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I know a lot of y’all want to be “removed from the group chat” but hear me out, lol.
One of my first jobs was as a research engineer here in Columbus for a defense contractor. We did R&D for the government on “energetic systems” which is a fancy way of saying we researched and designed weapon systems for agencies within the U.S. Department of Defense. Because our work was focused on military applications, we also employed many ex-military personnel. They primarily worked as engineering technicians who built the mechanisms we would design.
It was during my time there that I first heard the term FUBAR. From what I understand about the history of the word, it originates in military circles. Our technicians used it a lot to describe when things went horribly wrong and there was no way to save the “situation.” Such is the case with Kanye.
FUBAR (pronounced foo-bar) is an acronym for F**ked Up Beyond All Repair/Recognition and it is the perfect term to describe Kanye’s current situation.
The Yeezy brand, to which most of his wealth is tied, is tarnished forever. And this is the piece that is most consequential. Even if Ye is able to fund the manufacturing and distribution of his future products, which many are suggesting is his goal, who will buy them? Who wants to be associated with an anti-Black, anti-Semitic narcissist? It’s now FUBAR.
How Sway? Let me count the ways.
- He’s no longer a billionaire which from what I could tell, matters to him immensely.
- His iconic designs no longer belong to him. Adidas claims that they are the sole owner of his designs.
- His music catalog will also take a hit. Def Jam has already terminated their relationship with his Good Music label and there is talk of taking his music off of streaming platforms like Spotify.
- The Donda Academy is closing. Not only did they deny his school's entry into a basketball tournament, news dropped that the school is closing its doors due to the backlash from his antics.
- So much more.
You can’t build an empire if you can’t build & maintain relationships — both personal and corporate. It’s like glue. That key fact will prevent him from ever returning to the heights he once enjoyed.
I guess what upsets me most are the Kanye apologists. You know the ones caping for Ye by making statements like “he’s playing chess, pay attention.” Conversely, I also read on The Shaderoom that “he’s not playing chess OR checkers — he’s playing bingo.”😂 This is more likely the case as Ye is simply placing chips randomly on the metaphorical board. He looks less like a business genius making boss moves and more like a manic creative “off his meds” tearing his empire to pieces.
For the Record
For the record, I officially stopped fu*cking with Kanye when he came for Black people with the “White Lives Matter” shirt stunt. That was the final straw for me. I understand if folks’ “red line” is different, but that’s when I told myself that I have to stop checking for Ye. I moved from indifferent spectator to vocal detractor.
Even though I’m not surprised that none of these corporations dropped Ye for his antagonizing of the Black community, I’m definitely giving the side-eye to some of these companies who simply are jumping on the “Fu*ck Ye” bandwagon just because it’s popular. For instance, Peloton released a statement saying that they would no longer play his music during their fitness classes. Who gives a damn?!! Just stop playing his sh@t and keep it moving. We don’t need a press release- it’s gratuitous & performative at this point.
I’ve also taken note that most of these statements do not mention his comments about George Floyd or his White Lives Matter spectacle. The fact that those incidents don’t warrant even a mention let us know it played no part in your decision — which says a lot. We know that being anti-Black has no consequences in corporate America but know that we "see you" as well and we'll move accordingly.