Diagnosing a star: Kanye west 1

Diagnosing a Star: Kayne West

Brooke Powell

Psy-150
Diagnosing a star: Kanye west 2
3

Kayne West is very well know musician since the early 2000’s. He is known mostly for his later

music; Stronger (2007), Gold Digger (2005), and Black Skinhead (2013). Since becoming the

music icon he is now, he has married Kim Kardashian and they are now raising three children of

their own North, Chicago, and Saint West. West is a very talented musician, and he is not going

to let anyone forget it. Kanye believes that he is very close to having the skill level of Almighty

God. Although, he has more ability to make greater music than most, I would say it’s not even

close to comparison of Gods skill.

When watching Kanye speak about himself and his fame he expresses how “extraordinary” he is,

as if he were more than superior. During a recent interview on Keeping up with the Kardashians,

Kanye compares him self and his family to becoming like the Incredibles he says, ”It starts off

with the interviews! The superheroes are giving interviews. The wife got a big butt and I just see

our life becoming more and more and more like The Incredibles until we can finally fly.” (Mar.

31st, 2019) Now this particular interview could be took in a few different ways. West could be

implying that one day his family is going to be top notch and doing all great things, or he could

honestly believe that one day him and his family will become more than a human. When it

comes to Kanye the possibilities are endless.

On June 18th 2013, West released his sixth album “Yeezus". Noticing the close resemblance of

Jesus and Yeezus some say he believes himself to be the Fathers son who has “come to save us

all”. Although, West has not come out to claim that just yet. However he does choose to have the

nickname “Ye” after his album Yeezus. During one of the songs on the Yeezus album, West

describes a conversation that he has with God saying, “I just talked to Jesus He said, "What up

Yeezus?” I said, “S*** I'm chilling trying to stack these millions I know He the most high, but I

am a close high mi casa es su casa that's our costra nostra. I am a god.” (Yeezus, 2013)
Diagnosing a star: Kanye west 4

Back in 2009 at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City during the MTV music video

awards, Taylor Swift and Beyonce were in the running together for the best female video of the

year. Initially Swift received the award, but during her acceptance speech West took it upon

himself to interrupt her speech with the notion of telling her she should have not been awarded

best female video of the year and that Beyoncé's video was the best of all time. Here are Wests

words exactly, ”Yo Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'ma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of

the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!”. Clearly West knows no

boundaries.

When studying West, he shows the ability to have basic common sense. However, if he has such

common sense why does he do the things he does? Is it drugs that make him so egotistical or is

something psychological?

When dealing with a person who has a major ego or a sense of personal disorder you

automatically categorize them to having a Personality Disorders, but which one? Personality

Disorder- Cluster B, in choosing the diagnosis for West, I found that the Narcissistic Personality

Disorder is most comprehensible to his recent actions toward himself and others. NPD is the

need for constant admiration without having, or giving empathy for others. When West is seen

out in public a lot of people claim to never see him smile, as if he were looking down on the

people around him, once again showing this as his own perceived superiority and his haughtiness

toward others.

Another sign of NPD is showing the thought or belief for feeling that one has the ability to gain

or have unlimited success or power over others. In turn, that person begins to feel the need to

degrade whomever they deem necessary, like a god or king, such as the Kanye and Swift

incident in 2009. Doing this for his own admiration, and feeling the entitlement to even do so.
Diagnosing a star: Kanye west 5

This also leads back to the fact that Kanye finds himself in the same category as God, because he

feels as if he is a blessing to this earth and he is completely unstoppable.

For West and his psychological way of thinking and the actions he takes toward certain

situations, I am diagnosing him with the Narcissistic Personality Disorder. This can very well be

treated with the proper therapy and medication. With the help of a specialized therapist Kanye

could become more level minded with the way he thinks and his particular actions can become

less arrogant. This is not a life ending or a life long diagnosis. It is something that can be treated

with time and patience, it’s just a matter of determination.

In November 2016, Kanye was hospitalized for a psychiatric emergency which is when he found

out that he had been diagnosed with a Bi-Polar disorder. Although, Kanye has recently taken

himself off of medicine to treat his Bi-Polar disorder. In Kanye’s words he claims that his

disability isn’t really a disability it’s a superpower. This bringing back the fact that he believes

with or without the struggles of having a Bi-Polar disorder he still claims that he is higher than

others and larger than life. Kayne chooses not to change or better himself when it comes to his

mental health. However, he doesn’t push it to the side and forget about it. Instead he embraces it

as if it were a great thing.

Having a Bi-Polar disorder could be very dangerous if not handled and took care of properly.

Especially when mixed together with a haughty attitude. West could very easily end up in a

Psychiatric ward if he doesn't at least take in to consideration that he could possibly put his

family in danger by his actions and unwillingness to address the situation at hand. These

disorders are not a crutch nor should they be taken lightly. When two thing are mixed together

and put in the wrong hands they could potential destroy a whole amplitude of things.
Diagnosing a star: Kanye west

As for the fact of knowing if he is truly diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality disorder I do not

know. Although, if he has already been admitted to the hospital for a psychiatric emergency then

the likelihood of them actually diagnosing him is at about a fifty percent chance. It could happen

very easily. Though, the chances of him agreeing to the diagnosis is pretty unlikely unless he has

a sudden change of heart.

Diagnosing a star: Kanye west 6

References:

Aniftos,R.(2019,4). Kanye West Compares His Life to 'The Incredibles' On First 'Keeping Up

With the Kardashians' Interview [blog post].

https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8505249/kanye-west-first-keeping-up-with-the-

kardashians-interview

Cleveland, L. (2013, June). The Kanye God complex [news].

https://www.cnn.com/2013/06/20/showbiz/music/kanye-west-god-complex-yeezus/index.html

BBC News. (2018, October) Taylor Swift v Kanye West: A history of their on-off feud [news].
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45803245

Runtagh, J. (2019, April). Kim Kardashian Says Medication 'Not Really an Option' to Treat
Kanye West's Bipolar Disorder [blog post].
https://people.com/music/kim-kardashian-kanye-west-bipolar-medication-not-option/