Is it Kanye West or is it his environment that sent the hip hop performer and entrepreneur hurtling toward exhaustion and a hospital stay? (West was released after a brief stay at the UCLA Medical Center after he cancelled the remainder of his grueling Saint Pablo Tour.) To one reader of Bob Lefsetz‘s popular music newsletter, the questions about Kanye’s emotional and mental health suggested a conversation superstar comedian Dave Chappelle had with James Lipton on Inside the Actor’s Studio.
Chappelle, who once walked away from performing without explaining his reasons to the public, talked about his friend Martin Lawrence whose mental health was questioned after an incident that saw Lawrence stalking traffic in the middle of Ventura Boulevard, armed and cursing. What reminded the reader of Kanye’s situation was how Chappelle cautioned against characterizing anyone as “crazy,” saying it’s a dismissive word, the “worst thing you can call somebody.” These people are “not crazy, they’re strong people. Maybe the environment is a little sick.”
