Kanye West plans to exercise his right to vote in the upcoming presidential election.

In a new interview for the May issue of GQ, the Jesus Is King rapper — who previously admitted that he was not registered to vote — opened up about his plans for the 2020 presidential election between presumptive Democratic candidate Joe Biden and President Donald Trump.

“I will not be told who I’m gonna vote on because of my color,” West told the magazine, explaining that he would not be swayed to cast his ballot a certain way because of his race and social status. “I’m definitely voting this time. And we know who I’m voting on.”

“Both my parents were freedom fighters, and they used to drink from fountains they were told they couldn’t drink from, and they used to sit in restaurants where they were told they couldn’t eat from,” he added. “They didn’t fight for me to be told by white people which white person I can vote on.”

West, who previously experienced backlash for supporting Trump throughout the 2016 election and during his presidency, said he won’t let fear or criticism get in the way of his voting rights.

RELATED: Kanye West Opens Up About Publicly Supporting Trump: ‘I’m a Black Guy with a Red Hat’

“I’m not going to be told by the people around me and the people that have their agenda that my career is going to be over. Because guess what: I’m still here! Jesus Is King was No. 1!” he said.

“I was told my career would end if I wasn’t with . What kind of campaign is that, anyway?” West added to GQ. “That’s like if Obama’s campaign was ‘I’m with black.’ What’s the point of being a celebrity if you can’t have an opinion? Everybody make their own opinion! You know?”

Just last month, the “Stronger” rapper spoke about his support for Trump in the cover interview for WSJ. Magazine‘s April issue, further explaining his resentment over the assumptions fans make about him because of his race, profession and education.

“I’m a black guy with a red hat, can you imagine?” West said. “It reminded me of how I felt as a black guy before I was famous, when I would walk in a restaurant and people would look at you like you were going to steal something. ‘This is your place, Ye, don’t talk about apparel. This is your place, Ye, you’re black, so you’re a Democrat.’”

Prior to his interview with the magazine, West still rarely shied away from his love for Trump, often tweeting about his support for the controversial president over the years.

In a series of tweets in April 2018, West called the former Celebrity Apprentice host “my brother,” writing, “You don’t have to agree with Trump but the mob can’t make me not love him. We are both dragon energy. He is my brother. I love everyone. I don’t agree with everything anyone does. That’s what makes us individuals. And we have the right to independent thought.”

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Later that year, the two famously got together at the White House in October to talk tax cuts, prison reform, mental health and racism.

West reiterated his loyalty in another tweetstorm last January, writing, “Trump all day. Just so in 2019 you know where I stand. They will not program me. Blacks are 90 percent Democrats. That sounds like control to me.”

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“One of my favorite of many things about what the Trump hat represents to me is that people can’t tell me what to do because I’m black,” West added. “We will change the world. God is on my side. I am a Christian. I am a taxpayer. I am myself. God is with us.”

WSJ. Magazine speculated in their piece that West’s love for Trump may be founded on his belief that with Trump in power he will find support in the government, with the outlet citing his “unusual access to the Trump administration.”

One example of this was when West called Trump to help free fellow rapper A$AP Rocky back in July 2019 after he was taken into custody in Stockholm, Sweden, following a street altercation involving a 19-year-old male.

As the magazine lays out, West called Jared Kushner at the White House from his swimming pool in Calabasas. Less than an hour later, while West was out of the pool and eating breakfast, he received a call back from the president who agreed to help Rocky, né Rakim Mayers.

The young rapper was charged with assault, to which he pleaded not guilty. He was released from detention on Aug. 2 before being convicted by the Stockholm District Court on Aug. 14.



Source: People.com (https://people.com/music/kanye-west-says-he-will-vote-in-this-election/)