[sankofalist]Kanye West Rips Bush During NBC Concert (AP story)

[Michelle Massie]

Kanye West Rips Bush During NBC Concert
By The Associated Press

September 03, 2005

It began, fittingly enough, with jazz from New Orleans natives Harry Connic=
k
Jr. and Wynton Marsalis. But "A Concert for Hurricane Relief," a heartfelt
and dignified benefit aired on NBC and other networks Friday night, took an
unexpected turn thanks to the outspoken rapper Kanye West.

Appearing two-thirds through the program, he claimed "George Bush doesn't
care about black people" and said America is set up "to help the poor, the
black people, the less well-off as slow as possible."

The show, simulcast from New York on NBC, MSNBC, CNBC and Pax, was aired
live to the East Coast, enabling the Grammy-winning rapper's outburst to go
out uncensored.

There was a several-second tape delay, but the person in charge "was
instructed to listen for a curse word, and didn't realize (West) had gone
off-script," said NBC spokeswoman Rebecca Marks.

West's comment about the president was cut from NBC's West Coast airing,
which showed three hours later on tape.

The host was NBC News' Matt Lauer, who invited viewers to contribute to the
American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund by phone or on the Web. Some 18
presenters performed musical numbers or gave information on the tragedy's
huge scope.

Louisiana native Tim McGraw teared up as he told Lauer, "I know the citizen=
s
that weren't affected by this directly are gonna stand up and do good thing=
s
for people." He sang two songs, then became the first of the evening's star=
s
to sign a Gibson Les Paul Special guitar to be auditioned online.

Faith Hill, a Mississippi native, sang "There Will Come a Time," with the
inspiring lyrics, "The darkness will be gone, the weak shall be strong. Hol=
d
on to your faith."

New Orleans son Aaron Neville performed Randy Newman's soulful "Louisiana
1927" with the memorable chorus, "they're trying to wash us away, they're
trying to wash us away."

New York governor George Pataki presented the Red Cross with a check for
$2.5 million and promised, "This great state will do far more."

"In terms of property damage," said actress Hilary Swank, "the estimate is
at least $26 billion in insured losses and perhaps twice that in uninsured
losses over a 90,000-square-mile area =8B approximately the size of Kansas."

Other speakers included Lindsay Lohan, Eric LaSalle, Glenn Close, Richard
Gere, John Goodman and  Leonardo DiCaprio.

Comedian Mike Myers was paired with West for a 90-second segment that began
with Myers speaking of Katrina's devastation. Then, to Myers' evident
surprise, West began a rant by saying, "I hate the way they portray us in
the media. If you see a black family, it says they're looting. See a white
family, it says they're looking for food."

While allowing that "the Red Cross is doing everything they can," West =8B wh=
o
delivered an emotional outburst at the American Music Awards after he was
snubbed for an award =8B declared that government authorities are
intentionally dragging their feet on aid to the Gulf Coast. Without getting
specific, he added, "They've given them permission to go down and shoot us.=
"

After he stated, "George Bush doesn't care about black people," the camera
cut away to comedian Chris Tucker.

Concluding the hour a few minutes later, Lauer noted that "emotions in this
country right now are running very high. Sometimes that emotion is
translated into inspiration, sometimes into criticism. We've heard some of
that tonight. But it's still part of the American way of life."

Then the entire ensemble performed "When the Saints Go Marching In."

In a statement, NBC said, "Kanye West departed from the scripted comments
that were prepared for him, and his opinions in no way represent the views
of the networks.

"It would be most unfortunate," the statement continued, "if the efforts of
the artists who participated tonight and the generosity of millions of
Americans who are helping those in need are overshadowed by one person's
opinion."

Friday's program was the first of several TV benefits planned through next
weekend.

NBC and the five other major commercial broadcast networks, along with PBS,
plan to unite next Friday for a special. The same night, BET will air a
benefit. And on Saturday, Sept. 10, the MTV networks will air a special.