Is Kanye West Using Kim Kardashian and Sexually Explicit Pictures as Covers?

Is it too cynical to suggest that Kanye West may be using Kim Kardashian and pictures of (and lyrics about) his penis as a means of blunting persistent rumors about his sexuality as he promotes his soon to be released album? And could Kim Kardashian be using Kanye West for something as well?

West has had a busy week. He was romantically linked with Kim Kardashian, admitted to having made like Brett Favre in years past by texting a woman with a picture of his penis, and claimed that his rude behavior towards Taylor Swift made her into a bigger star than ever.

West this week also apologized to former President George Bush for comments the rapper made after Hurricane Katrina.

All of this Kanye West news just so happens to be coming at the same time that he is in the midst of promoting his album, entitled My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, which is due to be released on November 22.

West has had some very rough sledding in the court of public opinion in recent years. In 2005, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the widely criticized rescue efforts of the United States government, West said of the then President, "George Bush doesn't care about black people."

Then, at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, West interrupted Taylor Swift as she attempted to deliver an acceptance speech for the Video of the Year Award; West decided instead to give a cringe-worthy diatribe in which he said a Beyonce video should have won instead. One can only wonder if he realizes how ridiculous he looked and sounded.

It is not surprising that this week, as he is on a promotional tour, that West addressed both the Swift and Bush situations. After the Swift debacle, West disappeared from the scene for a while and now is back; most all interviewers are going to ask him questions about both of those situations as they are very much part of the Kanye West image.

Potentially more interesting, however, has been the timing of West's alleged relationship with Kardashian, and his admission that he use send pictures, via text messages, of his genitalia to women. Of course, even if there never were rumors about West's orientation, both of these 'news' pieces would help garner publicity. But could there be more to West's sexually charged stories than simple headlines?

For many years now, there have been rumors that Kanye West is gay. South Park poked fun at West in a episode about 'gay fish sticks'(really). Fellow rapper and former friend Beanie Sigel said in a 2007 interview, "Where I'm from, you walking down the street like that, you liable to get something happen to you. Yeah, you might as well come out the closet, homeboy."

Another rival rapper, 50 Cent, has made references in his songs that some have indicates he believes Kanye West is gay. 50 Cent has sent mixed messages as to whether or not that is true.

While homosexuality has gained broad acceptance in most of the entertainment and political worlds, the world of hip-hop and rap remains in many ways hostile towards gay lifestyles.

While most would believe that it shouldn't matter to listeners of his work whether Kanye West is gay or not, there is little doubt that an openly gay rapper would face another obstacle to commercial success. And whether Kanye West is gay or not almost doesn't matter as much as public opinion, at least insofar as albums sales are concerned.

This week, West was interviewed on a Detroit radio show called Mojo in the Morning. The hosts asked whether or not he was involved with Kardashian and they referenced the fact that the two were pictured together at a restaurant in Chicago. West would not directly address whether or not the two were together, saying only, "There's (sic) pictures of us hanging out? Man, I need to get on the Internet more!"

For her part, Kardashian is reportedly contemplating stretching her considerable talents into the music world. Kardashian has accomplished quite a bit in her life. She is a former sex tape star, is the on again/off again girlfriend of Reggie Bush, has appeared in Playboy and now stars in a reality show in New York City.

The next logical frontier for the multi-talented Kardashian to explore might be the music world. And Kanye West, it would seem, would be well positioned to help her make this happen.

About working with West, Kardashian said this week, "[Kanye's] a musical genius, so I would be honored to work with Kanye."

Surely, this is just a happy set of coincidental circumstances for all concerned, no?

And then there is the issue of naked photos of West that leaked in late October on MediaTakeOut. West confirmed that they were pictures of him, saying, interestingly, that 'he only raps reality'. The first line of his new hit song Runaway refers to pictures that he sent in email to a woman.

Commenting on the photos, West said, "Have you heard the first line of 'Runaway?' She find pictures in my email / I sent this girl a picture of me, hey!"

West obviously wants the public to know that he only raps about reality. And his reality, according to this admission, contains naked photos of his penis on email.

Groundbreaking stuff, is it not?

The bottom line, of course, it that probably very few people know whether or not Kanye West is gay or straight. Most would probably not really care one way or the other as they either like West for his music or they do not like West for his music. Of course, they may not like him for his treatment of Taylor Swift. And they may not like him for his comments about George Bush not caring about black people.

Sadly, though there is a significant enough percentage of people who would judge West's music differently based on their perception of whether he is gay or not.

So while perhaps there is nothing to the Kim Kardashian rumors, and while perhaps there is nothing to the rumors of Kanye West's homosexuality, the reality of the situation may not matter nearly as much as the perception.

With his rumored relationship with Kim Kardashian and his confirmation that his penis pictures have been leaked to the web, it is not at all unreasonable to wonder if this is all part of an elaborate public relations campaign on the part of Kanye West and his team. While truth may be stronger than fiction, the perceived truth can sometimes trump all when it comes to promotion.

Sources:

Access Hollywood Staff, Kanye West Confirms Nude Photos Are Real, accesshollywood.com
Jocelyn Vena, "Kim Kardashian Would be 'Honored' To Record With Kanye West", mtv.com
Anthony Benigno, "Kanye West keeps coy on Kim Kardashian dating rumors during Detroit radio interview", nydailynews.com
Slava Kuperstein, "Beanie Sigel Disses Kanye and Pharrell?", hiphopdx.com
NME Staff, "Kanye West responds to 50 Cent 'gay' jibes", nme.com