Kanye West jumped on Twitter to wish the family of Kate Spade his condolences, a post raising awareness for mental health education. Kanye West recently admitted to dealing with mental health issues, even labeling "my bipolar shit" as a facet of his personality in Ye standout "Yikes." For Kanye, the passing of fashion designer Kate Spade hits close to home on several fronts. Spade, the brainchild of fashion house Kate Spade New York, took her life after years of battling depression. Authorities found a handwritten note addressed to her daughter next to Spade's body.
Kanye West is certainly at a cross-section in his career where finding a balance between relative calm and his frenetic creative spurts. He for one understands Spade's struggle to maintain her public image, amid bigger concerns such as seeking the problem resources of clinical attention. Kanye's axiomatic idea of design as a revolutionary instrument has at times, come at the cost of him seeking the wrong sort of attention.
Critics wonder if Kanye West championing his mental illness the way he has, to the effect of empowering himself, is quantitatively disruptive for the greater good of the mental health conversation. It's another instance in which, the weight of his words are more important than claim to personal vindication. He none the less is right to offer his sympathies to Kate Spade's family in the space of 48 hours.