam Berman has the full story. Buzz60

Samantha Bee is apologizing for crossing a line in a Full Frontal immigration segment aimed at Ivanka Trump in Wednesday's episode. "Do something," the TBS host urged, calling the president's daughter and aide a female slur. The offending word was bleeped. 

"I would like to sincerely apologize to Ivanka Trump and to my viewers for using an expletive on my show to describe her last night," Bee said in her apology tweet,  published Thursday afternoon, after the clip had been removed from YouTube. "It was inappropriate and inexcusable. I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it."

In a separate statement, TBS said, "Samantha Bee has taken the right action in apologizing for the vile and inappropriate language she used about Ivanka Trump last night. Those words should not have been aired.  It was our mistake too, and we regret it.” 

That evening, Bee addressed her controversial commentary while accepting a Television Academy Honors award, according to IndieWire.

“The thing is, our show is steeped in passion,” Bee supposedly said. “Every week, I strive to show the world as I see it, unfiltered. Sometimes, I should probably have a filter. I accept that. I take it seriously when I get it right, and I do take responsibility when I get it wrong.”

But Bee also didn't want one word to detract from the focus of her segment: Trump's immigration policy. “We spent the day wrestling with the repercussions of one bad word, when we all should have spent the day incensed that as a nation we are wrenching children from their parents and treating people legally seeking asylum as criminals,” she said, according to the outlet. “If we are OK with that, then really, who are we?”

The talk show host continued, reportedly adding: “I can tell you, as long as we have breath in our bodies and 21 minutes of airtime once a week, repeats on Saturdays, that we as a show will never stop shouting (about) the inhumanities of this world from the rooftops and striving to make it a better place. But in a comedy way.”

President Trump wasn't having it.

"Why aren’t they firing no talent Samantha Bee for the horrible language used on her low ratings show?" he tweeted Friday morning, adding that the difference in outcomes for Bee and the fired Roseanne Barr reflected a "total double standard" by the media. (Ivanka Trump remained silent.)

Samantha Bee vs. Roseanne Barr: Double standard? Twitter reacts

It was his first direct comment on the matter and echoed earlier statements from Stephanie Grisham, the spokeswoman for first lady Melania Trump, and his own press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Stephanie Grisham, a spokeswoman for first lady Melania Trump, accused the media of bias in quickly canceling Roseanne over its star's racist tweet, directed at former President Obama's aide Valerie Jarrett, but merely apologizing for language directed at President Trump's daughter.

"The double standard is truly astounding," Grisham said. "Time and again the Trump family and members of this administration are subjected to false reporting, hateful rhetoric and outrageous lies, all in the name of freedom of speech or comedy, yet the mainstream media stays silent."

Sanders added, “The language used by Samantha Bee last night is vile and vicious. The collective silence by the left and its media allies is appalling,” she said in a statement. "Her disgusting comments and show are not fit for broadcast, and executives at Time Warner and TBS must demonstrate that such explicit profanity about female members of this administration will not be condoned on its network.”

Used-car marketplace AutoTrader.com also announced Thursday that it was pulling its ads from Full Frontal amid the mounting backlash. 

"Thank you to those who reached out regarding our sponsorship of Full Frontal," they announced on Twitter. " The comments expressed by Samantha Bee were offensive and unacceptable and do not reflect the views of our company. As a result, we have suspended our sponsorship of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee."

Insurance company State Farm soon followed, saying they have suspended advertising on the show and are reviewing any future placements. 

How it began

The TBS host had a short but striking message for the first daughter, whom she urged to "do something" about her father's immigration policy rather than post "the second most oblivious tweet we've seen this week." 

"You know, Ivanka, that's a beautiful photo of you and your child but let me just say, one mother to another: Do something about your dad's immigration practices you feckless (expletive)," she said. "He listens to you."

Bee suggested, "Put on something tight and low cut and tell your father to (expletive) stop it," she said. "Tell him it was an Obama thing and see how it goes."

The Trump administration has been stepping up criminal prosecutions of people crossing the border illegally this month, in line with President Trump campaign promises. Earlier this week, debate sparked around the administration's policy of separating immigrant children from their parents at the border.

Bee also suggested a way to get the president to listen."Put on something tight and low cut and tell your father to (expletive) stop it," she said. "Tell him it was an Obama thing and see how it goes."

The reaction

Bee's comment, especially the use of the c-word, didn't go without notice, as many tweeted their disapproval and compared her to Roseanne Barr, whose show ABC canceled following her racist tweets.

Conservative blogger Erick Erickson pointed out inequalities he sees between what liberals and conservatives can get away with saying.

"So ABC just fired Roseanne for her tweet. Will TBS fire Samatha Bee for her actual on-air monologue?," he questioned. "Seems to me that calling Ivanka Trump a 'feckless (expletive)' is just as bad as suggesting Valerie Jarrett is an ape."

He continued, "All the progressives in my timeline telling me the Roseanne situation and Samantha Bee situation are not comparable will, I’m sure, be fine when Trump supporters start calling Clinton, Warren, Pelosi, etc. the same as what Samantha Bee called Ivanka Trump."

NBC's Megyn Kelly also tweeted about Bee's comments.

"This is disgusting. How is this acceptable? And how are we expected to take any of these publications seriously if they gleefully repost something like this at the same time they (rightfully) condemn @therealroseanne? You know the saying Love is Love? Well Hate is Hate," she tweeted, sharing a story about Bee's comments. 

Former presidential candidate Herman Cain also commented about canceling Bee's show.

"Hey @TBSNetwork, shall I assume the Samantha Bee cancellation news will come later today? No?" he tweeted. "You don't care that this poor man's Jon Stewart is completely horrible?  Ok, then..."

For her part, Barr didn't want her supporters comparing her to Bee. On Thursday, she tweeted, "please don't compare me2 other people who have said horrible things. I only care about apologizing 4 the hurt I have unwittingly & stupidly caused. I humbly confess contrition & remorse. I failed2 correctly express myself, & caused pain2 ppl."

 

Others agreed with Bee's comments.

"Ivanka Trump is a feckless (expletive). Thank you for your honesty, Samantha Bee," one user tweeted. "(Samantha Bee) is great at triggering conservative snowflakes."

"If you think Samantha Bee's vulgarity is equivalent to racism then you're either ignorant, maliciously dishonest, or a racist yourself," another said, defending Bee.

"Stop comparing it to what @TheRealRoseanne said. Roseanne used a racist term. Samantha did not," another said.

Bee also took aim at Roseanne Barr's tweet that suggested sleep drug Ambien caused her to make racist comments earlier this week.

Barr wrote in a since-deleted tweet Tuesday that "muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj." The "vj" stood for Valerie Jarrett, an Obama White House aide. This led to the cancellation of her hit ABC show Roseanne.

Sanofi, who makes Ambien, tweeted a response to Barr, who claimed she was "Ambien tweeting": "While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication."

Full Frontal decided to see what it would be like if racism was a side effect, however, by imagining a commercial for the drug that reassured "a great night sleep and a convenient excuse are just one little pill away."

The fake ad also warned that in addition to helping you fall asleep, the drug may make you "more racist."

"I mean, you were already racist, but maybe Ambien made it worse?" the narrator says. "Until you know how Ambien will effect you, you shouldn't drive in urban areas, operate heavy machinery or visit a Starbucks."

 

Prime Minister is head of government in proposed federal charter

If the proposed amendments to the 1987 Constitution of a House of Representatives' subcommittee is approved, the Philippine government will be headed by a Prime Minister instead of a President.

This was part of the outputs of the Subcommittee 1 of the House committee on constitutional amendments, tasked to review several provisions of the 1987 Constitution and come up with new Articles on Federal and Regional Powers and Number of States.

Under the subcommittee's proposal, the Prime Minister will be the head of the government. Along with the Cabinet, the Prime Minister will constitute the government and exercise executive power.

The Prime Minister will be elected by a majority of all members of the proposed Parliament, which is composed of the Federal Assembly and the Senate.

The Federal Assembly is similar to the current House of Representatives, while the Senate will consist of representatives from each region.

The President, who will remain as the head of state, will proclaim the election of the Prime Minister.

Under the proposal, the functions of the Prime Minister include the preparation of the program of the government, prepare the annual budget of the Federal Republic, execute all laws, lawful orders and decisions of the Federal Supreme Court, and enter into contracts, including loans, on the government's behalf.

The Prime Minister will also appoint all heads of executive offices, including Cabinet members and police officials from the rank of Police Director.

The Prime Minister may also remove members of the Cabinet at his or her discretion.

The Prime Minister or any members of the Cabinet may likewise resign for any cause without vacating his seat in the parliamentary.

The Duterte administration is pushing for a shift to a federal form of government as a means to address issues particularly in strife-torn Mindanao.

In an earlier interview, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said if Congress decides to convene in a constituent assembly this month, the proposed new federal charter may be submitted for a referendum simultaneously with the scheduled Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in May. —ALG, GMA News

Petitioners: Gov’t claim of continuing rebellion in Mindanao ‘futile, feeble’

Opponents of the yearlong extension of martial law in Mindanao on Tuesday disputed before the Supreme Court (SC) the government’s argument that a continuing rebellion is taking place in the region.

Speaking at the oral arguments on the consolidated petitions against the extension, Albay Representative Edcel Lagman maintained that there was no longer factual basis to impose martial rule and suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus since the government declared that Marawi City—the center of skirmishes between troops and ISIS-inspired Maute group—has been liberated from terrorist influence.

“Now, Marawi is not burning. The President has confirmed that Marawi is liberated from ‘terrorist influence’: not only from the terrorists themselves but also from terrorist influence,” Lagman said in his opening statement.

“What remain are phantom ‘remnants’ of the vanquished terrorist groups, as admitted by the Executive and his advisers,” he added.

Lagman took exception to the government’s claim that martial rule is needed to quell continuing threats from terror groups and communist rebels, saying the threat of rebellion or invasion is no longer a ground because the 1987 Constitution deleted imminent danger as basis for martial law proclamation or extension.

He added there is “no convincing demonstration that public safety” requires such extension.

“Based on the foregoing, the cavalier assertion that there is ‘continuing rebellion’ in Mindanao is futile and feeble. It does not evince an actual rebellion,” Lagman said.

Lagman also slammed allies of President Rodrigo Duterte in Congress for allegedly railroading the approval of Duterte’s request for extension last month.

“The supermajority virtually acted as the President’s rubberstamp in granting the extension with undue and imprudent haste and without adequate deliberation. Resolution of Both Houses No. 4  is a copycat version of the justifications alleged in the President’s letter,” the lawmaker said.

Former Bayan Muna Representative Neri Colmenares said the bases for martial law extension “were not only contrived but also intended to suppress civil liberties.”

"During the Zamboanga seige in 2014, the government conducted aerial bombings without martial law, conducted house-to-house combat in the city using tanks, set up massive check points all over Mindanao, all without martial law. So what martial law power does government actually want with this inordinately extensive extension?" Colmenares said.

Colmenares urged the SC to “faithfully fulfill its duties as the court of last resort of the people when all other branches of the government have lamentably failed.”

Former Commission on Elections chairperson Christian Monsod said the extension must be nullified since there is “no theater of war, and the fighting with the New People’s Army (NPA) was not a basis for the original martial law proclamation” on May 23 last year.

Representing petitioner former Commission on Human Rights chairperson Etta Rosales, former solicitor general Florin Hilbay said martial law “can only be declared by the president in a theater of war or an area of military operations, where there is a need for the military to take over traditional legislative and/or judicial functions.”

After the opening statements, the magistrates took turns in grilling the petitioners which is ongoing as of posting time.

Solicitor General Jose Calida has since asked the high court to dismiss the petitions, insisting there is factual basis for the extension of martial rule in Mindanao.

"There is rebellion in Mindanao. Until the rebellion is quelled, there is reason to extend martial law and suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus," the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) said in its comment.

“The danger and risks the DAESH-inspired Da'awatul Islamiyah Waliyatul Masriq (DIWM), local terrorist groups, and the NPAs [New People's Army] pose still remain high and the extension of martial law will necessarily address the rebellion being waged by these groups,” it added.

The government said for as long as Congress believes that the rebellion continues to exist, and public safety requires it, the proclamation of martial law and the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus may be extended, subject only to the condition that any such extension be upon the initiative of the President and for a period to be determined by Congress. — RSJ, GMA News