Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Kanye West says he wants to model US government on Black Panther’s Wakanda

Artist recently claimed he intends to run for president later this year

Louis Chilton
Wednesday 08 July 2020 09:35 EDT
Comments
Black Panther - trailer

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Kanye West has said that he would model the management of the White House on the fictional nation of Wakanda from Marvel’s Black Panther.

The US rapper recently claimed that he intended to run for president in the forthcoming 2020 election. He said he would run as a Republican if Donald Trump drops out or as an independent if he does not. West has yet to file the required federal paperwork and is too late to appear on certain state ballots.

In an interview with Forbes, West suggested he wished to emulate the model of organisation depicted in the hit sci-fi film.

“A lot of Africans do not like the movie [Black Panther] and representation of themselves in…Wakanda,” he said. "But I’m gonna use the framework of Wakanda right now because it’s the best explanation of what our design group is going to feel like in the White House.

“That is a positive idea: you got Kanye West, one of the most powerful humans—I’m not saying the most because you got a lot of alien level superpowers and it’s only collectively that we can set it free.”

Black Panther, released in 2018, starred Chadwick Boseman as the superpowered king of the futuristic African country Wakanda.

West seemed to suggest that the specific way he wanted to borrow from the film was in the technological infrastructure, such as the way in which its leader (King T’Challa) works closely with the nation’s top scientists.

“Let’s get back to Wakanda,” he continued. “like in the movie in Wakanda when the king went to visit that lead scientist to have the shoes wrap around her shoes. Just the amount of innovation that can happen, the amount of innovation in medicine – like big pharma – we are going to work, innovate, together.”

West’s interview was described by Forbes as “rambling”. The “Jesus Walks” artist also covered topics including his alleged contraction of Covid-19 and his retraction of support for President Trump.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in