Kanye West Says Childhood Trauma Is Why He’s Fighting For His Kids

The controversial rapper claims the trauma of a childhood experience is the reason he wants to “exercise his rights” over his kids after witnessing an event where they were seemingly exposed to adult content.

Kanye West recently teased a new song, “COUSIN,” which he explained was inspired by a male cousin with whom he had sexual relations and is now locked up in jail for killing a pregnant lady.

West has seemingly connected his ongoing efforts to have more control over his children’s upbringing to his own childhood experiences.

The rapper, who shares four children with ex-wife Kim Kardashian, took to his X account to suggest that his past traumas are the reason behind his desire to shield his kids after he witnessed a scene where they were allegedly exposed to Playboy Magazine.

West has publicly discussed his past struggle with pornography, revealing that a copy of Playboy Magazine he found as a child, left out by his father, served as a gateway into addiction.

“I need a plan to exercise my rights with my kids,” West began in his X rant. “I figured out a lot of things, but I haven’t figured this out.”

He continued, “The day Kobe died, we all went to Kylie’s house and they in a stand next to the couch in the front living room were vintage Playboy magazines strategically placed within arms reach of every child in that house, which was every half black baby.”

“Y’all know what that is, why that is, and who is behind that,” the rapper shared, adding that his upcoming release “triggers that memory.”

“Me as a dad, I wanted to change that for my kids,” West concluded.

West’s statement comes after he admitted to engaging in incestuous acts with his male cousin while growing up as a child.

The “Carnival” rapper took to X, formerly Twitter, on Easter Monday to tease a new song titled “COUSIN,” which he claimed was inspired by a relative jailed for life for “killing a pregnant lady.”

In the X post, which included a music video for the song, West stated that he gave his cousin oral sex as a child.

He sings repeatedly, “I gave my cousin head,” adding, “I told my cousin not to tell nobody.”

In the caption, the rapper wrote, “This song is called COUSIN 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.”

“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. My dad had Playboy magazines but the magazines I found in the top of my moms closet were different,” he continued.

“My name is Ye and I sucked my cousins d-ck till I was 14. Tweet sent,” West added.

West’s shocking claim threw netizens into a frenzy, but he seemingly explained that the trauma from his past is why he “acts out,” as many came to his defense.

The rapper has sparked controversy in recent months, including when he made his wife Bianca Censori strip down at the Grammys red carpet, as well as when he slammed rapper Jay-Z and his family.

Following his admittance, West got a shout-out from fellow rapper Ferg, who applauded him for speaking up: “Good for @kanyewest now you can be whole. When people start to act out, you never know the root of the issue! Sending love brother [you’re] a goat.”

Seemingly agreeing with the post, the “Vultures 1” rapper reposted the message and added a single black heart emoji.

Before his recent incest remarks and concerns about his kids, West revealed that he regrets getting Kardashian pregnant.

The estranged couple married in May 2014 and went on to welcome four children: North, Saint, Psalm, and Chicago. They finalized their divorce in November 2022, after which he began dating former Yeezy architect Bianca Censori.

“That was my fault,” he told DJ Akademiks in an interview. “I didn’t want to have children with this person after the first two months of being with her, but that wasn’t God’s plan.”