'Black people don't have to be democrats' Chance the Rapper defends Kanye West's support for President Donald Trump
Chance the Rapper is defending fellow Chicago-born rapper Kanye West after West's recent tweets in support of President Donald Trump.
Chance wrote on Twitter, "Black people don't have to be democrats" and said the next president is "gon be independent."
West has divided his fans over his support for Trump. On one tweet, West said, "you don't have to agree with Trump but the mob can't make me not love him We are both dragon energy. He is my brother. I love everyone. I don't agree with everything anyone does. That's what makes us individuals. And we have the right to independent thought."
President Trump wrote back, saying, "Thank you Kanye, very cool!"
West also tweeted out a picture of his signed "Make America Great Again" hat.
This isn't the first time Kanye and Trump have traded pleasantries; they also met at Trump Tower weeks after the election.
"I really feel that Kanye is a controversial celebrity," said Angel Elmore of Hyde Park Records. "He doesn't shine away from controversy. I am not surprised he would want to link up with someone who is just as controversial as him."
But in Chicago it's the rapper's tweet about Former President Barack Obama that is generating the most controversy. He tweeted: "Obama was in office for eight years and nothing in Chicago changed."
"I just feel like his comments towards Obama, that was just out of line seeing how he is a Chicago native," said Donavon Lake, a DJ.
"To answer the question, what has Obama done for Chicago, he gave a black man hope for Chicago. He gave a lot of other kids hope from Chicago," said Charles Protege, a DJ.
Now local fans want to know what Kanye West is doing for his hometown.
"We know Chance the Rapper, he's doing his part for the city of Chicago Public Schools. We know Common does his part here. But by Kanye West being one of the three most influential rappers of our time and he's not doing what he's supposed to do for the city, he can't talk about somebody else," Protege said.
West's wife Kim Kardashian West tweeted, "Kanye will never run in the race of popular opinion and we know that and that's why I love him and respect him and in a few years when someone else says the same exact thing but they aren't labeled the way he is and you will all praise them! Kanye is years ahead of his time."
It's not the first time Kanye has been vocal about a president. In 2005, when he appeared during a concert for Hurricane Katrina relief and said "George Bush doesn't care about black people."
Click here for a look at more stories about President Trump.
