Kanye West drew renewed attention on Monday after sharing deeply personal claims related to his childhood, family, and trauma in connection with a new song titled "Cousins." The 47-year-old artist posted the statement on X, formerly Twitter, alongside a snippet of the track's video, sparking widespread discussion over the content's tone, themes, and presentation.
"This song is called COUSINS about my cousin that's locked in jail for life for killing a pregnant lady a few years after I told him we wouldn't 'look at dirty magazines together' anymore," West wrote in the post.
In the message and accompanying lyrics, West referenced past interactions with his cousin involving adult magazines allegedly discovered in the closet of his late mother, Donda West. The rapper claimed those early experiences shaped aspects of his personal and emotional development. "Perhaps in my self centered mess I felt it was my fault that I showed him those dirty magazines when he was 6 and then we acted out what we saw," he stated.
The track, which includes lyrics recounting moments of confusion and secrecy during childhood, was released with a video montage featuring personal footage, provocative imagery, and thematic symbolism. The visuals include references to violence, sexual identity, and faith.
West has previously discussed his cousin in public appearances, including a 2018 interview with Jimmy Kimmel. "My cousin is locked up for murder, and I love him. He did a bad thing, but I still love him," he said at the time.
Kim Kardashian, West's former spouse, also spoke of the cousin's case during a 2020 meeting with Marc M. Howard of the Frederick Douglass Project for Justice. "Kanye's aunt, my husband's aunt, his cousin has a double life sentence for a murder that he committed when he was 17," she said during a discussion on prison reform.
West concluded his post by stating that his album title would be changed from "WW3" to "CUCK," a remark that quickly trended on social media. The artist's latest release adds to a pattern of confessional and often controversial disclosures that have blurred the boundaries between his public artistry and personal narrative.
